Wolves vs Manchester City (Premier League): Match Preview, Team News, Head to Head, How to Watch | OneFootball

Manchester City start their 2025/26 campaign on the road this weekend with a trip to the West Midlands for a clash against Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Saturday afternoon’s match will bring an end to Manchester City’s of international matches over the summer, with their most recent coming against Italian side Palermo in early August – a fixture that the English outfit would win 0-3.

While Erling Haaland would open the scoring in the 25th minute, Tijjani Reijnders would nail the door shut on the Serie B and City Football Group side, scoring a brace in the second-half of the match.

The contests against Wolverhampton this weekend will start the English top-flight campaign for Pep Guardiola and his men after a lacklustre showing throughout last season, in which the team struggled on multiple fronts and ended up finishing in third place with 71 points.

Ahead of kick-off at Molineux in the evening kick-off on Saturday, here is everything you need to know!

Match Details

Manchester City will take on Wolverhampton Wanderers on Saturday 16 August at Molineux, with kick-off scheduled for 17:30 BST.

Match Officials

The Premier League have confirmed that the first referee to oversee a Manchester City match int he 2025/26 campaign will be Jarred Gillett, with Michael Salisbury appointed to the role of Video Assistant Referee at Stockley Park.

You can check out the full list of match referees below!

Team News

While fans of the Sky Blues got to see plenty of familiar faces during Manchester City’s campaign at the FIFA Club World Cup, as well as pre-season ventures, the same might not be said for the match on Saturday.

For one, Rodri is unlikely to occupy midfield at Molineux as he remains questionable in his fitness status, having suffered a groin injury during his side’s final game of the Club World Cup against Al-Hilal.

It is worth noting that despite his status being up in the air, he will be a part of Pep Guardiola’s traveling squad for the season opener, as confirmed by the Catalan coach himself during his pre-match press conference.

Another player who will not be taking to the field is Mateo Kovacic, who will continue to be sidelined due to an Achilles injury and subsequent surgery earlier this summer. Savinho is also injured, while Ederson is understood to be managing a fitness problem, too.

Josko Gvardiol is not set to travel either, as the Croatian continues to handle his own fitness struggles.

Head to Head

In their last five meetings, the Blue Moon has prevailed over the Wolves, with Mancunians taking four of those matches. Their most recent meeting came in early May, in a 1-0 victory going the way of the Cityzens, due in part to a Kevin De Bruyne strike.

Press Conference Quotes

On injuries: “He [Rodri] is so soon to coming back, but what is important is his knee is perfect. Now he needs to bring minutes in training sessions, and if possible in the games. What we want is he doesn’t come back and takes a step back. That would be not good!”

On goalkeeper selections: “Right now, Eddie [Ederson is first choice],” stated Guardiola. “If he’s fit, yeah [he will start vs Wolves].”

On Savinho: “I don’t know. If Tottenham, or any other club, wants a player, you should call the club, right? It’s the same like we do! The only thing I’m concerned about today is that Savinho will be with us until all the season, and hopefully for many, many years.

“Because at 21-years-old with the potential he has, playing a lot of minutes, he has to improve in final decisions, he’s an extraordinary player… But at the end, as always, the desire of the player prevails above everything, and after there has to be an agreement with the club. If you don’t take an agreement, the player will be here.”

On Ederson and Savinho’s futures: “If they want to leave, they will come to me. I’m working with them because I’m here. If they want to leave, they will knock on my door.”

“Ederson didn’t come to me and say, ‘I want to leave’, or ‘I have an offer’. All the players are here and are our players and I work with them… What’s going to happen, nobody knows!”

How to Watch

Viewers in the United Kingdom can view Saturday’s clash on Sky Sports, with kick-off slated for 17:30 BST.

For viewers in the United States, you can view the Cityzens’ match against the Wolves on NBC USA, or Peacock, with kick-off slated for 12:30 p.m. EST.

You can find full global TV listings for the Premier League opener HERE!

City Xtra will have full live coverage available on our X (formerly Twitter), Facebook, and Instagram channels throughout matchday, with content also provided on cityxtra.co.uk!