Preview: The key battles as Wolves take on Manchester City

During his time at Sevilla, Julen Lopetegui has not had the greatest of experiences when playing against Pep Guardiola's side, as they slumped to a 4-0 defeat in the Champions League earlier this season.

However, with fresh new faces that look to revitalise this Wolves team, they can make a strong statement in their survival hopes if they are to get a result on Sunday afternoon.

Ruben Neves v Ilkay Gundogan

A key battle we could see on Sunday may be the Wolves captain Ruben Neves up against Ilkay Gundogan.

Neves, who played the full 90 minutes against Liverpool on Tuesday, looks to continue his good form in the middle of the park, but will have a stern test against the German, who played 80 minutes against Spurs.

This will be a real challenge for Wolves' main man as he hopes to control the midfield against a world class opponent, and create danger with the passing qualities that he possesses.

Neves, who has averaged 60.83 passes per game this season, will hope he sees a lot of the ball and can dictate the play when given the chance.

Hugo Bueno v Riyad Mahrez

It will be a tough test for the young Spaniard Hugo Bueno as he will be up against Riyad Mahrez who is currently on red-hot form.

Mahrez, who has three goals in his last three games for the Manchester club, will look to continue this good run against Wolves, coming off the back of two goals against Spurs in a 4-2 win on Thursday night.

Bueno will need a strong performance to keep the Algerian quiet for the full 90 and may have support from team-mate Max Kilman.

Nathan Collins v Erling Haaland

Nathan Collins will look to redeem himself against the champions after receiving a red card in the reverse fixture earlier this season.

The young Irishman will be up against arguably the best striker in the Premier League and will have the role in stopping Erling Haaland from causing any real threat to the Wolves goal.

In recent times, Collins has put in some brilliant performances as he kept Michail Antonio quiet in the 1-0 win against the Hammers, and made some good tackles in the defeat to Liverpool.

Haaland, on the other hand, has struggled to recapture the record-breaking form he shown before the World Cup.

Although he scored against Spurs in their last match, he hasn't exactly shown the threat he possessed earlier this season, and will hope to do so once again against Wolves.

Daniel Podence v Rico Lewis

Daniel Podence has been one of the stand-out performers for Wolves since Lopetegui has taken the reigns, by scoring three goals since the new manager has come in.

He faces City academy graduate Rico Lewis, who Guardiola has relied on recently in that right-back position.

Lewis played 83 minutes in their win against Spurs where he succeeded in stopping Son Heung-min from causing any real threat.

Podence will be looking to continue his rich vein of form, on Sunday, and create chances down the left side which will arguably be the weakest flank in this City team.

Pablo Sarabia v Joao Cancelo

One of these key battles could come in the form of Pablo Sarabia as he may make his debut on the right side for Wolves and may face the versatile Joao Cancelo, who was rested for Thursday's match against Tottenham Hotspur.

The 30-year-old will hope to make an instant impact to the Wolves frontline since joining from French champions Paris Saint-Germain for £4.5million.

The left-footed winger notched 31 goal contributions in 47 games for Sporting last season, and hopes he can get off to a brilliant start in old gold.