Kick-off: 1630, 12/03/2023
Stadium: St James’ Park
TV: Sky Sports
Newcastle have had a frustrating time of late but we’re hoping they can grind out a welcome win when entertaining Wolves on Tyneside.
Six of the last eight meetings between these teams have ended 1-1, with each side shading a narrow victory during that time.
We’re taking 23/10 for the Magpies to prevail by any one-goal margin on this occasion for our first Newcastle vs Wolves prediction.
Howe still has faith in front men
After riding the crest of a wave for most of the campaign, Newcastle now face a test of character following a sticky spell.
United’s hopes of qualifying for the Champions League have faltered due to four Premier League games without a win.
Back-to-back top-flight defeats against Liverpool and Manchester City came either side of their EFL Cup final loss to Manchester United.
The main concern is a lack of goals, with none scored in their last three outings and only three netted in eight league fixtures.
However, the Magpies produced some nice build-up play when visiting the champions last weekend to give Eddie Howe hope of better things ahead.
He said: “I’m not going to lie and say it’s not a concern, because of course it is, but I think if you’re still creating chances, and we did here, then that’s a positive.
“We didn’t create an abundance of chances because we were playing against one of the best teams in world football, but we had moments and I back the players over the long term to start scoring again.
“We need to, that’s a fact, because the confidence of the team is dependent on it really. That’s certainly something for us to reflect on.”
Callum Wilson has looked out of touch but Howe has plenty of other options, with the likes of Alexander Isak, Allan Saint-Maximin and Joe Willock coming off the bench at Etihad Stadium.
Anthony Gordon has also shown some encouraging signs since joining from Everton in January.
Looking at the Newcastle vs Wolves odds, we’re going for United to shade this 1-0 at 21/4.
Last Newcastle line-up: Pope, Trippier, Botman, Lascelles, Burn, Joelinton, Longstaff, Guimaraes, Gordon, Wilson, Almiron.
Wanderers will battle hard
Wolves came close to beating Newcastle at Molineux back in August, when the Magpies snatched a last-gasp leveller in stoppage time to draw 1-1.
Wanderers have since had a change of manager but are doing well enough under Julen Lopetegui to pull a little way clear of relegation trouble.
Last Saturday’s 1-0 home win over Tottenham was a fourth victory in eight league games.
Adama Traore came off the bench to strike on 82 minutes for his first goal since October.
However, Lopetegui admitted: “I have to be honest to highlight Tottenham’s work, in the first half they overcame us.
“The second half we came better, we tried to work on the difficulties.
“In the end, we won but it was a very balanced match, very hard, as are all the matches in the Premier League.
“That’s what I want to highlight to the team in the bad moments, it’s important to keep going, keep working, and think of the next match. We have a lot of points ahead of us.”
This has all the makings of a tight tussle, especially in the opening period, when both teams are usually hard to break down.
We’re sticking with the Magpies to wear Wanderers down, though, so 16/5 for Draw HT/Newcastle FT completes our Newcastle vs Wolves betting tips.
Last Wolves line-up: Jose Sa, Dawson, Jonny, Semedo, Kilman, Lemina, Neto, Neves, Sarabia, Nunes, Costa.
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