Newcastle look to bounce back at Wolves after Champions League blip
Eddie Howe’s Newcastle United head to Wolverhampton Wanderers’ Molineux Stadium this Saturday, with hopes of getting back to winning ways after their first loss in Europe.
Domestically, Newcastle are living up to expectations; currently sitting in sixth place, the Magpies are on a five game unbeaten streak and have scored 24 goals in just nine games, averaging out at 2.67 goals a game. Their 8-0 win against Sheffield United and recent 4-0 victory versus Crystal Palace shows that the Newcastle’s attacking players are clinical and any sign of weakness, they can take advantage of. However, as Wednesday night proved, playing high possession attacking football can also be taken advantage of – can Gary O’Neil’s Wolves exploit Newcastle the same way Borussia Dortmund did?
Wolves struggled to find a goalscoring touch at the start of the season; a controversial 1-0 defeat in their opening game, away to Manchester United, saw them already on the backfoot for the coming season. After just one win in their first five league games, a hard earned draw, away at newly promoted Luton has sparked a turn in form. A shock win against Manchester City back in September now see’s Wolves unbeaten in four, and O’Neil’s men now look to take advantage of Newcastle’s short turnout.
Newcastle United were last seen in the Champions League back in 2002 – summer signing Lewis Hall wasn’t even born yet. A fresh challenge to Howe’s men also comes with adjustment; the majority of the side have never played in a European competition before, let alone the Champions league. With this, comes a tight schedule – Wolves will be coming into Saturday’s late kick-off being the much fresher of the two and tactically, more prepared.
Team news
Wednesday night’s fixture saw both Alexander Isak and Jacob Murphy come off with injuries during the game. Eddie Howe stated in his post match interview that Isak had picked up a recurring groin injury and Murphy looked to have potentially dislocated a shoulder: “We’ve got a small squad as it is. That’s probably the most disappointing thing of the night.” The Magpies boss expressed his concerns over an ever growing injury list. Harvey Barnes and Sven Botman are set to be sidelined until next year.
After missing out through suspension, both Nelson Semedo and Mario Lemina are expected to return to the Wolves side. Gary O’Neil mentioned last week that Matt Doherty was struggling with a groin injury and it is yet to be heard whether or not he is back fit. Jean-Ricner Bellegarde picked up a suspension last month since then he has had a slight muscular injury and is hoping to be back match fit soon alongside teammate Hugo Bueno, who is still also trying to return to match fitness.
Head to head
Over the last 16 meetings between both sides, the final result has ended in a draw 10 times. Wolves have failed to beat the North-East side on the past three occasions. Overall, Newcastle have made up four of the wins in total, with Wolves only ever beating Newcastle twice.
Last time the sides met in the West-Country it finished 1-1, with ex-Newcastle star Allan Saint-Maximin finding a 90th minute equalizer.
Verdict
If Eddie Howe’s side are able to overcome their ever growing injury list and another short turnaround from their midweek antics, it could be another comfortable win for them this season. However, if a Champions League hangover is present, Wolves will be looking to capitalize and as proven so far this season with their results a win could be on the cards for the West-Midlands side.
