Man City must change negative feeling after shock Bodo/Glimt loss, says Guardiola

Pep Guardiola knows his Manchester City side must push away pessimistic thoughts following their 3-1 defeat to Bodo/Glimt in the Champions League on Tuesday.

Guardiola watched on as his team were stunned at Aspmyra Stadion, with Kasper Hogh’s quickfire brace doing the damage in the first half before Jens Petter Hauge added a stunning third after the break, with Rodri also being sent off.

Indeed, City suffered their first defeat when facing opposition from a particular nation for the very first time in major European competition since March 2011, away to Dynamo Kyiv in the Europa League (2-0 loss).

The defeat came off the back of a poor run in the Premier League, where they have taken just three points from their last four matches, which included an underwhelming display in a 2-0 defeat to city rivals Manchester United.

Wolves are the visitors to the Etihad Stadium this weekend, and Guardiola has urged his squad to try and change the feeling that everything is going wrong at present.

“We have to come back – the results since 2025 are not good, in terms of the Premier League and now here [at Bodo],” Guardiola said.

“But we go forward, Wolves and then Galatasaray. We have the feeling everything is going wrong, the details, but we have to try and change that.

“I don’t have any doubts about this competition, nothing is taken for granted, that is for sure.

“United beat us and were better. Today [Bodo] had momentum. But the team was there, and we created – on the transition they are really good.”

Defeat in Norway.

3-1 pic.twitter.com/GhgBecuyG2

— Manchester City (@ManCity) January 20, 2026

City will, however, face a tough test against a resurgent Wolves side, who maintained their upturn by holding Newcastle United to a goalless draw last time out.

Wolves became the first side to go four games unbeaten in a top-flight season while bottom of the table throughout that run since West Brom between April and May 2018 (five).

But Rob Edwards’ side remain down in 20th place and 14 points adrift of 17th-placed Nottingham Forest, with the Opta supercomputer assigning them a 0.3% chance of avoiding relegation to the Championship.

And while many believe they are consigned to their fate, full-back Hugo Bueno has not ruled out the possibility of his team pulling off the unthinkable.

“We are 100% more solid and competitive now. We are really confident in the work we are doing, but we just need to get those wins,” Bueno said.

“Even though right now the draws are a good result, we are not happy because we know we have to get more wins, and we will fight for that.

“Hopefully the next one is going to be a win.”

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Man City – Erling Haaland

Despite his recent goal drought, Haaland has scored more Premier League goals against Wolves than any other player (10).

He’s netted exactly one goal, two goals, three goals and four goals in games against them, one of only three players to do so against an opponent after Robbie Fowler (versus Bolton Wanderers) and Harry Kane (against Leicester City).

Wolves – Mateus Mane

Since the start of December, 18-year-old Mane has the most goals (two) and goal involvements (three) for Wolves in the Premier League.

The talented teenager also ranks second for most shots (12) and touches in the opposition box (15) for the club in that time.

MATCH PREDICTION: MAN CITY WIN

Man City have won 10 of their last 11 Premier League games against Wolves, with the exception being a 2-1 loss at Molineux in September 2023, with Gary O’Neil in the home dugout.

The Citizens are also unbeaten in their last 30 Premier League games against sides starting the day bottom of the table (W24 D6), since losing three in a row between November and December 2008 (against Bolton, Tottenham and West Brom). At home, they have won their last nine against bottom-placed sides by an aggregate score of 36-0.

Though they’ve lost just one of their last 10 Premier League games (W6 D3), Guardiola’s side are winless in their last four (D3 L1). They last went longer without a win between October and November 2009 (seven consecutive draws under Mark Hughes).

Wolves, meanwhile, are unbeaten in their last four league games (W1 D3), earning twice as many points (six) in this run as they did in their previous 22 matches (W0 D3 L19).

However, Wolves have won just one of their 11 Premier League away games against Manchester City (D1 L9), losing the last five in a row since a 2-0 victory under Nuno Espirito Santo in October 2019.

In addition, no side has failed to score in more different Premier League games than Wolves this season (11). However, Rob Edwards’ team have kept a clean sheet in two of their last three league games, having conceded at least once in each of their previous 23.

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

Man City – 77.4%

Draw – 13.6%

Wolves – 9.1%