Rashford sat out a third successive game on Sunday as United crashed to a 3-0 Premier League home defeat to Bournemouth, the 27-year-old having also been omitted for a 2-1 derby win at Manchester City and Thursday’s 4-3 Carabao Cup quarter-final loss at Tottenham.

Two days before that Spurs defeat, Rashford had said in an eye-catching interview that he was “ready for a new challenge and the next steps” of a career which began in the United academy.

When is Wolves v Manchester United?

The match kicks off at 5.30pm GMT on Boxing Day, Thursday, 26 December at the Molineux Stadium in Wolverhampton.

How can I watch the match? 

Viewers in the United Kingdom can watch the match live on Amazon Prime Video, with the streaming service showing every Boxing Day fixture in the Premier League.

If you want to stream major sporting events while you are travelling or watching from abroad you’ll need a VPN. Get the best VPN deals in the UK. Viewers using a VPN need to make sure that they comply with any local regulations where they are, and also with the terms of their service provider.

Wolves XI: Sa; Doherty, Bueno, Gomes; Semedo, Andre, Gomes, Ait-Nouri; Guedes, Cunha; Larsen.

Man Utd XI: Onana; De Ligt, Maguire, Martinez; Mazraoui, Ugarte, Mainoo, Dalot; Diallo, Fernandes, Hojlund.

For United, there are no new injury concerns after the loss to Bournemouth, with Luke Shaw, Mason Mount and Victor Lindelof out. Matthijs de Ligt has missed the last two matches with an unspecified illness, so he could make a return at centre-back.

Wolves will welcome back Rayan ait-Nouri after he served his suspension in the win over Leicester, while Mario Lemina could also come back after suffering a calf strain. Boubacar Traore and Pablo Sarabia are unlikely to be back before the New Year, while long-term absentees Yerson Mosquera, Enso Gonzalez Medina and Sasa Kalajdzic remain unavailable.

Wolves beat fellow strugglers Leicester 3-0 away last time out, and they are now just two points behind the Foxes, though they are still just about in the relegation zone.

However, three points against United could take Wolves above Leicester – who face Liverpool today – and they will be more confident of getting a result after watching United lose 3-0 to Bournemouth last weekend.

Ruben Amorim’s side were humbled by the Cherries in a performance that’ll worry both fans and the manager, and they sit in 13th – the first time that they have spent Christmas in the bottom half since 1989.

United are nine points off Nottingham Forest in fourth, and they need a win here to relieve some of the pressure on the squad and their new manager.

Good afternoon and welcome to The Independent’s live coverage of this evening’s match between Wolves and Manchester United at the Molineux.

New manager Vitor Pereira is looking for two wins from his opening two matches after an impressive 3-0 victory in his first game in charge, while Ruben Amorim has just two wins in the league since taking charge in early November.

We’ll have all the latest news, build-up and updates here.