Diogo Dalot has taken time to make himself a fixture at Man United but Erik Ten Hag has shown trust in the Portuguese full-back and he did okay in his first season under the Dutchman.

He will have an interesting battle on Monday night against a fellow Portuguese in Pedro Neto, the type that likes to get at his opponent 1 v 1 and create opportunities on his preferred left-foot.

Dalot committed a foul in 13 of his 24 league starts last season and 11 of his 20 when playing as a right-back. He averaged 0.9 during the 2021-22 campaign and 0.88 last season, evidencing that committing a foul is a fairly regular thing.

His direct opponent Neto was fouled 1.4 times per 90 minutes last season after recovering from a lengthy injury and before that, he was fouled 1.54 and 1.48 times per 90 minutes over longer campaigns, showing the threat he poses.

It’s worth noting that Dalot could find himself in central positions against Sarabia, who was fouled 0.94 times per 90 and Nunes could switch flanks, the wide man being fouled 1.79 times per 90.

An Argentinian centre-half expected to be aggressive and commit fouls? That will never catch on.

Lisandro Martinez proved a lot of people wrong last season, the under-six-foot centre-half making a mockery of those that made little of his height thanks to an aggressive approach and reading of the game that allowed him to step out of defence to challenge forwards and attacking midfielders that threatened his side.

Martinez actually finished last season by committing a foul 0.89 times per 90 minutes but he committed a foul in 15 of his 23 league starts during which he played more than a half of football, something that shouldn’t be a problem here.

He comes up against a Wolves side with a number of players that like contact. Mathias Cunha is expected to lead the line and he was fouled 1.96 times per 90 minutes last season. In the attacking midfield role should be Pablo Sarabia, who drew 0.94 fouls per 90 minutes. And to the right, the flank Martinez will have to cover when Luke Shaw steps forward or infield, Matheus Nunes, who was fouled 1.79 times.

United’s open style means that Martinez won’t just be up against a striker for 90 minutes and the players that threaten his section of the pitch evidently enjoy contact.

Wolves have lost a number of players this summer, none more important than Ruben Neves and Joao Moutinho, two players that have come to define the Wolves’ best period in a long, long time. Gary O’Neil will be looking for some much-needed Premier League experience in his midfield after a huge turnover in recent years and Mario Lemina provides that having made 97 appearances in England’s top flight for Southampton, Fulham and now Wolves.

Lemina showed his aggressive side last season, averaging 1.25 fouls per 90 and that was low for his standards – he committed 1.69, 1.73 and 1.47 fouls per 90 in his previous Premier League stints.

He will be tasked with leading Wolves’ midfield against Casemiro, Mason Mount and Bruno Fernandes, a top-class trio of footballers. All three were fouled more than once per 90 last season, Casemiro at 1.02, Fernandes at 1.06 and Mount, who is most likely to be in and around Lemina’s space, at 1.48.

Lemina is available at 1.29 to commit a foul during the 90 minutes. It’s likely that he plays the full 90, or close to it, given he’s the experienced figure that O’Neil can look towards on opening day so tired legs can be a factor too.