Wolves v Newcastle: Even money Isak to make his mark at Molineux | OneFootball

English Premier League

Eddie Howe has admitted Newcastle need to improve despite an unbeaten start

Winless Wolves welcome high-flying Newcastle to Molineux on Super Sunday. Betfair writer Mark O'Haire is backing Aleksander Isak to make his mark.

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Wolves off the mark

Wolves boss Gary O'Neil described his players as "wild horses" after their entertaining 1-1 draw at Nottingham Forest before the international break. Jean-Ricner Bellegarde's first-half thunderbolt earned the Old Gold their first point of the new Premier League season following defeats against both Arsenal and Chelsea in their opening two encounters.

O'Neil was pleased with his team's efforts at the City Ground saying, "What a group we have in terms of entertainment, courage, bravery, togetherness. It's also a little bit crazy. At the end of the game, some of the decisions we make, it's like I'm trying to hold on to this wild horse and all of a sudden, they're just off and gone. So I get a little animated on the side."

The Wolves chief stuck with his preferred 4-2-3-1 formation with deadline day signing Sam Johnstone starting between the sticks with fellow new arrival Andre making the bench. Meanwhile, Craig Dawson was recalled to the heart of the defence alongside Yerson Mosquera with Toti Gomes moving to left-back as O'Neil looks for more solidity.

Newcastle maintain unbeaten start

Newcastle manager Eddie Howe admitted the Magpies "need to improve" despite maintaining their unbeaten start to the new Premier League season with a 2-1 success over Tottenham. Harvey Barnes and Alexander Isak struck either side of Spurs' equaliser to secure top honours, although the Toon were largely second-best at St James' Park.

Speaking post-match, Howe said: "We're finding a way to win but in the long-term we need to improve our performances. We can move forward with positive momentum, and it was difficult but we managed to grind out a win. This does give us confidence and shows we're a very good team, but one that can improve, especially when our injuries begin to ease."

Italy midfielder Sandro Tonali made his first Premier League appearance since October 2023 from the bench after serving his 10-month suspension, whilst Fabian Schar is also now available again after his own ban. Callum Wilson, Joe Willock and Emil Krafth are all hoping to be available again following injuries, giving Howe potential options to shake things up.

Draws dominate recent meetings

The Draw 3.80 has landed in 11/18 (61%) Premier League matches between Wolves and Newcastle - the highest percentage of any fixture to have been played at least 15 times in the competition. Seven of the nine Molineux meetings have also ended all-square with all nine of those encounters seeing both sides score - the Draw and Over 1.5 Goals pays 16/5.

Wolves 3.50 have won just one of their past 13 Premier League (W1-D3-L9) and are winless in their last six (W0-D1-L5). At Molineux, the Old Gold have lost five of their last six Premier League dates (W1-D0-L5), though Gary O'Neil's men have been competitive in all three of their opening games this season, underachieving according to Expected Points (xP).

Newcastle 2.18 look too short to trust at the pre-match prices. The Magpies have posted only W6-D3-L11 on their top-flight travels since the start of last season, with two of those triumphs arriving against relegated opposition. The visitors have managed only two clean sheets in those 20 games as guests, making Wolves +0.5 Asian Handicap appeal at 1.83.

Whilst Newcastle hold little appeal in the major pre-match markets, it's worth noting the Magpies have only failed to score in one of their last 23 Premier League games. Meanwhile, with no current side on a longer run of top-flight games without a clean sheet than Wolves (15), visiting forward Alexander Isak has to be considered in the relevant goals markets.

The Swedish star has been directly involved in 18 goals in his last 20 Premier League outings (15 goals, three assists). Indeed, since the first game in that streak on Boxing Day, only Erling Haaland (20) and Cole Palmer (17) have scored more than Isak (15) in the division, making the 1/1 available on Alexander Isak in the Score or Assist market stand-out.

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