Wolvesvs.Man Utd

The 1950s were a successful decade for the two clubs, but after both suffering relegations since, they now find themselves back at the top table with each other again.

Here, Sports Mole takes an in-depth look at the head-to-head record and previous meetings between the two sides.

Head-to-head record

Previous meetings:

Wolves wins: 37

Draws: 20

Man Utd wins: 56

While Wolves have established themselves as Premier League regulars in the past few years, and even threatening the European places at times, modern-era meetings between these two have been rare.

Of the 113 meetings between Man United and Wolves, only 26 have been since the mid-1980s.

Wolves did not play in the Premier League until 2003, when they were relegated straight back to the Championship, but they still recorded a famous win over the then-reigning champions, with Kenny Miller scoring the only goal at Molineux.

In 2009, Wolves were promoted back to the top flight, but it was in the League Cup where these two had their most notable meetings in that time, with Man United knocking them out in back-to-back seasons, going on to win the trophy in 2009-10.

Unfortunately for Wolves, it was not long until they suffered relegation again, going down in the 2011-12 season, and some humbling defeats to Man United contributed to that, losing 9-1 across their two league fixtures in that campaign.

However, under the stewardship of Nuno Espirito Santo, Wolves returned to the top flight with a flourish in 2018, going unbeaten against the Red Devils in their first two seasons back.

As well as that, the Molineux faithful enjoyed a very famous FA Cup win over United, with goals from Diogo Jota and Raul Jimenez helping them to a 2-1 win in the quarter-finals.

In the eight meetings since 2020, United have regained supremacy in the fixture, winning seven of those head-to-heads, including one of the games of the season in the 2023-24 campaign.

United led 3-1, but were pegged back by late goals from Max Kilman, and a 95th-minute leveller by Pedro Neto, but Kobbie Mainoo popped up with a stunning goal of his own just moments later to hand Erik ten Hag's side a 4-3 win at Molineux.

That recent dominance from United in the fixture was seen back in 1892 too, when they were still known as Newton Heath, and their first meeting with Wolves remains the most one-sided between the two in history, running out 10-1 winners.

There have been many important encounters between the two in decades gone by as well, including an FA Cup semi-final in 1949 which went Wolves' way, with Sammy Smyth's goal seeing off Matt Busby's United on the way to lifting the famous trophy that year.

In 1965 and 1976, United beat Wolves in the FA Cup quarter-finals, but both ended up being in vain, as they would go on to lose the subsequent semi-finals in those years.

During the 1950s, unquestionably the most successful era in Wolves' history, that decade began with Man United doing the double over them on the way to a title win in 1951-52.

But after winning back-to-back titles in 1956 and 1957, Man United had their title taken off them by Wolves the following year on the way to going back-to-back themselves, and during that sensational spell, they enjoyed successive 4-0 wins over the Red Devils, including one at Old Trafford.

In a sign of the times though, a successful United side won the title in 1965, doing the double over a Wolves team that were ultimately relegated that same year.

Last 20 meetings

Feb 01, 2024: Wolves 3-4 Man Utd (Premier League)

Aug 14, 2023: Man Utd 1-0 Wolves (Premier League)

May 13, 2023: Man Utd 2-0 Wolves (Premier League)

Dec 31, 2022: Wolves 0-1 Man Utd (Premier League)

Jan 03, 2022: Man Utd 0-1 Wolves (Premier League)

Aug 29, 2021: Wolves 0-1 Man Utd (Premier League)

May 23, 2021: Wolves 1-2 Man Utd (Premier League)

Dec 29, 2020: Man Utd 1-0 Wolves (Premier League)

Feb 01, 2020: Man Utd 0-0 Wolves (Premier League)

Jan 15, 2020: Man Utd 1-0 Wolves (FA Cup Third Round Replay)

Jan 04, 2020: Wolves 0-0 Man Utd (FA Cup Third Round)

Aug 19, 2019: Wolves 1-1 Man Utd (Premier League)

Apr 02, 2019: Wolves 2-1 Man Utd (Premier League)

Mar 16, 2019: Wolves 2-1 Man Utd (FA Cup Quarter-Finals)

Sep 22, 2018: Man Utd 1-1 Wolves (Premier League)

Mar 18, 2012: Wolves 0-5 Man Utd (Premier League)

Dec 10, 2011: Man Utd 4-1 Wolves (Premier League)

Feb 05, 2011: Wolves 2-1 Man Utd (Premier League)

Nov 06, 2010: Man Utd 2-1 Wolves (Premier League)

Mar 06, 2010: Wolves 0-1 Man Utd (Premier League)

Last 10 Premier League meetings

Feb 01, 2024: Wolves 3-4 Man Utd (Premier League)

Aug 14, 2023: Man Utd 1-0 Wolves (Premier League)

May 13, 2023: Man Utd 2-0 Wolves (Premier League)

Dec 31, 2022: Wolves 0-1 Man Utd (Premier League)

Jan 03, 2022: Man Utd 0-1 Wolves (Premier League)

Aug 29, 2021: Wolves 0-1 Man Utd (Premier League)

May 23, 2021: Wolves 1-2 Man Utd (Premier League)

Dec 29, 2020: Man Utd 1-0 Wolves (Premier League)

Feb 01, 2020: Man Utd 0-0 Wolves (Premier League)

Aug 19, 2019: Wolves 1-1 Man Utd (Premier League)

Written by

Andrew Delaney