Wolves in fine form

Three teams have maximum points after two outings, Manchester City, Manchester United and Wolves.

Wolves, who only made sure of their status last season on the final day of the campaign, have opened in sparkling form, gaining six points from their matches against Blackburn (away, 2-1) and Fulham (home, 2-0).

Manager Mick McCarthy is a disciple of attacking football and constantly urges his players to move forward. The back three of Robert Johnson, Richard Stearman and Christopher Berra had also shown unity and strength.

This afternoon Wolves will be involved in a Midlands derby, away at Aston Villa. The Villans are also undefeated with four points, a draw at Fulham (0-0) and a home win over Blackburn (3-1).

Incidentally, both Wolves and Villa played the same opponents.

Last season, Wolves won 1-0 at Villa Park. Overall Villa hold the upperhand in league duels with Wolves at home: 27-13.

In pre-season, Villa fans made their voices heard following the arrival of Alex McLeish as manager from Birmingham. It seems, they have now accepted the move and gave the Scot a warm reception.

Manchester City are more equipped than previous years to give illustrious neighbours United and the rest a real challenge for the major honours.

City beat Bolton by the odd goal in five in their last outing with forward Edin Dzeko appearing to have found his scoring boot, netting in all three matches for his team so far including the Community Shield clash against Man. United.

Tomorrow, City play Tottenham who came a cropper against United on Monday.

Spurs boss Harry Redknapp seems to have won the battle to retain Luca Modric and on Thursday he added striker Emanuel Adebayor to his ranks.

Tomorrow, United will be keen to add to their tally of points by beating misfiring Arsenal at Old Trafford.

Arsene Wenger remarked that he would never quit the club no matter what, particularly after the fans’ barracking at the end of the home loss to Liverpool last week.

The Frenchman’s youngsters showed their worth to beat Udinese 2-1 in Italy on Wednesday and progress to the group phase of the competition 3-1 on aggregate.

At Liverpool, boss Kenny Dalglish still thinks that his team needs to be strengthened even if now he has ten midfielders available.

Today, the Reds host Bolton, hoping to remain in winning form and in the hunt for a top-four berth.

New manager Andre Villas-Boas was satisfied that Chelsea had bolstered their forward department with the capture of Valencia midfielder Juan Mata in midweek.

Yet, his real relief must have been on Saturday when the Blues made a comeback to beat West Brom 2-1 in London. The Blues remain at Stamford Bridge this afternoon to host promoted Norwich.

Fixtures and forecast

Premier League

Aston Villa-Wolves (13:05) - X
Blackburn-Everton - X
Chelsea-Norwich - 1
Liverpool-Bolton (18:30) - 1
Swansea-Sunderland - X
Wigan-QPR (13:30) - 1

Tomorrow:
Man. United-Arsenal (17:00) - 1
Newcastle-Fulham (14:00) - 1
Tottenham-Man. City (14:30) - 2
West Brom-Stoke (16:00) - X

Standings: Manchester City, Man-chester United, Wolves 6; Aston Villa, Liverpool, Chelsea, Newcastle 4; Bolton, QPR 3; Norwich, Stoke, Wigan 2; Sunderland, Arsenal, Ful-ham, Swansea 1; Everton, West Brom, Blackburn, Tottenham 0.

The Championship

Brighton-Peterborough - 1
Crystal Palace-Blackpool - X
Derby-Burnley - 1
Doncaster-Bristol City - X
Hull-Reading - X
Ipswich-Leeds - 1
Leicester-Southampton - 1
Middlesbrough-Coventry - 1
Millwall-Barnsley - 1
Portsmouth-Cardiff - X

Tomorrow:
N. Forest-West Ham (14:15) - X
Watford-Birmingham (16:00) - X

League One

Bournemouth-Walsall - 1
Brentford-Tranmere - 1
Bury-Charlton - X
Colchester-Oldham - 1
Exeter-Chesterfield - 1
Huddersfield-Wycombe - 1
Leyton Orient-Carlisle - X
MK Dons-Stevenage - 1
Preston-Notts County - 1
Rochdale-Hartlepool - X
Sheffield Wed.-Scunthorpe - 1
Yeovil-Sheff. United (14:00) - 2

League Two

Accrington-Burton Albion - 1
Bradford-Barnet - 1
Bristol Rovers-Hereford - 1
Cheltenham-Crawley Town - 2
Dagenham-Torquay - X
Macclesfield-Wimbledon - X
Northampton-Morecambe - 1
Oxford United-Aldershot - 1
Plymouth-Crewe - X
Port Vale-Southend - 1
Rotherham-Gillingham - 1
Shrewsbury-Swindon - 1

Hot Four
Chelsea, Brighton, Middlesbrough, Huddersfield Town.