For a team who, at the beginning of the season, were expected to be fighting relegation to be travelling to St James Park intending to firmly establish their place in the top half of the Premier league is an awesome achievement, which reflects extremely well on the management team and the playing squad.
Wolves face the long journey up to Newcastle this week to prepare for their third game in six days which will surely have an impact on the players fitness and raise the risk of more injuries. However these are the cards they have been dealt and hopefully the players who were rested for the midweek Cup win over Brighton will be fresh for today's game. Wolves will be without Hwang Hee Chan due to a hamstring issue, although in truth his performances since returning from the Asia Cup have been subdued and somewhat erratic, so perhaps he needs a period of rest and recovery. Matheus Cunha is also still rehabilitating, but Joao Gomez and Mario Lemina are expected to be fit.
It remains to be seen how Gary O'Neil will address the shortfall in strikers - whether Nathan Fraser will get a run out or the willing runners Pedro Neto, Jean-Ricard Bellegarde and Pablo Serabia will be relied upon with support from midfield. Bellegarde certainly presented a tangible threat down the left wing on Wednesday evening, working well with Rayan Ait-Nouri, and complementing the work done on the opposite side by Neto, but this does not provide the team with an effective striking option in the middle of the box!! In defence Santi Bueno was widely praised for the performance he put in, but will presumably step aside for the return of Craig Dawson today. Similarly Matt Doherty will probably be replaced by Nelson Semedo at right wing back.
Newcastle have been blighted by a lengthy list of injuries to their players for much of the season which has reduced the potential many fans saw in them at the outset, but some of their players are now returning to fitness, notably Alexader Isaak and Harvey Barnes, who alongside Anthony Gordon are likely to pose a serious threat to our defence.
Today's game is scheduled to kick off at 3pm and will not be televised live. Highlights will be available on Match of the Day tonight. Our referee will be the impressive Tim Robinson - who was in charge for our game at Chelsea - with David Coote on VAR Duty.
This board will endeavour to provide regular updates on the progress of the game for those who want them, whilst members and visitors are encouraged to post their own observations and thoughts and to join in the conversation.
Match Thread: Newcastle United vs Wolves
Posted by: Wolves (IP Logged)
Date: 02/03/2024 12:41
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Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2024:03:16:08:37:42 by Cheshire wolf.
No big surprises with Dawson and Semedo back and Neto upfront with Hwang out.
But Tommy Doyle keeping his spot ahead of Gomez; did we know Joao was injured
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2024:03:02:14:51:46 by chicagowolf.
Sad to see Joao Gomez unfit for today's game due to a tight hamstring which had been played down before today, but Tommy Doyle is a good replacement to have. Semedo and Dawson reclaim their places, and as expected we have a front line of Serabia, Bellegarde and Neto. Line-up:
Long stretch of attacking play from Wolves eventually breaks down with a poor RAN pass, Utd break and Bruno’s cross loops up off Max’s leg straight in to the head of Isaak for him to open the scoring
Utd 1 Wolves 0
Utd break again and Burn is unmarked in the area but he hits it wide. Lemina gets to byline and his pass back is cut out for a corner which Toti heads just over
Whistle goes and first half ends with a two goal lead for Newcastle. Wolves have played OK but run out of opportunities in the final third, whereas Utd have had the rub of the green twice which have both led to easily taken goals. We are clearly lacking a central target man, and Bellegarde has failed to have the hoped for impact on the left side. An uphill battle for Wolves in second half.
Half time: Newcastle 2 Wolves 0
RAN having a tough time and we look a bit out of ideas. Newcastle are playing our game, defend and break, and their luck is holding. Maybe bring on Doherty?
Towards the end of first half Neto went up for a header and appeared to hurt his ankle when he landed & has now been replaced by Nathan Fraser. Dan Bentley also on for Jose Sa who may have hurt himself when the first goal was scored.
Good steady buildup by Wolves ends when Max’s centre is just too high for Pablo. Wolves still looking for a shot on target! Bellegarde shoots just too high from just inside the area.
Great play by Mario to set up Fraser whose shot on target is well cleared by Dubravka. Pablo shoots from an acute angle and some it’s kept out for a corner. Triple change for Utd, with Isaak, Murphy and Willock being replaced by Almiron, Barnes and Wiley
Livramento breaks into the area, trips over RAN and still connects with the ball to put it past Dan B! The third goal with a lucky twist!!
Utd 3 Wolves 0
Final whistle goes and despite a far better second half showing from Wolves it was still a step too far for them with such a limited squad availability. Newcastle definitely had the rub of the green with their goals and struggled to have any impact in the second 45, but then Wolves couldn’t get past Dubravka either with several good attempts, and their pursuit of goals left them open at the back which was eventually taken advantage of. Still Wolves remain above Chelsea in 10th place.
Full time: Newcastle 3 Wolves 0
Got found out today with so many injuries to key players in such a small squad so today's result is no surprise.
Thought we started the game ok and were the better side for a while.
Goals change games and unfortunately Newcastle got it and it was always going to be a tall order getting back into the game with so many players missing.
Oh well onto fulam who have found some form of late, let's hope we get some key players back.
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