Ruben Amorim knows that this is not the ideal time to throw the young players of Manchester United in the shooting line, but he admits that there can be “surprises” in their line -up against Wolves.
United kept their hope for winning silverware in the debut season of Amorim on Thursday, which mounted an incredible comeback to beat Lyon 7-6 in the quarterfinals of the Europa League.
After that match, Amorim admitted that United may now have to give priority to their European campaign, since they are already guaranteed to register their lowest Premier League point.
And the will of Ayden Heaven, Harry Amass and Chido Obi-Martin can now stand in line to appear in Old Trafford on Sunday.
“I think it's not the best moment or the best season to play some children to play, because they need a strong foundation to really show what they can do,” Amorim said.
“But at the moment we have to do it and sometimes you have surprises. Ayden just played and to be honest, we did it because we had injuries at that time.
“But today I think Ayden is my player, so when he is ready to face the competition in the team, he is ready to play. So you don't know.
“It's a difficult moment, it's not the right time for the children to play, but if we have to do it, we'll do it.”
When Vitor Pereira took the lead in Wolves in December, they were 13 points behind United in the table, but a victory on Sunday would attract the level with the Red Devils.
Wolves have won their last four Premier League matches, their best top-winning run since January 1972.
They last had a longer winning series in the top division between September and October 1970 (six in a row), and Pereira does not believe that his players will release.
“After the game against Ipswich I felt that the team was a bit relaxed, but only for one day, in one training,” said Pereira. “We had a conversation and we corrected the feeling.
“I didn't feel that this week. The team is dedicated. They know that we have a lot of work to do and the work has not been done.
“We have many points to fight for because we are ambitious. We have a team with ambition and I believe we will compete in every game until the end.
“Our ambition is to do our best. Fighting for the three points every time, when we defend, when we attack and respect our identity every time.”
Players to watch
Manchester United – Alejandro Garnacho
Garnacho scored two goals on his last four Premier League performances for United, just as much as he had in his previous 23.
The Argentinian has never scored in successive matches in the competition, but he has a chance to achieve that performance after setting the 4-1 loss of last week at Newcastle United.
Wolves – Matheus Cunha
Cunha, who has been advertised as a potential transfer target for United, marked his return from the suspension with the Clinch goal in last week's 4-2 win over Tottenham.
He scored this period 14 Premier League goals for Wolves, with Raul Jimenez the only player with more in one season for the club (17 in 2019-2020).
He could become the third Brazilian player with 15 goals in a season, together with Roberto Firmino in 2017-18 for Liverpool and Gabriel Martinelli in 2022-23 for Arsenal.
Match forecast – Manchester United Win
Man Utd has lost 14 Premier League matches this season, equal to their total of the last campaign. They last lost more competition matches in 1989-90 (16).
At 38 points and with six games to go, they are guaranteed their lowest points total in the Premier League era, even if they end the season on a six-game winning run, with 58 in 2021-22 their current lowest.
While wolves can find their chances after they have seen United only three days ago 120 dramatic minutes, the fascinated Red Devil's favorites are.
They have only lost one of their last 13 Home League matches against Wolves (W9 D3), with 1-0 in January 2022 under Ralf Rangnick.
United has also won all four of their Home League matches on Easter Sunday with a total score of 9-1. In the meantime, this is the very first league game of Wolves that is being played on the day.
Opta wins probability
Manchester United – 41.6%
Wolves – 31.3%
Tick ​​- 27%