Manchester United face their fourth trip to Molineux in less than a year when they take on Wolverhampton Wanderers in the third round of the FA Cup on Saturday.

Wolves have won two and drawn one of the previous three such fixtures, including a 2-1 triumph to dump United out of this competition at the quarter-final stage last season.

Match preview

Just one point separates these two sides in the Premier League table after both lost on New Year's Day, but they must put their top-four hopes on hold for now as they get their FA Cup campaigns underway.

For United, it is a chance to bounce back from their disappointing and tepid 2-0 defeat at the hands of Arsenal, with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's side barely laying a glove on a team that had only won one of their previous 15 matches before that.

The result at the Emirates means that United have now lost 11 and won just five of their last 21 away games in all competitions, with two of those defeats coming at Molineux in addition to a league draw there earlier this season.

The Red Devils have not lost back-to-back games since April, though, and in general they have responded well to setbacks so far this season - only to then trip up again just as they look as though they have turned a corner.

Even with Chelsea's patchy form ahead of them United know that more consistency will be needed if they are to break into the top four, while the same is true of their cup chances in a spell which also sees them face Manchester City in an EFL Cup semi-final derby on Tuesday.

Indeed, it is a difficult start to 2020 for United, with Wolves twice, Man City twice, Liverpool and Chelsea all to play in their next eight games, having already faced Arsenal.

The fixture list is a little kinder to Wolves, although they got the New Year off to the worst possible start with a 2-1 defeat at a resurgent but relegation-threatened Watford on Saturday.

Victory in that match would have seen them close the gap on the Champions League places to three points, but instead they joined a throng of top-half teams to slip up in their opening match of 2020.

It is now two defeats in a row for Nuno Espirito Santo's side having lost just one of their previous 12 outings, including their rousing 3-2 comeback win over United's local rivals Manchester City the day after Boxing Day.

The Molineux crowd will be looking to create a similar atmosphere for the visit of United as they bid to end what is now a 60-year wait to lift this trophy for a fifth time.

Wolves will not need to be reminded how close they came to reaching a first final since that 1959-60 triumph last season, when they built a 2-0 lead over Watford at Wembley only to succumb to a fightback as the Hornets won in extra time.

That run to the semi-finals was sparked by a victory over Liverpool in the third round, though, so Nuno will be hoping that a similar result over one of English football's biggest clubs could be the start of another lengthy cup run.

Wolves form (all competitions): WLWWLL

Man Utd form (all competitions): DWLWWL

Team News

Manchester United have been dealt another significant blow with the news that Paul Pogba, who has been limited to just two sub appearances since September, has suffered another setback in his recovery from an ankle injury and will now require surgery on the problem.

Solskjaer has estimated that Pogba will miss up to a month of action, joining fellow midfielder Scott McTominay on the sidelines.

There could be better news on the injury front with three defenders nearing returns, though, and this may be seen as a good opportunity to include Marcos Rojo, Eric Bailly and Timothy Fosu-Mensah in the squad for some game time.

Other changes are also expected as is now customary in cup competitions, with the likes of Sergio Romero, Brandon Williams and Mason Greenwood among the players who could come back into the starting lineup.

Wolves are also expected to rotate their squad, although Diogo Jota has joined Morgan Gibbs-White and Willy Boly on the list of absentees due to a dead leg.

Nuno could take the opportunity to rest key players such as Adama Traore, while Ruben Neves could start after sitting out against Watford.

Wolves possible starting lineup:
Patricio; Bennett, Coady, Kilman; Doherty, Dendoncker, Neves, Vinagre; Neto, Jimenez, Cutrone

Man Utd possible starting lineup:
Romero; Young, Jones, Maguire, Williams; Fred, Matic; Pereira, Lingard, Mata; Greenwood

We say: Wolves 2-1 Man Utd

Molineux has not been a happy hunting ground for United over the past 10 months, and we can see their troubles continuing here. FA Cup matches are difficult to call given the number of likely changes and this one is no different, but we are backing Wolves' home advantage to be the difference between the two sides.