Key events
14 min: Gomes steals in on a Hall mistake, and then plays in Tchatchoua, whose cross is dangerous but cleared by Botman. The Botman calls anyone?
Newcastle break at speed and Barnes whips in a beauty of a cross. Woltemade really should have scored. It’s end to end…not a bad game so far.
12 min: Andre and Joao Gomes are the schemers looking for runners. The home crowd urge movement from the forwards.
11 min: Wolves don’t do much with the free-kick. The action is a bit more even than Eddie Howe would like. This does feel a very different Wolves than what we saw in the first half of the season.
10 min: Mosquera is everywhere, and now he robs Woltemade, plays a give and go and then is hacked down by Hall. That looked worthy of a yellow, but nothing given of that nature.
8 min: Mosquera steps forward to clear when a Trippier free-kick causes a bit more panic. The same defender aims a ball into the Newcastle box for which there are no takes and Mosquera asks why nobody seems interested.
6 min: Some panic as Hall zings in a pass to Barnes, and it takes Hugo Bueno to clear the danger. Barnes was uncharacteristically slow to react to that.
4 min: Lewis Hall’s kick swerves in dangerously but misses everyone. Sa takes his time over his goal kick. Tchatchoua goes on a run down the wing, and eventually Arokodare is offside.
3 min: Wolves pushing up in shape. They have been far better organised than under Vitor Pereira. They are asked to defend a corner early doors.
Away we go at Molineux
1 min: Sandro Tonali takes the ball deep as Newcastle attempt to pass their way through. Harvey Barnes gets an early touch from a Woltemade layoff. Good energy from the home fans. How long will that last?
Here’s Jeff Beck’s Hi Ho Silver Lining, with the Led Zep medley you will always hear in pre-match at Molineux.
The weather is so awful that Jose Sa, in bringing on a toddler as a sponsor, perhaps his own son, asked for a coat to put on the poor mite.
The weather in Wolverhampton is seasonably dreadful, gun metal skies opening.
Eddie Howe spoke to Sky Sports: ““With everything we have coming up this month it’s about players feeling good. I’m pleased with the team, I like the look of us.
“Hopefully that fatigue is gone and we are back to our best physically. Mentally they have been really good and I expect them to be. It’s a great month for us.
“They have done well in recent games, been very competitive. They have rhythm. For us the start of the game is going to be absolutely crucial.”
Rob Edwards spoke to the BBC about the Wolves revival: “It’s still early days but performances have steadily been getting better. It’s nice now that has been backed with results. Results feed confidence and belief.”
For Wolves, no Jorgen Strand Larsen in the starting lineup despite his hat-trick against Shrewsbury, and Andre into the team instead of Jhon Arias is the one change from the draw with Everton.
Kieran Trippier in for Lewis Miley among four changes in the Newcastle team. Nick Woltemade is back, with Yoane Wissa benched. Sandro Tonali and Harvey Barnes in, Jacob Ramsey and Jacob Murphy out.
The teams
Wolves: Sa, Tchatchoua, Mosquera, S Bueno, Krejci, H Bueno, Andre, J Gomes, Mane, Hwang, Arokodare. Subs: Johnstone, Lima, Doherty, Agbadou, Wolfe, Lopez, R Gomes, Arias, Strand Larsen
Newcastle: Pope, Trippier, Thiaw, Botman, Hall, Joelinton, Tonali, Guimaraes, Gordon, Barnes, Woltemade. Subs: Ramsdale, Wissa, Elanga, Willock, Murphy, Ramsey, Shahar, Neave, Miley.
Among the glints of light at Wolves, there is Mateus Mané.
Preamble
Wolves looked dead and buried but now, if relegation is still close to a certainty, there are signs of life. Newcastle, whose form had improved until being well beaten by Manchester City in the Carabao, find themselves up against a motivated opponent. Wolves are unbeaten in 2026, and the atmosphere at Molineux is much improved. Can it continue?
Kick-off is 2pm UK time. Join me.
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