Wolverhampton Wanderers FC
Newcastle United
Newcastle United
Wolves aim to build on recent wins against inconsistent Newcastle
Wolves to win 3-1
The first five games for both Wolves and Newcastle have shown ups and downs that has characterised much of the Premier League so far.
Only one team, Aston Villa, has a 100% winning record, and on the whole teams have conceded as many goals as they have scored.
Wolves have been no exception and despite a successive season last time around, have not been as tough to play against as they would like. Still, they sit in 6th place, just one win behind Villa in 2nd.
Two points behind Wolves sit Newcastle in 13th place, such is how tight the teams in the league are bunched together this early on.
They have also looked good in patches, particular in their two wins so far. However, the same weaknesses that have troubled them in previous seasons are still there, proving that this could be a challenging season for them.
It’s all to play for.
Form Guide (all comps): WLLDW
Reasons to be cheerful:
Appear to be finding form after two wins on the bounce
Unbeaten in previous four matches against Newcastle
Reasons to be fearful:
Inconsistencies will trouble them
Haven’t kept a clean sheet in last 10 games against Newcastle
Slowly but surely, Wolves are starting to find their feet after a mixed start to the season.
Heavy defeats to West Ham (4-0) and Manchester City (3-1) will not have been received well by their manager, who prides himself on having a side known as hard to play against.
But by winning their last two matches, both by keeping a clean sheet, they have risen up the table to 6th, one place higher than they finished last season.
Their star striker, Raul Jimenez, is still scoring important goals. In fact, he’s scored more match-winning goals (10) since the start of last season than any other player, showing his importance to Wolves.
The fact that a win could take them as high as third this weekend should be incentive enough to turn up and put in a top performance against a Newcastle team struggling for form.
Star Man – Raul Jimenez
Only three players have scored for Wolves this season, and Jimenez has scored more than the other two combined.
Form Guide (all comps): WDWWL
Reasons to be cheerful
Have been dangerous attacking in patches this season
Have scored in all but one of their matches so far
Reasons to be fearful
Were completely outplayed against Manchester United last weekend
Will be open to the counter-attack
Newcastle have done some things very well this season.
Signing Callum Wilson is one of those, scoring four goals in his six games and has led the line brilliantly so far.
Tying down Allan Saint-Maximin to a new deal is also a positive for the Magpies – the pacey winger is surely one of the best dribblers in Europe and is hard to get the ball off.
Unfortunately, fans cannot be sure which Newcastle will turn up from match to match – sometimes producing fine performances, such as against Burnley, Spurs or West Ham, or putting in adject performances such as the one against Man United last weekend.
They should have enough over the course of the season to avoid relegation, but they must start picking up points with more consistency.
Star Man – Callum Wilson
With his strike partner Joelinton unable to provide goals with any consistency, Wilson will have to shoulder the burden this season
Wolves are a fitter, pacier team than Newcastle and will dominate possession
Likely that both teams will score
Wolves to win three games on the bounce
Wolves will back themselves to make it three wins on the bounce in the league this weekend.
Newcastle will certainly have their say, and are likely to score with neither side managing to keep too many clean sheets of late.
But there is some momentum finally building around Wolves, and their quality should be superior to their opponents.
Wolves to win 3-1
