In Profile: Nuno Espírito Santo's Wolves
The Foxes were held to a goalless draw by Wolves on the opening day of the season and have since climbed to third in the Premier League table after 25 matches.
Wolves, meanwhile, occupy eighth place and drew 0-0 with Manchester United at Old Trafford in their most recent outing.
With Nuno Espírito Santo's side next up for City, LCFC.com profiles the West Midlands outfit.
The manager
A former goalkeeper for Vitória Guimarães – the club City right-back Ricardo Pereira used to play for – Nuno Espírito Santo’s career as a professional footballer saw him play in Portugal, Spain and Russia.
His first managerial appointment saw him take charge of Portuguese outfit Rio Ave, before season-long spells at Spanish outfit Valencia and former club FC Porto led to a maiden job in England with Wolves.
During his first season in charge, the 45-year-old guided the West Midlands outfit to Premier League promotion at the first time of asking as his side accumulated 99 points to win the Championship title.
While Wolves did not record a victory during their first three Premier League games in 2018/19 – a run which included a 2-0 defeat by City – four wins and two draws against Manchester United and Burnley saw them concede only one goal in those six outings.
They eventually went on to finish seventh in the table, with season highlights including memorable triumphs over Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur, Liverpool and Manchester United in the Premier League and Emirates FA Cup.
The squad
A combination of flamboyant attackers and gifted midfielders is often complimented with a back five including two wing-backs and three centre-backs, which operates in front of reliable Portugal international goalkeeper Rui Patricio.
Mexican Raúl Jiménez’s haul of 13 goals and seven assists prompted Wolves to secure the striker on a permanent deal in April following his successful spell while on loan from Benfica.
Following his injury-time winner against the Foxes back in January 2019, Diogo Jota is another key member of the Wolves squad and is only the second Portuguese ever to score a Premier League hat-trick following Cristiano Ronaldo’s treble over a decade earlier.
In midfield, the experienced João Moutinho topped the charts for Wolves in 2018/19 in terms of assists (eight) and tackles (113), while he will no doubt remember his first goal for the club – a sublime strike against Manchester United at Old Trafford in September 2019.
The quartet of Patricio, Rúben Neves, Moutinho and Jota all returned from their summers as winners of the inaugural UEFA Nations League, with three of them featuring in the final victory over the Netherlands.
In January, they signed winger Daniel Podence from Olympiacos and youngster Luke Matheson from Rochdale, while outgoings included Ryan Bennett joining the Foxes on loan.
The trophy cabinet
Wolves have been named champions of England on three occasions – in 1954, 1958 and 1959 and have finished runners-up a further five times.
They have won all of England’s top four tiers at least once and have also experienced cup success, lifting the FA Cup four times and the League Cup on two occasions.
Further accolades include four Charity Shields, now the Community Shield – three of which were shared with Portsmouth, West Bromwich Albion and Burnley.
On the European front, they were beaten 3-2 over two legs in the final of the 1972 UEFA Cup by a Tottenham side managed by the much-respected Bill Nicholson.
The stadium
Molineux Stadium has been the home of Wolverhampton Wanderers since 1889 and, since a series of significant developments during three different decades, is now capable of holding approximately 31,500 fans.
In February 2019, the club revealed plans for two separate phases of stadium expansion, with the first increasing Molineux’s capacity by 5,500, while a long-term target is to reach a capacity of 45,000-46,000.
The fixtures
Wolves' last victory at Molineux Stadium came against current champions Manchester City on 27 December, when a 3-2 triumph came courtesy of Adama Traoré, Raúl Jiménez and Matt Doherty.
In their six Premier League outings since then, they have only won one game - a 3-2 win at Southampton in mid-January.
Following Friday's clash, Wolves then face Espanyol in the UEFA Europa League Round of 32 stage, before heading to Tottenham on 1 March.