Wolves v Newcastle
Saturday 11th February, 17:30
Live on Sky Sports 1

Wolves

Wolves boss Paul Lambert is refusing to concede defeat in his team's bid to mount a push for the play-offs despite seeing his side slide to a disappointing 2-1 defeat at struggling Burton last Saturday.

The Black Country boys are 14 points adrift of the top-six and would require title-winning form between now and May to gatecrash the play-off party. On the evidence of last weekend alone, it's a losing battle.

Wolves mustered only three shots on-target and barely ventured into the Burton box during a wretched second-half display. Lambert was critical of his team's performance despite selecting the same outfield team that had beaten Liverpool a week earlier, blaming his side's defence for both goals conceded.

Captain Danny Batth is expected to be restored to the XI for Saturday's clash whilst Joe Mason should also be back in the fold after a knock kept him out of the Burton reverse.

Newcastle

Newcastle returned to the top of the Championship with a win over Derby County - but they did it the hard way. Matt Ritchie's deflected winner stole the points as the Toon again failed to take full control of the encounter.

Aleksandar Mitrovic was again guilty of missing a catalogue of opportunities but the Serbian might again be asked to lead the line with Rafa Benitez still sweating on the fitness of Dwight Gayle. Gayle's outstanding form - 20 goals in 22 league appearances - are responsible for 35% of the Magpies goal tally this term.

Despite a series of unconvincing performances, only four teams have picked up more points than the Magpies at this stage of a Championship season since 2000 and the table-toppers will fancy their chances of extending their advantage with another solid away display.

Benitez's tried-and-tested 4-2-3-1 formation has worked wonders on the road with Toon extremely difficult to break down. Solid defensively, and with the pace and quality to punish teams on the counter, Newcastle are the division's best on their travels.

Match Odds

Wolves upset the odds in the reverse fixture back in September to record their first league triumph over the Toon since 1993. The Black Country boys are rated 3.80 shots to complete the double on Saturday evening.

Paul Lambert's men start the first of five successive Molineux outings hoping to bounce back from their Burton defeat. And the hosts have made steady progress under the Scot, claiming six wins from 10 in all competitions of late.

However, no second-tier side has collected more points on the road than Newcastle (W10-D1-L3). The Magpies are the league's sharpest shooters away from St James' Park, notching 24 goals, and also boast the meanest away defence, keeping eight clean sheets.

The Toon 2.14 have taken maximum points from four of their five trips to top-half teams already this term and so whenever we're presented with the opportunity to support Rafa Benitez's boys at odds-against quotes, we should snap it up.

Over/Under 2.5 Goals

Since Paul Lambert was appointed at Molineux, nine of Wolves' 14 Championship outings have featured at least three goals. Seven of the hosts' last nine home dates with top-six opposition have also produced Over 2.5 Goals winners 2.18.

Considering Newcastle are the league's highest scorers - netting nine more than next best Barnsley - punters may be persuaded to back a goal-heavy game in the Black Country on Saturday evening.

But Newcastle are rarely involved in high-scoring encounters away from St James' Park. The Magpies have only once scored more than twice on their travels with the visitors leaking more than one goal on only two occasions - in one of those games Toon played for more than 45 minutes with just nine men.

Overall, 9/14 (64%) of Newcastle's away days have rewarded Under 2.5 Goals backers, making the 1.79 available on a repeat about he right price.



Recommended Bets
Back Newcastle to win @ 2.18

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