EPL Match Preview: Wolverhampton v Newcastle United
Wolverhampton Wanderers are all set to take on Newcastle United in what is expected to be a relegation thriller for both the clubs. Wolves drew their last English Premier League match against Everton and were promoted to the top division of English league football in the 2009-2010 season. On the other hand, Newcastle earned their promotion only recently after doing well in the 2009-2010 Championship season and were previously relegated from the EPL.
The Wanderers are unbeaten in their last five matches and they have managed to win four out of them while only a single match resulted in a draw. Conversely, the Magpies have won only two out of their last five matches as the other two were lost and one drawn. Newcastle won their last league match against Aston Vila with an emphatic six goals to nil thumping, so one can expect them to be high on confidence.
Wolves’ manager Mick McCarhty would be eager to put a marker down for his team who just also managed to win in the mid-week Carling Cup fixture against Southend United. Southend gave Wolves a real fight and the Premier League outfit had to win in extra time to seal their progression to the next round. Newcastle also played in mid-week against Accrington in the Carling Cup’s second round matches.
Alternatively, Wolves might approach the match with an attacking line up as McCarthy might drop his usual pragmatic 4-5-1 in favor of a more offensive 4-4-2, with Kevin Doyle leading the line for his team. They will also gain confidence from the fact that Newcastle have only managed to win once at the Molineux stadium in their last eighteen matches at the venue. McCarthy is expected to play with Jarvis, Jones, Henry and Edwards in midfield to counter Newcastle’s aggressive combo of Gutierrez, Joey Barton and Alan Smith along with Routledge.
One of the key contests of the match will be between, Andy Carroll and Craddock. Carroll will be in a high mood after scoring his first professional hat-trick for Newcastle United against Villa while Craddock has looked brilliant in defense for Wolves ever since his comeback. It seems safe to say that this battle will decide the course of the match as Newcastle will surely look to use their tall centre forward as the fulcrum of their attack.
On the other hand, Wolves will be looking to their striker, Doyle to wreck havoc in Newcastle’s fragile defense as the former Reading striker earned a lot of praise in last season’s EPL for his brave displays. Newcastle are underdogs for this match but with both the teams equally matched on paper, a scored draw seems like an inevitable outcome for this Premier League encounter.
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