Man Utd v Wolves preview: Jose Mourinho takes on his former player Nuno Espirito Santo

Wolves have not won at Old Trafford in 38 years

Image: Jose Mourinho and Nuno Espirito Santo go head to head on Saturday

Jose Mourinho will go up against one of his former players at Porto, Nuno Espirito Santo, when Manchester United host Wolves at Old Trafford in the Premier League on Saturday.

Wolves manager Nuno was part of Mourinho's squad when Porto won the Champions League in 2004, while the United manager's agent Jorge Mendes is playing a noteworthy role in a project that has a distinct Portuguese flavour.

Asked if he had spoken to Mendes about Wolves, Mourinho said: "No, I don't speak with him for quite a long time, to be honest. But when we speak we don't speak about my job or his job. He's my agent and that's it.

Wolves head coach Nuno Espirito Santo has described his former Porto boss Jose Mourinho as an 'inspiration' ahead of his side's trip to Old Trafford

"But I think the work in Wolves is good because it's not just about the Portuguese influence - Portuguese manager, staff and players - it is also about getting the right ones and I think they got good young players and they got also good experienced, stable players.

"So, they got this season, the Portuguese national team goalkeeper, they got (Joao) Moutinho, which is one of the players of the 100 caps club. Big stability in the team. The young ones are young boys with good potential and you can see the work of the coaching staff and the team is a really, really good team."

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Meanwhile, Wolves, who are currently ninth in the Premier League, have a poor record at Old Trafford having not won at the ground in the 38 years, but Nuno insists his side have nothing to fear.

Jose Mourinho will go up against one of his former players at Porto, Nuno Espirito Santo, when Manchester United face Wolves on Saturday

"We go there like all the games, we prepare ourselves," he said. "We know Manchester United's team we know what we're going to face tomorrow and we prepare for the competition.

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"We know how hard it'll be but we want to compete and put our ideas on the pitch. It's our idea to put what we do in training sessions in the games so in that sense we're ready for it."

Team news

Marcus Rashford and Nemanja Matic will miss the match against Wolves through suspension.

Rashford serves the second of a three-game ban while Matic will complete a one-match suspension after being sent off at Watford last weekend. Both players started Wednesday's Champions League win at Young Boys, where Antonio Valencia and Jesse Lingard were rested.

The duo are back in contention for Saturday, as is Phil Jones, but Ander Herrera and Marcos Rojo are not fit to be involved. United boss Mourinho confirmed Diogo Dalot will not start despite impressing on his debut in Switzerland and will instead be in the starting line-up for next week's Carabao Cup match against Derby.

Image: Marcus Rashford is suspended for United's clash against Wolves

Wolves are likely to be unchanged for a sixth consecutive Premier League game when they face Manchester United.

Head coach Nuno has resisted making alterations to his starting line up so far this season, with club-record signing Adama Traore being used as an impact substitute since his £18m arrival last month.

Portuguese winger Ivan Cavaleiro is expected to be Wolves' only absentee as he continues his recovery from a back injury.

A preview of this weekend's Premier League games, including Manchester United’s match against Wolves, West Ham v Chelsea and Arsenal’s match with Everton

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  • Manchester United have won their last six league games against Wolves at Old Trafford, including all four in the Premier League - one of six sides they have played against on at least four occasions at home in the competition while retaining a 100 per cent record.
  • Wolverhampton Wanderers have scored just two goals on their previous seven visits to Old Trafford in the top flight, however, those goals have come in their last two trips.
  • United have lost two of their last five Premier League home games (W3), as many as they had in their previous 43 at Old Trafford combined (W28 D13 L2). They are also looking to avoid consecutive home defeats in the Premier League for the first time since March 2014, while manager Jose Mourinho has never suffered back to-back home league defeats in his managerial career.
  • Wolves have won their last two Premier League games, both by a 1-0 scoreline. They have not won three in a row in the top flight since March 1980.
  • Man Utd have lost just one of their last 49 Premier League home games against promoted sides (W42 D6), a 1-2 defeat against Norwich City in December 2015. They have lost three of their last five Premier League games immediately following a Champions League match (W2).
  • Manchester United have seen Marcus Rashford (vs Burnley) and Nemanja Matic (vs Watford) sent off in their last two Premier League games - they have never had a player sent off in three consecutive Premier League matches before.
  • Romelu Lukaku has scored four goals in his last four Premier League games, but all of these goals have come away from home.
  • Alexis Sanchez has been directly involved in 19 goals in 22 Premier League appearances against promoted sides (15 goals, 4 assists).

Merson's prediction

Image: Paul Pogba scored twice as Man Utd got their Champions League campaign off to a winning start with a 3-0 victory at Young Boys

Who in their wildest dreams would have even considered Wolves winning at Old Trafford not so long ago? Now all of a sudden I'm tentatively backing United to win, that's a testament to how far Wolves have come. United got a great result on Wednesday away at Young Boys.

That pitch looked atrocious, it looked like wood painted green and reminded me of the old surface at QPR where you used to have to wear trainers! I think United's quality will be a little too much for Wolves to handle.

PAUL PREDICTS: 3-1 (12/1 with Sky Bet)

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