Wolves v Man City preview: Bruno Lage using time well to bring Wolves up to speed

Despite failing to win in five Premier League games, before they broke that duck against Southampton two weeks ago, Lage’s role was never truly in jeopardy.

When he calls for ‘time and patience’ he insists that is to get the players up to speed with the new system and particularly allow the new signings time to adapt.

He makes one very good point – look at the difference between the squad that started pre-season and the one he has at his disposal now. Although they have been working on the new shape for some time now, there are plenty of players that are new to the club and working with Lage.

The enforced break last weekend after the death of Queen Elizabeth II meant Wolves did not play their scheduled fixture away at Liverpool.

It may have been a good time to play the out-of-sorts Reds, and capitalise on some momentum following their win over Southampton, but the rest did give Wolves some valuable training time.

Although the players would have been awarded some time off and an opportunity to recover – which is equally as important – Lage will have had more of an opportunity to obsess over the tactical nuances that make his team tick.

It is also much better not to face Liverpool and Manchester City back-to-back, in what are surely the most difficult two fixtures in world football, despite Liverpool’s form.

Lage wants time to get his players up to speed and pledges that the supporters will see the benefit before long. The talent is there, they just need to bring it all together.

But the challenge tomorrow afternoon against City is monumental. They may have recently drawn with Villa and Newcastle in the league, just squeezed through a Champions League tie with Borussia Dortmund on Wednesday and then had a quick turnaround, but their quality is clear.

Pep Guardiola – and four-goal Kevin De Bruyne – masterminded a 5-1 win at Molineux in May and arrive in the Black Country with even more firepower this year.

Their focus in attack is slightly different this year, but even more threatening, with the deadly Erling Haaland leading the line.

In some ways, however, that could make Nathan Collins and Max Kilman’s job more straightforward as the danger is more linear – they know where it’s coming from, as opposed to deep runs from several different threats.

Stopping Haaland, however, is another matter and Wolves’ centre-backs will be key to the hosts picking up a result.

At the other end, it will be fascinating to see how much of a role Diego Costa can play. He has warned he will need two or three weeks to be ready, but a dramatic cameo from the bench is certainly not out of the question yet. The former Chelsea man would love to make his belated entrance.