Wolverhampton Wanderers

Crystal Palace are considering a season-long loan deal for Wolves forward Hwang Hee-chan. (Sun, external)

Want more transfer stories? Read Tuesday's full gossip column

Follow the gossip column on BBC Sport

We asked for your thoughts after Saturday's Premier League game between Wolves and Manchester City.

Here are some of your comments:

Wolves fans

Patrick: Would like to see more energy and combat. City were a class above but need to battle more. A couple of the right signings and we'll be fine.

John: Four chances, four goals. You cannot make the mistakes Wolves made against a City side who physically and technically are much stronger. I expected the defeat but 4-0 is not a fair reflection, and had we taken chances it would have been closer. Need three more signings as lacking depth. Not sure about Wolfe - looked out of his depth. I thought Jhon Arias was lively in the 20 minutes he played. No need to panic yet.

Dan: One game gone and I'm worried. Our gameplan is to defend deep and hit on the break. But once Manchester City got their first we fell to pieces. City were not at their best but they easily cut us apart when needed. We also lack quality up front. Marshall Munetsi would run through a brick wall for the team, but he's not a forward. Unless Arias or Lopez turn out to be gems quickly, then we will need proven quality in the door ASAP or we're toast.

James: We huffed and puffed but came up short - what you would expect from a newly promoted team. This is our eighth season since promotion, however. The squad has been fatally weakened by the owners, and we simply don't have the quality to compete. Fosun should hang its head in shame because already we are in a relegation battle. When you sell your key assets and don't replace them, that is simply inevitable. Endeavour is not enough.

David: Forget about the match, which was irrelevant. The main thing was for the club and fans to pay their respects and share their love for Diogo Jota and his family. Thanks to everyone who got involved in what was a magnificent tribute to a fantastic player and person. No-one could have done it better. A massive well done to the club, the fans and the city of Wolverhampton for showing Diogo's family what he means to us all. RIP, Diogo - once a Wolf always a Wolf!

Man City fans

Roy: Good all-round team performance with bags of effort. Add this to the class of Tijjani Reijnders and Rayan Cherki, it could be something special for the future.

Brian: City were in free-flow on Saturday. A game of open and committed football, with use of the ball key and players driving forward with it. The keep-ball has gone and now City play football. Wonderful to watch. Exciting and energetic. This can only get better and playing out from the back was more comfortable and confident. This team has found their mojo.

Alan: City looking back to their best! A really great display with all the debutants contributing massively. Some early nerves as the back line adjusted, but once they clicked it was a very efficient machine. A great start!

Gene: The standout performance of Reijnders, and the surprise starts for Stones and Bobb - at least for me - were worth the watch alone. I saw Reijnders play often over the past few years and knew his quality - a great signing. It will take some time for the team to gel, but a good start. Hopefully the defence can play more effectively this season and avoid too many injuries. Lewis played well - the right-back position needs sorting and I wonder whether he is the answer. A good performance against a mid-table team. We shall see what happens against stiffer competition.

Chris: A slow and shaky first 30 minutes. Looked a bit ring-rusty for a while. However, they clicked on 34 minutes and never really looked troubled by Wolves. Reijnders looks world class and, considering the players who were out, we look as if we can really challenge for titles again this season.

Pundits Wayne Rooney and Alan Shearer join host Mark Chapman to bring you the action and talking points from Friday and Saturday's opening Premier League fixtures.

Watch on BBC iPlayer here

And listen back to full match commentaries on BBC Sounds:

• Sunderland 3-0 West Ham

• Tottenham 3-0 Burnley

• Wolves 0-4 Manchester City

Image source, Getty Images

Wolves lost 4-0 at home to Manchester City in their opening Premier League fixture on Saturday and boss Vitor Pereira will take the positives whilst correcting the 'things that need to be corrected'.

"We faced a strong team. Technically strong, individual quality they have better options," Pereira told BBC Match of the Day.

"We did things well in my opinion, we were brave, we didn't go in just to defend - I don't believe in that kind of game - we had some chances. If you didn't watch the game and just see the result it's like they created a lot of chances and we created nothing and it's not true.

"Every time we made a mistake they scored. We created maybe four chances to score and nothing. Of course they have a lot of merit and quality but in my opinion the result doesn't express what happened on the field.

"We scored first, an offside, I don't know if he's in a clear offside position I didn't see. But if you score first it's different. We conceded the first goal we were missing some aggressiveness in the middle and they have the quality to create this kind of chance. The second goal we offered it to them - building the play in the middle was not the plan but I understand everyone can make mistakes - even me - the way is to correct.

"In the second half we had a big chance for 2-1 and after a counter attack they get the third goal. This is the kind of team that each mistake they punish us with the quality. We did some good things. The spirit that I want is this spirit - we tried to be on the pitch with ambition and trying to score a goal.

"We created some good chances, some good movements, defending sometimes at a good level but sometimes when you press between they lines they score. I will take the good things with me and we'll correct the things that need to be corrected."

When asked if they need more signings, he added: "Yes - the club knows that we need maybe three signings with quality to add something more. This league is a very difficult league and we need more solutions. This is the time to make an offer and to help the team. We need help so I hope the club can help us."

Image source, Getty Images

• Wolves have lost 58% of their opening day matches in the Premier League (seven out of 12 - W3 D2) which is the highest percentage among sides to play in more than 10 seasons in the competition. They're also the first team since West Ham in 2020-21 to lose five consecutive opening day games.

Whether you were at the game or following from elsewhere, we want to know what you learned.

Have your say on Wolves' performance

What did you make of Man City's display?

Come back to this page on Sunday to find a selection of your replies

Wolves boss Vitor Pereira hands a debut to Norwegian wing-back David Moller Wolfe, who joined the club from AZ Alkmaar this summer.

Fellow summer signings Jhon Arias and Fer Lopez are both on the bench.

Wolves XI: Sa, Hoever, Toti, Agbadou, Doherty, Wolfe, Andre, Gomes, Bellegarde, Munetsi, Strand Larson

Subs: J.Arias, Hugo Bueno, S. Bueno, Hwang Hee-Chan, S. Johnstone, S. Kalajdžić, Fer López, Rodrigo Gomes, Y. Mosquera

The big team for Manchester City sees number one goalkeeper Ederson being left amid strong interest from Turkish giants Galatasaray.

It means a debut for James Trafford in goal, with Tijjani Reijnders also playing for the first time in the Premier League having made his City debut during the Club World Cup.

Full-back Rayan Ait-Nouri starts against his old club, having made 135 Premier League appearances for Wolves.

Man City XI: Trafford, Lewis, Dias, Stones, Ait-Nouri, Reijnders, Gonzalez, Silva, Bobb, Doku, Haaland.

Subs: Akanji, Ake, Cherki, Gundogan, Khusanov, Marmoush, Nunes, O'Reilly, Ortega

Five matches make up Saturday's Premier League action and BBC Sport will bring you every kick.

• Aston Villa v Newcastle (12:30)

• Brighton v Fulham

• Sunderland v West Ham - BBC Radio 5 Live

• Tottenham v Burnley - BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra

• Wolves v Manchester City (17:30) - BBC Radio 5 Live

All kick-off times 15:00 BST unless stated

Follow all of the action and reaction here

Wolves were always well-organised under manager Vitor Pereira last season and they are a powerful team too, but they are going to miss Matheus Cunha. I wonder - how do they replace his goals and assists?

It is a worry for Manchester City that Rodri is injured again, but they are going to have to deal with that for the next few weeks.

We don't really know how City will line up with their new players either, but they surely can't be as fragile - or rudderless - as they were without Rodri last season.

Maybe City will turn up and blow Wolves away, but I think this will be a lot closer than that.

Sutton's prediction: 1-2

Read the full predictions and have your say here

Matthew Hobbs
BBC Sport journalist

Manchester City begin their attempt to reclaim the Premier League title with a trip to Molineux to face a Wolves side who improved drastically under Vitor Pereira last season.

BBC Sport takes a look at some of the key themes ahead of their opening day clash.

Manchester City begin their Premier League campaign on familiar ground – with question marks surrounding the fitness of key midfielder Rodri.

The Spain international returned from eight months out due to a serious ACL injury in May and featured during the Club World Cup but he then sustained a groin injury and may not feature this weekend.

Pep Guardiola has said he does not expect Rodri to be "really fit" until September.

The 29-year-old remains City's most important component: their Premier League win rate drops from 74.3% to 54.7% when Rodri does not feature, while they average 1.8 points per game when he is missing compared to 2.4 points when he plays.

The £46.3m signing of Netherlands international Tijjani Reijnders should help offset Rodri's potential absence – the one-time Aldi employee ranked seventh overall for carries of more than 10m in Serie A last season – and Guardiola's side have won their opening league game in 13 of the last 14 seasons, but in Wolves they face a tough opening fixture.

Wolves transformed under Pereira - but can they prosper without Cunha?

The Midlands club were transformed following the arrival of Vitor Pereira in December, with the Portuguese manager embracing his new home to the point of sharing post-match pints in the pub with supporters.

Improvements on the pitch undoubtedly helped with fan-based affection off it: Wolves would have finished 12th in a Premier League table that started with Pereira's first game in charge, a 3-0 win at Leicester City on 22 December, with Wolves then winning six league matches in a row in March and April.

The summer transfer window at Molineux has, however, been fairly quiet. Jorgen Strand Larsen's loan move from Celta Vigo has been made permanent for £23m, while wingers Fer Lopez and Jhon Arias have been added for a combined £34m, along with Alkmaar full-back David Moller Wolfe.

Departures, though, feel more significant. Matheus Cunha may have agitated manager and supporters alike last season after pushing to leave the club in January but his £62.5m move to Manchester United this summer means that Wolves have lost a high quality goalscorer, while Rayan Ait-Nouri is likely to walk out at Molineux on Saturday – although he will be playing for the visitors following his own move.

Pereira's task in continuing the momentum of last season may be a tall one – and Wolves have lost on the opening day in their last four league seasons.

Wolves boss Vitor Pereira has been speaking to the media before Satuday's Premier League game against Manchester City (kick-off 17:30 BST).

Here are the key lines from his news conference:

• On his team being ready for the start of the season: "We are working a lot to improve the team, to increase the mentality, the identity, to help the new players understand what we need from them. And this is all good spirit. They are working in the level that I like to see. Now it's time to compete."

• He wants to see Jorgen Strand Larsen "fighting for the team" and "committed with the team" rather than "thinking about himself". Pereira said he wants to see the striker "enjoying it because this is a short career".

• On Wolves' concerning pre-season performances: "The results were not the results that we expected, but we created a good spirit. We work a lot."

• However he justified recent results by adding: "I never in the pre-season balance the trainings to go in the games with 100% fresh legs to run."

• When asked about £15m signing Jon Arias: "He was in Fluminense for a long time and now it's time to play in our way. He needs sometimes to understand everything tactically and what we demand from him."

• He feels a need for more players: "The club is working hard to get the players that that we need. They know that we need more, at least three players. They know the positions, they know the profiles. And I will wait for the the end of the market to see if it's possible."

• When asked about the use of Ki-Jana Hoever, Pereira said: "I like him. He has the technique that I like. He's fast, attacking the space, is very calm, good decisions."

• On team spirit: "This is a city with just one club. It means that it is the club of everybody. We feel the connection in the streets. We feel the connections outside, inside the stadium. And this is powerful, because to compete with the best foot against the best clubs in this league, we need to be united."

• On playing Manchester City: "If you look at the players that they have, and they bought this season, fantastic, fantastic team, fantastic manager."

• He added: "But this is not time to look at Manchester City. It's time to compete. It's time to go there and to show that we are brave, that we are connected, that we are quality and we can play good football."

Follow all of Friday's Premier League news conferences and the rest of the day's football news

Image source, Getty Images

We have looked into the age profile of Wolves' players for the 2025-26 season and recorded what percentage of minutes each of them played last campaign.

For the purpose of this exercise, we have deemed those under 24 as youth, between 24 and 30 as in their peak years and anyone over 30 to be a veteran.

The green represents new signings, who naturally did not play, red are those that have since left the club and yellow are all those that remain.

We can see Wolves' squad skews to an experienced group, so youthful new faces (green dots) will offer energy.

Perhaps concerningly, the club lost two of their three most-used players in the squad last term given the departures of Rayan Ait-Nouri and Nelson Semedo. The two leave a void.

Joao Gomes (pictured) is therefore the most-used player from last season who remains at the club and the weight on his shoulders may now be a touch heavier with the three summer signings skewing younger.

Nick Mashiter
BBC Sport football news reporter

Image source, Getty Images

There is a certain amount of anxiety around Wolves, although it should prove unfounded.

Vitor Pereira proved how adept he is after taking a side rooted in the bottom three to mid-table comfort in a matter of months last season.

While Wolves have failed to win during the summer, it should not be taken as a barometer of any potential success or failure ahead of Saturday's opening day visit of Manchester City.

Yet no Matheus Cunha or Rayan Ait-Nouri has made Wolves fans uneasy after the pair departed for Manchester United and City respectively.

Without Cunha's goals - he scored 15 and made six assists in the Premier League last season - there are legitimate questions where those lost goals will come from. Ait-Nouri also provided four goals in the league and a bunch of assists from full-back.

Wolves scored 63 goals last season in all competitions but they have lost more than half of those goals: 32 in total, including Cunha's 17, while Goncalo Guedes [five], Ait-Nouri [five], Pablo Sarabia [three], Tommy Doyle [one] and Mario Lemina [one].

Of the five players who played the most minutes they have also lost three: Ait-Nouri [3.406] Nelson Semedo [3,077] and Cunha [2,831].

As expected, Jorgen Strand Larsen turned his loan into a permanent move, and his 14 goals were useful in an impressive debut season but he will need support. New additions Fer Lopez and Jhon Arias will provide threat but need time.

David Moller Wolfe has filled the full-back role after arriving from AZ but Wolves do lack quality deputies for Andre and Joao Gomes in midfield, as willing as Marshall Munetsi or Jean-Ricner Bellegarde are.

Another summer saw another loss of a captain with Semedo opting against signing a new deal, following Conor Coady, Ruben Neves and Max Kilman in leaving Molineux - with ex-skipper Lemina also departing in February.

There are still spaces to be filled, which is understood at Molineux. With Pereira having more control - and ally Domenico Teti replacing Matt Hobbs in the newly titled director of professional football role - the Wolves manager should be able to guide his side through any difficulties.

Image source, Getty Images

BBC Sport's TV and radio commentators have picked two Wolves players who will be worth watching in the next few months.

Emmanuel Agbadou

Age: 28 Position: Centre-back Country: Ivory Coast

Tom Gayle: Emmanuel Agbadou was one of the Premier League's best signings during the January transfer window. Wolves had to strengthen defensively and, in the Ivorian, they managed to more than fulfil the need for a top-quality centre-half.

Agbadou's reading of the game and positioning, combined with a heavyweight boxer build and the athleticism of a gymnast, made him one of the league's toughest opponents in a one-v-one situation.

What also stood out was his confidence. Inside his own box, he can happily receive the ball and turn while under pressure, spraying long-range passes, and driving past the halfway line. This nonchalant style helped enable Pereira's side to play more aggressively over the second half of the campaign.

His transition to the English top flight is a sharp poke in the eye to anyone who continues to view Ligue 1 as a 'Farmer's League'.

I'm convinced the Agbadou fan club will only grow bigger this season, especially if he continues taking goal-kicks, helping conjure 'proper Sunday league' vibes.

Jhon Arias

Age: 27 Position: Winger or attacking midfielder Country: Colombia

Conor McNamara: I was in the United States for the Club World Cup and Jhon Arias was one of the standout players of the tournament as he played his final games for his old club Fluminense, picking up three player-of-the-match awards.

He is 27, so should be at his peak, old enough to not be overawed by the Premier League stage.

The Colombian will take the number 10 shirt vacated by Matheus Cunha. He scored his first goal in Wolves' colours in a recent friendly against Girona, showing excellent dribbling skills to run deep into the penalty area before shooting from close range.

Arias is my top tip of this summer's new signings to be a big hit.

Read the full piece here

BBC Sport's chief football writer Phil McNulty has offered up his annual predictions:

18) Wolves

Last season: 16th

This prediction is made with a heavy heart and hint of surprise given how the charismatic Vitor Pereira revived Wolves last season, but there have been some damaging departures and not enough quality incomings.

The class of Rayan Ait-Nouri and Matheus Cunha was integral to Wolves last season and that is a heavy double loss to Manchester City and Manchester United respectively.

Jhon Arias - the Colombian signed from Fluminense for £15m - takes Cunha's number 10 shirt but will he have the same impact?

Fer Lopez - signed from Celta Vigo - is a youngster of promise.

Wolves could still pull this pessimistic prediction around, but it will be need a busy few weeks in the transfer market.

Read the full piece

Image source, Getty Images

Former Wolves manager Mick McCarthy has been reflecting on how he managed to get the club promoted in 2009.

Wolves almost went up in the 2006-07 season but agonisingly lost 4-2 on aggregate to fierce rivals West Bromwich Albion in the Championship play-off semi-finals.

They were in the mix for the play-offs the following season too, only to miss out on sixth place by a goal difference of one.

Speaking to BBC Radio WM, McCarthy explained how he managed to rejuvenate the dressing room, but recalled how he had not been supremely confident when he first arrived at the club.

"You may remember my quote at the time," he said. "I said that MM stands for Mick McCarthy - not Merlin the Magician!

"You take the club on but it was Wolves, for goodness sake. Then it was my job to deal with the players."

• Not a Wolves fan? Find and follow your club here

In that promotion campaign of 2008-09, McCarthy suggested some of the players he was able to acquire - along with his own positive attitude - made a stirring difference in the dressing room.

"You have to lift yourself up first - you have to come back in ready for it," McCarthy said. "The players have to see that you have come back in energised.

"That third season when we won promotion, we won seven on the bounce.

"The players were young and hungry. Christophe Berra was a huge signing for us as was a wonderful centre-forward from Plymouth, who got all the goals. Sylvan Ebanks-Blake was amazing!"

Listen on BBC Sounds

Image source, Getty Images

The draw for the second round of the Carabao Cup has been made.

The EFL Cup remains regionalised in the early rounds, with the draw split into Northern and Southern sections until round three.

Here are the ties involving Premier League clubs:

Northern section

Sheffield Wednesday v Leeds United

Burnley v Derby County

Everton v Mansfield Town

Grimsby Town v Manchester United

Sunderland v Huddersfield Town

Southern section

Bournemouth v Brentford

Fulham v Bristol City

Oxford United v Brighton

Wolves v West Ham United

The 23 second-round ties will take place during the week beginning 25 August.

See the full draw over here