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Evening all, and welcome to Manchester United v Wolverhampton Wanderers!

Premier League / Matchday 16
Old Trafford / 29.12.2020
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Marcus Foley

Updated 29/12/2020 at 21:56 GMT


3'
As we discussed earlier, Telles and Cavani looks like a partnership, the former moving down the line to cross first-time for the latter, winning a corner that comes to nowt.
2'
Wolves have got Vitinha playing as a 10, while Coady, usually in the middle of the back three, is on the right. My guess is that he's there to use his pace against Rashford.
1'
After a long while starting miserably, United have found momentum from the off in their last few games. They won't want to let Wolves settle into thjeir slow passing game.
1'
Live comment icon
Away we go!
20:01
The players take a knee. Black lives matter.
19:58
if united win tonight, they tuck in two points behind Liverpool in second place; this is a very big game for them.
19:57
Here come the teams!
19:55
I said earlier that Wolves will want to block up the middle against United, who don't have proper wingers, but United will be fancying their chances of getting in behind two young wing-backs. They'll try and keep all three of their attackers up the pitch at all times, I'd expect.
19:52
This is a big game for Eric Bailly, who's running out time to establish himself as a first pick. I'm certain Solskjaer would like his pace next to Harry Maguire, but he can't stay fit and even when available, he's liable to make an error at any moment. But his top level is a pretty good level and he's been good lately; with Victor Lindelof injured, he might get a go at building on that.
19:49
Looking at Wolves' team again, I wonder if their club Twitter is having us over. I'd not be at all surprised to see Vitinha at the third man in midfield, with Neto and Traore playing through the middle.
19:45
Nuno has yet to lose a league game to United, but says tonight is a very big challenge. In rotating tonight, he's giving chances to players who are training well and wants his team to focus on their tasks. He wants Traore to being his talent to the team, and reckons he's doing better now than earlier in the season.
19:43
Pogba tells Amazon that United are on a good run and playing consistently, so they need to just keep it up. He's asked what he's going to do tonight, but he says he's just being asked to give all he's good - and to be fair, he's been doing that lately, winning headers,tackles and second balls.
19:42
Lee Dixon notes that the problem with Fernandes is how many places he turns up in - you think he's a 10 but then he runs by the strikers to play as a 10, next moment he's on the left and an 11. He forgot to note that he also runs back, and sometimes I think his best position is as an 8, except you don't want him chasing back when he's so dangerous closer to goal.
19:41
Phil Neville thinks Bruno Fernandes is good. More news as I get it.
19:38
Solskjaer tells Amazon that he's had trouble with Wolves recently, and isn't looking beyond this game to his side's league position. He says he's very happy with Cavani, making his first league start for United, and praises the brilliance of Fernandes - it's revolutionary stuff, I must say - then notes that Neto and Traore are dangerous. He also says that Neves and Moutinho are good in possession and can slow the game down, so "We need to go after them and get after that ball."
19:37
Elsewhere, Leeds are 5-0 up at West Brom, Arsenal 1-0 up at Brighton and Burnley 1-0 up against Sheffield United; Southampton and West Ham is 0-0.
19:34
I was going to wonder how Wolves would deal with Fernandes, but I'm not really sure that's part of the gameplan - unless one of their centre-backs goes man to man and they play a flat back-four. Good luck with that, lads.
19:30
Plush.
19:26
Exciting!
19:22
Wolves, meanwhile, look extremely mobile and threatening in attack. I'm sure United will be pleased that Podence is on the bench, but Neto did well against Spurs the other night and Traore was also good in flashes. Last season, Wolves got a draw in the home version of this fixture, mainly because he turned it on for 10 minutes against Luke Shaw, and he'll be gagging for a go at Alex Telles.
It's no surprise Nuno has gone back to three at the back - United don't have any serious wingers, so aren't as well-placed to pick holes in the system as other teams. But I think he might regret not picking an extra midfielder instead of an attacker, because it's hard to see how his team compete in that area, never mind against a side who had an extra day and a half to recover and who can also make more changes.
19:17
I'm not surprised by that United team. Out of nowhere, they now have a squad, and with so many games coming up, the aim is to get wins, not settle a particular XI. I wondered if this might be the time to gibe Bruno Fernandes a rest - Wolves are slow in the middle of midfield, so Solskjaer could have played Pogba with Van de Beek - but the game is probably too crucial to rest the man who makes it all work. I also wonder if he likes playing Telles and Cavani together, because their left-wing crosses and near-post runs look a decent marriage, as I do if he saved Cavani and Greenwood, his two best finishers, for this game because he can't afford profligacy in a game that might yield few chances. I might have left Rashford out of this one, because there'll be more space in behind against Villa on Friday, but he's probably playing too well for that.