4 mins City move the ball from side to side, Savinho – starting on the right – looks at Ait-Nouri on the outside. But the defender holds on well, then slides in and concedes a corner.

2 mins “Wolves may be bad,” writes Adam Griffiths, “but at least you can see the pitch.” Newcastle (never-ending stairs, better view of the city than the pitch, you need binoculars to see anything) and Everton (Pillars! More pillars! Columns everywhere blocking the view) are much worse.”

I love Goodison – you can just move to avoid the pillars – but yeah, Newcastle is miserable. I thought they would have been forced to change this as away fans are now supposed to be on the sidelines, but that is actually not the case.

1 minute Let’s go! For those watching in black and white, City are wearing the burgundy jerseys.

The players take the knee.

Our teams are tunnelled… and here they come!

e-mail “Will City target Ait-Nouri?” asks Gary Stover. I’m not sure if that applies today or as a left-back in the future. I fear Wolves might find it difficult to hold on to him in January, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see the space behind him targeted.

Hivemind: Has anyone tried these and if so, are they useful?

Also going:

Is Molineux the worst away team in the league? I maintain that it is flat and extends across the entire side of the pitch.

I’m really excited to see how the battle in midfield continues. Lemina, Andre and Gomes will want to keep the fight physical because Gündogan and Silva, as great as they are, are underpowered. They could still get past Wolves, but it won’t be easy.

I know O’Neil played 3-5-2 to limit space for City. But I wonder if a tight defensive block could also be a good way to counter the threat of Erling Haaland, because one man can mark, one can mark space and the other can fix mistakes. When Wolves keep a low block, Haaland has to get short to get to the ball, and that is far from his best strength.

A possible template for Wolves could be Newcastle, whose muscular, enterprising style regularly causes the city grief. Of course, Newcastle have better players, but their ability to make every fight physical is something Wolves can emulate.

Guardiola says Walker returned from the break injured and therefore did not come. But he is happy to be able to play on Sunday because it means his players, especially the Brazilians, have an extra day to prepare, which is why Savinho is in the starting line-up.

Where is the game? Wolves will look to block the middle of the pitch and force City to go around it rather than through it. I imagine that’s why Guardiola chose wingers rather than wingers – which is why I wonder if Doku and Savio will play on their natural side. Otherwise, the home side’s front two could also pose a threat – Cunha looks like a potentially taxing matchup for the Stones, while Strand Larsen is a threat at the back, even more so considering he’s in the middle of City’s back four Pace is lacking.

Speaking of City: They welcome Nathan Aké back – he’s on the bench – as is Manuel Akanji, who suffered a minor knock on international duty. So Stones comes into play as a central defender, while Jeremy Doku and Savinho play on the wings, while Phil Foden and Jack Grealish remain in the reserves.

Of course, O’Neil has to do without Yerson Mosquera, Sasa Kalajdzic, Enso González, Bastein Meupiyou and Boubacar Traoré – and now Hwang Hee-chan, who is playing for South Korea with an injury and will be out for around a month. As a result, Matheus Cunha and Jørgen Strand Larsen start at the front and have the opportunity to give John Stones and Ruben Dias a busy afternoon.

O’Neil tells Sky that Sam Johnstone was injured in training, so José Sa comes into play – and pushes for selection. He says morale is good – Wolves have had a difficult run of games and generally played well, although the performance last time out, against Brentford, was unacceptable. Even though it’s a tough game today, they believe they can turn things around and after winning this game last year, they know what it takes and how well they have to play to win.

Otherwise, he takes the risk out of the build-up play because his players don’t need complexity at the moment, but that’s not the reason why he went for five in defense – he always did that against City. After all, it doesn’t bother him that Guardiola or any other manager says Wolves are good – they just need to play well.

Teams!

preamble