Manchester United will host Wolves on Monday 14th August as the two teams kick off their respective Premier League seasons. It's the first Monday Night Football of the season – and is a game rich with history.
This fixture should certainly be an interesting one, too. United will go into it hoping to improve on their third-placed finish last season and with an improved team. Wolves, who secured a mid-table finish, will want to make strides in their first full season under Julen Lopetegui.
So how have things gone in the past? Football FanCast takes a trip down memory lane to find everything you need to know about this fixture.
Man United vs Wolves: Who has the better head-to-head record?
These two teams first clashed in 1892, so there's a lot of history here. 111 games of it, in fact, across four different competitions. They've met at the top two tiers of the English pyramid, as well as the FA Cup and EFL Cup.
It's United who boast the best overall record, though, with 54 wins in those 11 games. Wolves aren't too far behind, having triumphed on 37 occasions. That leaves 20 times that the spoils have been split.
Man United vs Wolves: What's the top-flight record?
As we say, there's about 130 years of top-flight history here – or at least, that's when the two clubs first met. It means that of their 111 meetings, 92 of them came in England's top flight.
The respective records in this fixture are a little closer than some may have thought. Wolves, after all, have had periods where they were the outright best team in England – and that's shown here.
United still come out on top – being an elite club for 30 years will do that – winning 43 of the 92 games. Wolves sit ten behind on 33, with 16 draws.
Man United vs Wolves: What's their Premier League record?
There's a tendency these days to boil things down to just the Premier League era, such is the dramatic change in football over the last 30 years. When we look at this fixture in those terms, you see just how far things have swung in that time.
United and Wolves have met 18 times in the Premier League since the Old Gold's first appearance in 2003/04, with the former winning 11 and the latter just four. Only three of those games ended in a draw. This has been a very happy fixture for the Red Devils, then.
Man United vs Wolves: Who has the better cup record?
These two teams first met in a cup competition back in 1948, with Wolves winning an FA Cup semi-final replay against United. The Manchester side have fought back to boast the superior cup record since, however.
In total, there have been 13 meetings across the FA Cup and EFL Cup. United have won seven of those, with the majority coming away from home, interestingly enough. Wolves have won a further three, while another three went to FA Cup replays.
Man United vs Wolves: Who has the record at Old Trafford?
This upcoming fixture will be at Old Trafford, of course, so perhaps that record counts for a little more historically.
54 of the 111 games have been in Manchester, and United, as you could have guessed, dominate the results. They've won 35 of the 54, losing just ten. That leaves nine as draws, for those keeping count.
But what about just in the top flight? Well, that's seen 46 fixtures at Old Trafford and United won 29 of them – a far superior record to their away results against Wolves.
Man United vs Wolves: What team has the most goals in this fixture?
Both teams have historically scored well in this fixture. Remember, there have been 111 meetings in their histories so Wolves' tally of 151 is quite fantastic. United do have that beat, though, with 184. That also translates to the league record, unsurprisingly, as United have 154 to Wolves' 127.
As for Old Trafford, United look good there. They have 101 goals to Wolves' 52 when playing at home, which becomes 87 to 46 in the league.
What is Marcus Rashford's record against Wolves?
Who might get the goals this time around, then? Marcus Rashford seems like the most likely player, given he scored 30 in all competitions last season. United rewarded him with a five-year contract – he's their star man going forward.
And his record against Wolves is pretty decent. The forward has come up against them seven times, which is a fairly small number given only four of those meetings have been league clashes.
Indeed, Rashford has missed three Premier League fixtures with Wolves because of injuries, while he missed both encounters in the 2018/19 season.
Rashford has three goals across his seven games against Wolves, with two of them coming in the Premier League. The other was an FA Cup strike in 2019.
What is Man United's record win vs Wolves?
United's record win wasn't technically by Manchester United. It came in the very first meeting between the two teams, back in 1892.
They were Newton Heath back then, and demolished Wolves 10-1 at home (to Wolves' credit, they did manage to win the reverse fixture 2-0). This actually remains United's biggest-ever win in the league.
As for a more recent result, their record Premier League win came in 2011/12 as United won 5-0 at Wolves. The best they've ever managed at home was a 4-1 win that same season.
What is Wolves' record win vs Man United?
Wolves thrashed United 7-0 in 1932 for what remains their biggest-ever win against the Red Devils. It came with both sides competing in the second tier of English football.
In the Premier League, their record home win against United is 2-1 and their record win at Old Trafford is 1-0 – that came in early 2022. So if Wolves do manage to win this one, don't expect a thrilling scoreline.
Man United vs Wolves: What are the recent results?
United took the spoils in both games last season, winning 1-0 at Wolves before seeing them off 2-0 at Old Trafford. It was a much more stable season for the club and the scores reflect that. We can't say the same for the season prior.
Both games finished 1-0 to the away sides in 2021/22. That was Wolves' first win against United since 2019 and their first at Old Trafford since 1980. A historic win, then.
That brought to an end a period of dominance from United, who had avoided defeat to Wolves in seven attempts. They'd won both games in 2020/21, after all, with 1-0 and 2-1 results.
The 2019/20 season saw the teams face off four times, with them not only playing in the FA Cup for the second consecutive season, but the fixture also going to a replay. United did win that replay 1-0, but the other three fixtures finished in draws.
And the 2018/19 season, which saw Wolves return to the Premier League for the first time in six years, was a good one for the Midlands club. They drew their first fixture with United before beating them at home in both the league and the FA Cup.
Man United vs Wolves: Classic meetings
2nd April 2019: Wolves 2-1 Man United (Premier League) – The two clubs made something of a habit of playing against each other during this time, with the Old Gold getting the better of United just weeks prior in the FA Cup.
The Red Devils' following trip to Molineux was just as fruitless despite an absorbing tie that saw them take the lead through Scott McTominay, before a dogged Wolves comeback saw Nuno Espirito Santo's side battle back for victory.
5th February 2011: Wolves 2-1 Man United (Premier League) – Another comeback in the Black Country saw bottom-placed Wolves overcome Sir Alex Ferguson's unbeaten United side, who were top of the table heading into the clash.
And it looked as though they'd extend their lead at the top when Nani gave the visitors the lead after just three minutes, before goals from George Elokobi and Kevin Doyle turned the match – and the table – on its head as Wolves charged towards safety.
When is Man United vs Wolves?
Man United will host Wolves on Monday, August 14th at 8pm UK time. It'll be the first Monday Night Football of the Premier League season – and a big one for both sides.
United hope to build on their improvements last season and have made several important moves in the transfer market. David de Gea is out in goal, with André Onana joining from Inter. Mason Mount will feature in midfield, too, having arrived from Chelsea.
Wolves have made moves, too, but the most notable may be their outgoings. Ruben Neves, for so long the lynchpin of their midfield, has left for Saudi Arabia, while Raul Jimenez – albeit perhaps past his best – is now a Fulham player.
The main arrivals at Molineux have been loans officially turning permanent, including Boubacar Traore and Matheus Cunha – they'll hope the Brazilian can fix their goalscoring issues after really struggling last time out.
Both teams are looking forward, then – especially with this being Wolves' first full season under Lopetegui. A win could generate serious early momentum for either side in what's sure to be an exciting Premier League season.
