Wolves vs Manchester City Betting – Premier League Monday

New Manchester City boss Roberto Mancini will be looking to make the light Blue of Manchester even more merrier by backing up their Boxing Day victory over Stoke with a an away win at Wolverhampton. After all the furore of Mark Hughes’ departure, and some apparent shady dealing going on behind the scenes involving the Italian being approached for the job before Hughes was fired, the dust needed to settle quickly if City wanted to continue their ascent. Fortunately for Mancini, that is exactly what happened, as Argentinian star Carlos Tevez put on a show for his new boss, sealing the new manager’s first three points in his first game in charge.

There was much criticism abound after Hughes was fired, with cries of British managers not being enough chances to succeed in England’s Premier League, and the whole affair just goes to show how fickle the club owners are at the top, and that the promise of success cannot wait to be delivered. After drawing so many games, Hughes was looking unlikely to take City to the promised land of a 80-point target as agreed to at the beginning of the summer, and the many signings he made, simply were not bringing in as many victories as had hoped. However, City hung on in there and are still in a good position for a top four finish.

At the end of the Boxing Day action, City, sitting in sixth place, are only three points out of fourth and two points of Liverpool who are directly beneath them, and still hold a game in hand over Rafa Benitez’s men. Monday’s game against Wolves, is City’s last league action for a while, as their following two games are taken up with the FA Cup and then the Carling Cup semi final against rivals Manchester United. But a victory over Wolves would make life a little easier for the heavily criticised Manchester City hierarchy, and it provide a great boost in spirits and optimism once again. With the race for the top four, and the coveted Champions League places, being more fiercely contested than ever, there appears to be little margain for error.

Mick McCarthy’s Wolves should not prove too difficult a hurdle for Mancini to overcome. They haven’t fared well against the top teams, and shamefully McCarthy blatantly put out a much weakened side to face Manchester United a couple of weeks ago, which didn’t go down well in the interests of fairness. They comfortably and unsurprisingly lost that game 3-0, and on Boxing Day fell 2-0 to Liverpool, leaving them lingering just above the drop zone. Manchester City have the personnel at their disposal to see off teams like Wolves, and now it will be down to Mancini’s execution and tactics, to go on and secure the extra two points in the games where Mark Hughes failed to. A lot of the time that was down to the defence, and that is where they need to tighten up.

But, by the same note, the forward power that was brought in, was not delivering the results that the summer spending spree had promised, and that heaped more pressure on the defence. Now Manchester City have the chance to really push on and build in the victory over Stoke, as well as progressing in both domestic cups over the next week or so. As harsh as the Mark Hughes firing may have seemed, it could be the springboard that takes the light Blue of Manchester into the heady realms of which their Red city counterparts have enjoyed for so long. With some immediate changes being made by Mancini, notably by keeping Craig Bellamy on the bench in favour of Brazilian Robinho, means that time, as always, will not stand still.

Match Prices
Wolverhampton to win: 4/1 at Paddy Power
Draw: 13/5 at Bet365
Manchester City to win: 3/4 at SkyBet

Betting Advice: There is always a sense of new optimism and a little extra verve in a team when a new manager steps into the fray. It is a breath of fresh air, and that is exactly what Roberto Mancini could bring. If he adds some of that Italian efficiency to Manchester City, then they really could be a top four team without question. The fixture list has been quite kind to City over the festive period in terms of the Premier League, and they should be able to capitalise and take another three points from Wolves.
Manchester City -0.75 Asian Handicap – 41/40 at Bet365