Attention swings back to the Premier League for Wolves with a trip to Newcastle United, and wolves.co.uk presents the talking points ahead of kick-off.
1 | Roll Call
Vitor Pereira has been handed a triple injury boost before heading to the north east, with Nelson Semedo, Craig Dawson and Matheus Cunha all set to travel. The trio are returning from injuries and – in Cunha’s case – a two-match ban. Toti remains absent with a hamstring problem, but Mario Lemina returns from illness to join the group. Sam Johnstone was between the sticks at Ashton Gate on Saturday, with Jose Sa rested, and the head coach must make a decision his goalkeeper. Should be start once again, Emmanuel Agbadou will be making his Premier League debut on Wednesday.
The December Player of the Month Alexander Isak looks set to return to the Newcastle side, having missed their FA Cup tie with Bromley at the weekend. He’ll be assessed in training on Tuesday according to Eddie Howe, with his injury described as “minor”. The Magpies will be without the services of Harvey Barnes however, with a muscle injury in his thigh looking set to keep him out for around one month. Howe hinted that Sven Botman was suffering with fatigue following United’s Carabao Cup semi-final with Arsenal, so missed the Bromley tie. Like Botman, Jacob Murphy and Joe Willock will be assessed before Wednesday.
2 | The Stat Pack
Goals
- Matheus Cunha | 10
- Alexander Isak | 13
Assists
- Rayan Ait-Nouri | 5
- Jacob Murphy | 6
Biggest win
- Fulham 1-4 Wolves | November 2024
- Ipswich 0-4 Newcastle | December 2024
Yellow cards
- Joao Gomes | 6
- Joelinton | 7
Clean sheets
- Jose Sa | 3
- Martin Dubravka | 4
3 | Journey to Saturday
Wolves restored the “positive energy” Vitor Pereira was looking for on Saturday by winning at Bristol City in the third round of the Emirates FA Cup. It provided a perfect response to the head coach’s first defeat in the dugout, with Rayan Ait-Nouri and Rodrigo Gomes scoring against the Robins. The defeat to Nottingham Forest looked comprehensive on paper, but Wolves had the better of things for large parts of the game and will take heart from their performance still. On the road, Pereira has led the Old Gold to three points at Leicester City and a credible late draw at Tottenham Hotspur, so will head to the north east with full belief in his side.
Newcastle head into Wednesday’s clash on the back of an eight-match winning run in all competitions. Five of those successes came in the Premier League, alongside two wins in the Carabao Cup and the progression over Bromley on Sunday, courtesy of goals from Lewis Miley, Anthony Gordon and William Osula. Last week they beat Arsenal 2-0 away from home in the Carabao Cup semi-final first leg. The Magpies last won in the Premier League at Tottenham Hotspur on 4th January, following Christmas victories over Ipswich Town, Aston Villa and Manchester United. Howe’s men are the in-form side in the division.
A fourth goal of the season for Rayan 💪 pic.twitter.com/MVCFDcSVNQ
— Wolves (@Wolves) January 12, 2025
4 | Doc steals it at the death
Back in December 2018, Wolves recorded a memorable win at St James’ Park thanks to a winner from the man who captained the Old Gold on Saturday. Matt Doherty was the hero in the north east, heading home the rebound after Diogo Jota’s shot was blocked deep into injury time. The Portuguese had given his side the lead earlier in the game, before Ayoze Perez equalised for the hosts. Newcastle played the final 33 minutes with 10 men following DeAndre Yedlin’s red card, and Wolves eventually made them pay with Doherty’s headed four minutes into stoppage time.
Newcastle | Dubravka, Yedlin, Lascelles, Fernandez (Manquillo 46), Clark, Ritchie, Diame, Ki, Atsu (Kenedy 89), Perez, Rondon (Joselu 86).
Wolves | Patricio, Doherty, Bennett, Coady, Boly, Vinagre, Saiss (Jimenez 60), Neves, Costa (Moutinho 76), Jota, Adama (Gibbs-White 60).
