Wolves vs Man City LIVE: Premier League result and reaction as John Stones nets winner in late drama

It’s still early days in the Premier League, but here’s the report on a potentially pivotal evening on the south coast yesterday...

Mikel Arteta lamented the “impossible task” faced by Arsenal following William Saliba’s red card as they fell to a 2-0 defeat at Bournemouth to miss the chance to go top of the Premier League.

The defender was dismissed after 30 minutes following a VAR review for hauling down striker Evanilson near the halfway line and denying him a clear run on goal.

It set the stage for a first league loss this season for Arteta’s side who conceded a second-half rocket to Ryan Christie before Justin Kluivert’s late penalty, though the story could have been different had Gabriel Martinelli not fired a golden chance straight at goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga moments before the Scot’s opener.

Pep Guardiola refused to say whether he was approached over the England job before the Football Association appointed Thomas Tuchel, as he wished the German “the very best” in charge of the national team.

The Independent reported that Guardiola was seen as the top choice for the England job following Gareth Southgate’s resignation and the FA were prepared to wait for the Manchester City boss ahead of the 2026 World Cup.

However, talks between the FA and Tuchel accelerated earlier this month after initial contact was made in August and the German will take charge in January with interim Lee Carsley overseeing next month’s camp.

FA chief executive Mark Bullingham revealed at Tuchel’s unveiling that “approximately 10 candidates” were interviewed, including some from England, although Newcastle boss Eddie Howe said he was not contacted.

Manchester City have won seven of the last eight league meetings, scoring a total of 25 goals in those games. Their only defeat during that period was by 2-1 at Molineux last season.

Wolves are aiming to win consecutive home league games against Manchester City for the first time since a run of three between 1982 and 1996.

City have dropped points in three of their six Premier League visits to Molineux.

Manchester City have been dealt an injury set-back with Kevin De Bruyne unable to start their fixture against Wolves as the Premier League resumes after the international break.

De Bruyne had missed the last five matches in all competitions for Pep Guardiola’s side, and has asked not to be considered for Belgium duty across the next couple of months as he balances a busy schedule ahead of the Club World Cup next summer.

And while there were hopes that he may be fit to feature fully as the champions travel to Molineux for a meeting with Wolves, Guardiola on match eve provided an unencouraging update on the fitness of the Belgian and teammate Nathan Ake.

Wolves forward Hwang Hee-chan misses out after injuring his ankle playing for South Korea joining Enso Gonzalez, Sasa Kalajdzic, Yerson Mosquera and Boubacar Traore on the sidelines.

Meanwhile, Manchester City are definitely without Kevin De Bruyne, Rodri and Oscar Bobb with the latter two long-term absentees.

Nathan Ake remains a doubt.

Welcome to The Independent’s coverage of today’s Premier League action as Manchester City travel to the midlands to face Wolves in Sunday’s early kick off.

The champions were given a boost yesterday as title rivals Arsenal slipped up with a 2-0 loss to Bournemouth after William Saliba was sent off for denying a goal-scoring opportunity when he dragged down forward Evanlison.

If City triumph at Molineux today they will move to the top of the table ahead of Liverpool’s crucial clash with Chelsea. It’s an equally important encounter for Wolves.

They’re struggling in the table, sitting 19th having collected just one point from their first seven matches. Manager Gary O’Neil is under pressure but taking points off the reigning champions will be a big success.

We’ll have all the team news, line-ups and latest updates throughout the afternoon so stick with us as we build up to kick off at 2pm.