English Premier League Week 10 Preview: Will Anyone Make It Out Of Wolves/City Intact?

Fresh off of a schalacking at the hands of Arsenal, Manchester City hits the road to take on a rough Wolverhampton Wanderers side in a match that they must handle if they are to have any part of a Premier League title chase. While everyone makes note of the big matches, such as last week's match versus the Gunners, one of the lesser talked about but equally important thing a club must to to compete for a title is be able to handle the bottom dwellers in the league. That is what Manchester City, even on points with Arsenal and Manchester United five points behind league leading Chelsea, must do when they take to the pitch at the Molineux to face Wolves, who are even with West Ham at the bottom of the table.

Good teams will be knocked down from time to time and just like they need to take care of the lesser teams, good teams also need to show the ability to bounce back and that is what City will attempt to do on Saturday. Dedryck Boyata will watch the match from afar after being sent off last week and Carlos Tevez is back in Argentina, giving Emmanuel Adebayor a chance to shine. Wolves are coming off of a 3-2 midweek loss to Manchester United in Carling Cup action and a 2-0 loss at Chelsea last weekend, but they have shown a willingness to attack no matter the venue. That attacking intent gives Wolves a chance to snag some points at home from City if The Citizens come out lackadaisical, but Wolves has yet to keep a clean sheet on the campaign.

Projected Lineup, Wolves: Hahnemann, Van Damme, Foley, Berra, Stearman, Mancienne, Henry, Jones, Jarvis, Hunt, Doyle

Projected Lineup, Manchester City: Hart, Boateng, Kompany, Lescott, Richards, De Jong, Y Toure, Milner, Barry, Silva, Adebayor

Key Matchup: Marcus Hahnemann versus the Manchester City attack. When you're dealing with a team that has a decent goalkeeper in Hahnemann, but still doesn't have a single clean sheet in 12 matches in all competitions this season, you're not getting sufficient play from your defense. The Wolves back line has not been very good and even without Tevez, City has Adebayor, David Silva, Gareth Barry and James Milner in the attack. Odds are that The Citizens get their looks at goal and Hahnemann will have to have a fantastic match to give Wolves a chance.

Battle Within the Battle: Nigel de Jong versus Karl Henry. Who breaks a leg first? Will it be de Jong or Henry or in some form of soccer karma could they break each others' leg in the same tackle? de Jong has carved out quite the reputation as a punishing tackler having broken Stuart Holden's leg for the Netherlands in a friendly last season, dealt Xabi Alonso a karate kick in the 2010 World Cup Final and an ugly tackle earlier this season resulted in Hatem Ben Arfa breaking two bones in his leg. On the flip side is Henry, who broke Bobby Zamora's leg earlier this season and will make his return from a three-match suspension on Saturday for a horrific tackle on Wigan's Jordi Gomez. Will anyone make it out of this match intact with de Jong and Henry on the pitch?