Manchester United will be looking to reignite the feel-good factor at the club on Sunday as they look to bounce back from their 1-1 draw with Southampton with a win against Wolves.
The Red Devils continued their impressive unbeaten record away from home when they grabbed a draw at Southampton last weekend, but it's two-points dropped in the eyes of Ole Gunnar Soljskjaer as his title-rivals all grabbed three points.
A positive to come out of the draw against the Saints was more game time for Jadon Sancho. The winger is expected to start against Wolves on the weekend, and there could also be a debut for Raphael Varane after he featured on the United bench last weekend.
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In his pre-match press conference, Soljkjaer confirmed that Scott McTominday is out after undergoing groin surgery, while Marcus Rashford, Dean Henderson and Alex Telles also set to be missing.
The absence of McTominay and Paul Pogba now being utilised as a wide midfielder, Donny Van De Beek looks set to make his first start of the season for United.
So, what line-ups will both teams select for the season opener? And, what could the final score be?
We used FIFA 21 to get a score prediction for Wolves vs Man United on Sunday and this is what happened...
Wolves vs Man United score predicted by FIFA 21 simulation
We used Kick-Off mode in FIFA 21, but didn't select a team to control, we then selected the teams and watched the match play out by itself, to give us a score prediction.
And because FIFA 22 is yet to be released with updated kits and transfers, we used the in-game club transfer system in FIFA 21 to update Wolves and Man United's squads with the latest transfers made as of August 12, 2021, but unfortunately, the kits are still from last season.
We predict that the hosts could set up in their favoured 3-4-3 formation, with their line-up as follows: Sa; Kilman, Coady, Saiss; Hoever, Neves, Moutinho, Marcal; Trincao, Jiminez, Traore.
For United, we predict that Solskjaer's side could set up in a 4-2-3-1 formation, with their line-up as follows: De Gea; Wan-Bissaka, Varane, Maguire, Shaw; Van De Beek, Fred; Sancho, Fernandes, Pogba; Greenwood.
It wasn't the most intense start from United, with Wolves seeing most of the ball in the opening 20 minutes.
Adama Traore had a golden chance to grab the first goal of the game but he lacked composure as he dragged his effort wide, and Raul Jiminez came agonisingly close minutes later when his header was directed just past the post.
It took 30 minutes for United to have their first shot when Mason Greenwood snatched at Fred's through ball and his powerful effort was straight at Jose Sa in goal who comfortably saved.
Just as it was looking to be 0-0 at half-time, United grabbed a goal out of nowhere, with Pogba capitalising on a mistake from the Wolves 'keeper from a couple of yards out.
Aaron Wan-Bissaka squeezed a perfect cross into the path of Jadon Sancho who's mis-hit volley confused Sa in goal, and the 'keeper ended up awkwardly punching the ball into the air for Pogba to acrobatically tap into the empty net.
It wasn't the prettiest of goals - but it was a goal for the Red Devils as they entered the break 1-0 up.
The goal seemed to give United newfound confidence in the second half as they started to create an abundance of chances, and Fred came close with a drilled effort from the edge of the box.
The Brazilian was picked out unmarked by Bruno Fernandes and he fizzed an effort towards the bottom corner, but his effort bent just wide of the post leaving Sa relieved in goal who was rooted to the spot.
Jadon Sancho then had a great chance with 20 minutes remaining when he jynxed past three Wolves defenders in the box, but his effort towards the top corner was well saved.
As expected, Wolves threw everything forward for the final 20 minutes prompting United to sit deep, and Solskjaer's side defended well as Wolves were unable to find a goal for the third consecutive Premier League game as United won 1-0.
FIFA 21 predicted score: Wolves 0-1 Man United
These were the full-time match stats:
FIFA 21 predicts that Paul Pogba's first-half strike will be the only goal of a cagey affair at the Molineux with United emerging as 1-0 winners.
What do you think the score will be between Wolves and Man United on Sunday? Let us know in the comments!
The successor to FIFA 21, FIFA 22, will be released in the UK and worldwide on Friday, October 1, 2021.
