Key events
18 mins: Cunha drives at the Newcastle defence and wins a throw which gets the Wolves fans pretty excited. The Brazilian then calls for the supporters to make some more noise. It feels like an afternoon where the Molineux crowd need to inspire the team rather than vice versa.
16 mins: Hall and Gordon are looking lively on the left, while Isak is constantly looking to find a little space in order to cause some damage.
Lemina wins the ball on the edge of the box and instigates a counter, only to pass it to Strand Larsen who loses possession.
14 mins: Livramento goes through the back of Bellegarde and Chris Kavanagh rightly awards a free-kick.
12 mins: Wolves finally mount an attack, culminating in Semedo cutting in from the right and drilling a shot with his left but Pope gets out the long barrier to stop it.
Pope’s poor touch from a Hall pass almost allows Cunha to nick it off him but the goalkeeper just about gets the ball away.
10 mins: It is all Newcastle, Wolves have not started yet. They seem happy to let the visitors have the ball and hope for the best at this stage.
8 mins: Isak collects a pass on the halfway line, spins and plays a pass through the Wolves defence for Murphy who shoots first time but Johnstone is able to tip it over.
6 mins: Cunha does his best to drive Wolves over the halfway line but Joelinton is at his side and steals the ball away.
Isak spins to shoot in the Wolves box but Dawson chucks himself in front of it.
4 mins: Gordon chips a cross to the back post but there is one in a Newcastle shirt ready to pounce, allowing Ait-Nouri to head away.
Wolves are yet to make it out of their own half.
2 mins: Newcastle knock the ball around nicely in the first couple of minutes, whereas Wolves’ only involvements are Sam Johnstone sending an aimless long pass and Cunha fouling Livramento.
Kick off
Peep! Peep! Peep! Here we go!
Here come the teams …
Eddie Howe: “I think there is a lot to come from the team but I think we are in a good place. There is a really good spirit about the group but we know it will be a difficult away day and we need to be at our best.
“It is a good looking bench and we have a strong squad but it is short in numbers.”
Newcastle fan Chris Paraskevas gets in touch: “After three games we have seven points and Eddie Howe is doing his best Ridley Scott Press Tour impersonation every time he sits down for an interview (minus the expletives).
“I know I should be worrying about the present / future, but I still haven’t forgiven the club for the 8-0 A-League All Stars fiasco. It’s my own personal Hereford.
“Until we win by the same scoreline again, I won’t be satisfied and will continue leaving reminders on the club’s Instagram account.
…we are due a big win in the Black Country.”
In case you are wondering, it is chucking it down in Wolverhampton. Should make for a fun encounter – everyone likes football in the rain.
This is the tenth time these two teams have met at Molineux in the Premier League. Seven of those matches have ended in draws.
It’s finished in north London where Arsenal have beaten Tottenham 1-0 thanks to a Gabriel header.
Andre is making his full debut for Wolves and frankly I could tell you next to nothing about him but the club seem to being doing well in the Brazilian market so it will be interesting to see how he performs against an experienced Newcastle midfield.
Fun and games at Newcastle.
Starting lineups
Wolves (4-3-3): Johnstone; Semedo, Mosquera, Dawson, Ait-Nouri; Lemina, Andre, J. Gomes; Bellegarde, Strand Larsen, Cunha
Subs: Sa, Doherty, Bueno, Hwang, R. Gomes, Doyle, Sarabia, Forbs, Guedes
Newcastle (4-3-3): Pope; Livramento, Schar, Burn, Hall; Longstaff, Guimaraes, Joelinton; J Murphy, Isak, Gordon
Subs: Dubravka, Trippier, Tonali, Barnes, Krafth, Osula, Almiron, Kelly, Willock
Preamble
It truly is a never ending rollercoaster of fun in the Premier League as winless Wolves host Newcastle at Molineux. Another summer of being forced to sell their best players has resulted in shaky start for Gary O’Neil’s men as their new arrivals look to fill the gaps left by Maximilian Kilman and Pedro Neto.
In Wolves’ defence they have come up against Arsenal and Chelsea in the opening weeks of the campaign, although shipping six against the Blues at Molineux would have done little for morale.
Newcastle seem to be sold as being crisis over their own struggles in the transfer market but, according to the league table, they are unbeaten thus far, winning two of their opening three fixtures. Last time out they beat Tottenham and a third victory of the season would show that Eddie Howe is still doing a fine job in the north east.
Let’s hope for a cracker!
Kick-off: 4.30pm BST
