It is somewhat unique that Manchester United will bring 2022 to a close against the same opponent that they opened the year against.
The Reds will travel to Molineux to face Wolves on Saturday lunchtime with the ambition of stretching their winning run in all competitions to five matches and bringing the curtain down on a year of two halves with a bang. Tuesday night's 3-0 win over Nottingham Forest at Old Trafford moved United to within a point of the top four, meaning a win in the Black Country would lift them into the Champions League places, ahead of Tottenham Hotspur, for just over 24 hours at the very least.
Wolves currently find themselves camped inside the relegation places, despite beating fellow strugglers Everton 2-1 in dramatic fashion at Goodison Park on Boxing Day, meaning United will travel to Molineux as favourites to scoop maximum points. The Reds were also favourites to claim all three points the last time the two sides met, despite, back in January, only being separated by two places and six points in the Premier League table.
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United entered the January 3 clash at Old Trafford on a run of four wins in their last five Premier League outings, three of which had been secured under new interim manager Ralf Rangnick. They had also won their last three home games and were showing signs of life again after a torrid ending to the Ole Gunnar Solskjaer era.
However, on an evening in which United would have moved to within a point of the top-four places with a win, they were, despite the scoreline suggesting they were narrowly beaten by a goal to nil, outclassed by Bruno Lage's team, who were inspired by the brilliance of Joao Moutinho, who scored the winner, and Ruben Neves in the centre of midfield. The Portuguese duo, particularly Neves, bossed proceedings and were a class above everyone else on the pitch, highlighting United's need to strengthen their own midfield options more than ever.
United were completely outclassed in the engine room, with Moutinho and Neves overrunning and destroying the duo of Scott McTominay and Nemanja Matic. The midfield battle was so one-sided that it was borderline embarrassing, such was the way Wolves' Portuguese duo controlled the match with such ease.
But almost 12 months to the day since that 1-0 defeat at Old Trafford, which marked the worst possible start to 2022, United have the chance, against the exact same opponent, to show just how far they have come in the space of a year. Now blessed with the world-class presence of Casemiro, the intelligence of Christian Eriksen and the creativity of Bruno Fernandes, United's midfield has been transformed this season by Erik ten Hag.
Admittedly, though it is the norm in football nowadays, certainly at this level, United have had to part with a small fortune to bring their midfield up to standard, but the impact summer signing Casemiro has had on the Reds' midfield is nothing short of astounding. Working in tandem with fellow summer recruit Eriksen, with Fernandes operating slightly more advanced ahead of them, the Brazilian has played a key role in transforming the general opinion of the Reds' midfield.
They have gone from having the worst midfield among the Premier League's elite to one of the very best in next to no time. Casemiro, of course, has played a huge part in that, given his experience and world-class ability with and without the ball, but Ten Hag's coaching methods and smart thinking to rebuild the midfield in the way that he wants United to play cannot be underestimated.
After the defeat to Wolves last January, some United supporters were on their knees, almost begging the club to make a move for Neves. In truth, it is a wonder Wolves have managed to keep hold of him for so long, such is his quality. They saw him as the missing link that would have added a much-needed degree of control and quality to the team.
But in Casemiro and Eriksen, as well as Fernandes, who continues to play as influential a role as ever, even if he has not the goals and assists to show for it so far this season, United have found the perfect balance. It is a midfield trio that offers just about everything a manager could wish for: a defensive presence, intelligence, a sense of control and creativity.
United were chewed up and spat back out again when they faced Wolves at the start of the year. Now is their opportunity to prove just how much progress they have made.
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