Newcastle United look to end their rut but face a tricky Premier League contest against Wolves at St James’ Park.
Victory would see Newcastle climb to fifth in the table and four points off a top-four finish, whilst Wolves can go 12th with at least a draw at minimum.
Team News
Joelinton is suspended for Newcastle’s next two matches after he picked up his tenth booking of the season in a 2-0 defeat at Manchester City.
Fabian Schar (concussion) and Ryan Fraser (personal) are doubts but Emil Krafth (knee) remains absent.
Wolves could welcome Hwang Hee-Chan (hamstring) plus Boubacar Traore (groin) back into contention if pass late fitness tests.
Diego Costa (knee) is ruled out whilst Hugo Bueno (muscle), Chiquinho and Sasa Kalajdzic (both knee) remain absent.
When is Kick-Off?
Newcastle host Wolves at 4:30pm GMT at St James’ Park on Sunday 12 March, live on Sky Sports in UK.
Stat Attack
- Newcastle are unbeaten in six of their last seven meetings against Wolves (W1, D5, L1).
- Wolves are unbeaten in four of their last five visits to Newcastle (W2, D2, L1).
- Newcastle have scored first in each of their last three home matches against Wolves (W1, D2).
- Eddie Howe’s Magpies have kept three clean sheets in their last five league games at home (W2, D2, L1).
- Wolves have won just one of their five league matches away from home in 2023 (W1, D2, L2).
Prediction
Amidst their end product issues, Newcastle certainly haven’t let their intensity and quality drop because despite losing at Man City, they delivered what I felt was their best performance against the Citizens specifically in years but I will like to see them now start finishing their chances again.
Wolves meanwhile were clinical in their win over Tottenham in a positive attacking performance, yet there were moments of sloppy play out of defence into midfield despite strong defending, which will be key if they’re to survive.
Eddie Howe’s Magpies though could do with a win here if want to reignite their top-four challenge – especially given that they have two games in hand on Spurs, but I do feel like patience will be key here to break Wolves’ defence down given the visitors’ poor away form.
Prediction: Newcastle 1-0 Wolves
Result: Newcastle 2-1 Wolves
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