Newcastle United will head to the Midlands this weekend for their Premier League clash with Wolverhampton Wanderers and Eddie Howe has given an update on all fitness concerns.
The Magpies will return to action in the Premier League this weekend when they travel to the Molineux for their meeting with Gary O’Neil’s side.
Newcastle are currently unbeaten in their first three fixtures of the current campaign and fifth in the top flight heading into their fourth clash this weekend, so Eddie Howe will be hoping the international break won’t affect their momentum.
The performances haven’t been the most convincing so far in the North East giants’ unbeaten run, so there is no doubt the Newcastle boss will be hoping for a more solid and reassuring outing against Wolves on Sunday.
Injury troubles and suspensions have not helped the side get back to their best in their opening clashes as many first-team stars have not been available for selection, including Joe Willock, Sven Botman, Callum Wilson and Fabian Schar, with the latter a huge boost for the game this weekend as he returns from a three-match ban.
In terms of injuries, Howe has taken to his pre-match press conference this morning to give a comprehensive update on all the injury and fitness concerns going into the weekend ahead:
“We hope Bruno is OK. Joe [Willock] is improving; he has been training with the group this week albeit not full training. Positive signs for him. Callum [Wilson] is a little bit behind where we want him to be, we envisaged he might be training for the games coming up, but he is not there yet. Emil [Krafth] has been nursing a problem. We have seen him in training, he’s joined in the last couple of days, so we are hoping he will be fine.”
Can Newcastle beat Wolves this weekend?
There is no doubt that the return of Schar will be a huge boost for Newcastle this weekend and will give them a great opportunity to improve their defensive performances going forward.
Emile Krafth has been holding the place for the Swiss giant, who was suspended on the opening day for an altercation with Southampton’s Ben Brereton Diaz, and while playing his part in ensuring Newcastle pick up crucial points, it will be a relief for Howe to have Schar back to control the game better from the back.
The St James’ Park faithful will be thrilled to hear that Willock is not expected to be out of action for too long and recovering well as he put on a great performance albeit a short one in the Carabao Cup victory over Nottingham Forest.
It will be another frustrating blow to hear that Wilson is suffering a setback in his recovery as it would offload the pressure on Alexander Isak if he could be available over the congested fixture schedule ahead of the October international break.
Wolves have had a difficult start to their Premier League campaign with only one point, one draw and two defeats tallied up so far, so Gary O’Neil will have a challenge on his hands to get his first victory when Newcastle come to town this weekend.
With that being said, if Howe can keep his key players fit there is no reason why they can’t capitalise on Wolves’ struggle at Molineux this weekend, securing another three points in their challenge for European qualification at the end of the season.
