Wolves vs Manchester City – as it happened: Hosts hold on for point in hard-fought draw against the champions

Re-live all the action from Molineux Stadium

Wolves celebrate equalising against Manchester City (Getty)

Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City visit Wolves in the day’s early kick-off in their bid to continue their 100% record after their victories against Arsenal and Huddersfield Town.

The champions have scored eight goals altogether in their victories at the Emirates and at home to the Terriers, and will look to add to that figure when they face the newly-promoted side to set the benchmark for their title rivals.

Wolves demonstrated the quintessential staunch resistance of promoted sides at home when they secured a 2-2 draw against Everton on the opening weekend. Nuno will hope that spirit will return after their ill-fated defeat at Leicester last weekend, where they hit the woodwork on two occasions.

Follow all the action below with our live blog:

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What time does it start?

Wolves vs Manchester City kicks off at 12:30pm (BST).

Where can I watch it?

The match will be shown live on Sky Sports’ Premier League and Main Event channels. Sky Sports subscribers can also stream the match via the SkyGo app.

Highlights will be shown at 10:30pm on BBC One.

It’s a big game for…

Helder Costa: The 24-year-old Portuguese was hugely impressive in pre-season, but has so far been unable to replicate those displays in the Premier League. The winger failed to exploit gaps in the opposition defences against Everton and Leicester with his undeniable pace, and seems to be suffering from a lack of self-belief. The former Monaco man will be key in Wolves’ counter-attacking plan this weekend and will need to step up his performances in order to trouble the City defence.

One: Wolves have won just two of the 12 encounters with Manchester City this century, with their victories coming in October 2003 and October 2010, both of which were at Molineux.

Remember when…

The most famous encounter between the two sides probably occurred all the way back in March 1974, when the teams faced each other in the League Cup final. Wolves’ Kenny Hibbitt had given his side the lead a minute before the break, but Colin Bell equalised a minute before the hour mark. The game was decided by John Richards five minutes from time after he rifled home a deflected cut-back.

Player to watch…

Sergio Aguero – The Argentinian was hailed this week by Alan Shearer as the best foreign import the league has ever seen after he scored the ninth Premier League hat-trick of his Manchester City career against Huddersfield. The 30-year-old faces fierce competition at City but it seems that the threat is bringing out his best form, which is an ominous sign for the Molineux faithful.

(Getty (Getty)

Past three-meetings…

Manchester City 0 Wolves 0 (Manchester City won 4-1 on penalties), League Cup, October 2017

Wolves 0 Manchester City 2 (Aguero, Nasri), Premier League, April 2012

Manchester City 3 (Dzeko, Kolarov, Johnson) Wolves 1 (Hunt pen), Premier League, October 2011

Form guide…

Wolves: DL

Manchester City: WWW

Odds…

Wolves to win: 10/1

Manchester City to win: 1/4

Draw: 27/5

(Odds provided by 888 Sport)

[25 August 2018 11:47 · Lawrence Ostlere]

Welcome along to our live coverage of the champions Manchester City at the Premier League newcomers, Wolves. Team news coming right up...

[25 August 2018 11:48 · Jack Watson]

Good afternoon and welcome to The Independent's live coverage of Manchester City's 10-1 victory against newly-promoted Wolves.

Wolves failed to beat ten-man Everton at home or Leicester, who also had a player sent off, and Nuno Santo Espirito's side faces its toughest test in his short spell at Molineux.

Pep Guardiola's side arrive in the Black Country fresh from dismantling Huddersfield and beating Arsenal. 

Will there be a shock on the cards in the lunch time kick off? Probably not, but join us as we guide you through all the action from today's first Premier League match.

[25 August 2018 11:56 · Vithushan Ehantharajah]

TEAM NEWS

Wolves XI to play Manchester City: Patricio, Doherty, Bennett, Coady (c), Boly, Otto, Moutinho, Neves, Costa, Raul, Jota

Manchester City XI to play Wolves: Ederson, Walker, Kompany (c), Laporte, Mendy, Gundogan, Fernandinho, D. Silva, Sterling, Aguero, B. Silva

[25 August 2018 12:17 · Vithushan Ehantharajah]

An ominous stat for the Wolves defence...

[25 August 2018 12:29 · Vithushan Ehantharajah]

An excellent sight for all Wolves fans. Former goalkeeper Carl Ikeme greeted the Molineux faithful after being diagnosed with leukaemia last year, which forced the 32-year-old into early retirement.

[25 August 2018 12:30 · Vithushan Ehantharajah]

1 Min: Referee Martin Atkinson blows his whsitle and we are underway at Molineux!

[25 August 2018 12:35 · Vithushan Ehantharajah]

5 min: Both sides have gone wide from the very beginning, with Otto and Sterling looking particularly menacing early on.

[25 August 2018 12:40 · Vithushan Ehantharajah]

10 min: It's been a fairly tight affair at Molineux so far, and the hosts are certainly posing a physical challenge to the champions so far.

[25 August 2018 12:42 · Vithushan Ehantharajah]

12 min: The first booking of the day goes to the Manchester City captain Vincent Kompany after a foul on Ruben Neves on the turn. 

[25 August 2018 12:46 · Vithushan Ehantharajah]

15 min: First chance of the game! It falls to City, after Mendy's clipped ball is beautifully cushioned by Aguero into Gundogan's path, but the German's left-foot shot is tame.