Wolverhampton Wanderers

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

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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

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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."

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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!"

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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

Have you got a question about Wolves or is there a topic you want more information on? Have you spotted a theme or trend that needs further investigation?

Well, this season we're making it easier for you to get in touch and ask - and we will do our best to use our expertise here at BBC Sport to give you direct answers.

Our team can call upon a network of contacts - including our reporters, pundits and other experts - to find out everything you need to know.

No question is too big or too small, so fire away using the link below and we will answer the best of them throughout the campaign.

Ask about Wolves here

And find out more about BBC Sport's Ask Me Anything service here

Nick Mashiter
BBC Sport football news reporter

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Wolves star Fer Lopez credits a unique spell in Suffolk for helping him mature.

The attacker spent three months in England in 2018 before returning this summer after Wolves spent £19m to sign him from Celta Vigo.

Lopez was sent to Finborough School by his parents when he was 14 years old to help develop his English.

While in England he trained with Norwich and also with the senior side Bacton United '89 - who play in the Suffolk and Ipswich League - before returning to Celta's academy.

He made his senior breakthrough last season, making 20 appearances, and his performances convinced Wolves to bring him back to England.

"It was quite unique," he told BBC Sport before Saturday's Premier League opener against Manchester City at Molineux.

"Norwich was quite far from the school so I did one month there and then went to train with Bacton. I couldn't play because I was in Celta's academy - and I also trained with the school's coach after school.

"The pitch wasn't that bad and playing with grown men helps you improve other abilities.

"It had a lot of importance [to me], more personal because it was difficult experience at first as I was without my family at 14, but it helped me grow as a person."

He remains in touch with Paul Grainger, who coached him at Finborough, and feels the guidance he received has paid off.

"We speak and he watches all my games," said the 21-year-old. "We talk all the time about football, players and games. He helped me a lot when I was in England. I felt quite alone and he helped me improve, football-wise, after school.

"If he sees me and I haven't played well, he tells me that. I don't like people who always tell me I'm very good and don't tell me the reality - that doesn't give you anything.

"If they just tell you, 'you're very good', you don't improve. I don't like to be around those type of people."

Borussia Dortmund have walked away from a deal for Fabio Silva after Wolves increased their asking price for the forward. (Teamtalk), external

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

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Dazzling Dave
Fan writer

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Wolves' pre-season performances have been concerning. The team looks disjointed at the back and lacks energy and ideas going forward.

In short, we look miles off the pace. There is some hope with more new signings expected, but that brings its own concerns.

If those players take time to adapt, Wolves could be left playing catch-up once the season starts.

The loss of key players - Matheus Cunha, Rayan Ait-Nouri, Nelson Semedo, and Pablo Sarabia - has hit the team hard. Cunha and Ait-Nouri alone contributed 32 of last seasons 54 goals and assists.

Replacing that output is no easy task and from what I have seen in pre-season, we just don't look like scoring.

So far, the only new players are Fer Lopez, Jhon Arias and David Moller Wolfe.

Arias looks like a solid and quality signing - he has already opened his account and could be a strong replacement for Cunha. Lopez has shown promise as well. We haven't seen enough of Wolfe yet to judge his impact.

But the biggest worry remains at wing-back. Both right-back and left-back are clear weak spots and crucial for the style Vitor Pereira likes to play. Quality additions in this area are crucial for any chance of success this season.

Squad depth is another concern. If Joao Gomes or Andre get injured, Wolves have almost no back-up. Up top, Jorgen Strand Larsen has no clear deputy except Sasa Kalajdzic, who is just back from a long-term injury and could be sent out on loan.

This leaves the team exposed if key players are sidelined.

Wolves still need at least three or four quality signings. Fosun says it has recognised the importance of rebuilding the squad this summer, but progress has been slow. The next few weeks are critical.

If Pereira is not given a stronger squad, Wolves could face another fight to avoid relegation.

There is little room for error. Wolves are rolling the dice and fans wait to see where it will land.

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We asked for your views on whether Wolves are ready for the new season as they prepare to start at home to Manchester City on Saturday.

Here are some of your comments:

David: Wolves have been lacklustre, disorganised and creativity-free in all of their hardly challenging friendlies. There is little sign of a team capable of finishing outside the bottom third of the Premier League.

Baz: Unless the sold players are replaced with established, proven ones, I fear the worst. If the pre-season games are any reflection of current squad quality, they will be in a survival battle and yet another decent manager will go because of the lack of support. He will be in demand.

Allen: No! Very poor pre-season - they are not adaptable enough, they can't change from a rigid, five-at-the-back system to counter the opposition and so get overrun in midfield. Yes, fans want more incomings but we need desperately to be able to change our playing style within a match to outplay the opposition. Clearly the loss of Semedo, Ait-Nouri and Cunha place Wolves in an unenviable place this season.

Tod: Light years away from "ready". Embarrassing transfer policy under which we sell some of our best players each year then look around desperately for (inadequate) replacements at the last minute, as if the sales were wholly unexpected. Two points from first 10 games if we're lucky, and manager will have walked out by Christmas. What a complete, recurring fiasco. Get your money on relegation.

Gary: We look OK - if the season was still five weeks away. We just seem to be lacking in all areas of the pitch. We played like it was an end-of-season testimonial. Let's hope there's three terrible teams in the league this season, as that is the only way I can see us not being in the bottom three. Time for Jeff to put his hands in his very deep pockets.

Pre-season is completed and the countdown to the 2025-26 season is on.

It's been a quiet summer at Wolves with three arrivals and six departures.

Wolves start the season at home to Manchester City on Saturday - but are they ready?

Get in touch

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Wolves finished their pre-season friendlies with a 1-0 defeat by Celta Vigo at Molineux on Saturday.

Pablo Duran's volley just before the hour mark was enough to secure the win for the La Liga side.

Before the match, Wolves honoured former player Diogo Jota and his brother Andre Silva in the club's first home match since they both tragically died in a car accident earlier this summer.

You have been sharing your stories and photos about why you love Wolves.

Here is a final selection of your submissions, but do make sure you scroll down this page to see all the best responses from throughout the week:

Stuart: Imagine as an eight-year-old Wolves fan and Wayne Clarke moves into your street. The kids hanging out at the end of his drive, Wolves annuals and copies of Match Weekly in hand ready to sign. Through the highs and many lows of our illustrious club, the support never fades. Wolves is like Bagpuss - ragged at the seams but we love it. It's OUR club. Once a Wolf always a Wolf!

Toni: I grew up in west London. I was four, my brother was six, and we needed PE kit for school. My mother marched us down Portobello Road and into a shop that sold school uniforms... I came out with a Wolves shirt (black round collar) and my brother with an Arsenal shirt. That was it for both of us. I still support the Wolves nearly 60 years later.

Coventry City want £15m for their Dutch right-back Milan van Ewijk. Wolves and Wolfsburg are among the clubs keen on signing the 24-year-old. (Coventry Telegraph)

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

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