Wolves in ‘serious trouble’ ahead of Newcastle United clash as ex-Arsenal man delivers prediction
Newcastle United have won two and drawn one of their opening three Premier League games, whilst Sunday’s hosts are yet to win in the league and currently sit 18th in the table. Gary O’Neil’s side have lost two of their three league games so far this season and former Arsenal man, Paul Merson, has revealed he is worried for Wolves and that a relegation battle could be on the cards
In his weekly predictions column for Sportskeeda, Merson admitted that Wolves could ‘lose ground’ on their rivals in the table if they don’t start picking up points soon, whilst also revealing his belief that Eddie Howe’s side will miss out on Champions League qualification.
He wrote: ‘Wolves are in serious trouble. They could end up being the team that loses ground quickly with other teams in the battle to avoid relegation. This is a big game for them.
‘I actually thought Newcastle were a bit fortunate in their win over Tottenham before the international break. Spurs were definitely better in that game. I’ve still got to give credit to Newcastle as well though, let’s not take that away from them. If Wolves get a win, it would be massive but I just don’t see that happening.
‘Newcastle will still fall short of qualifying for the Champions League in my opinion. I think they’ve got more points than they should have so far this season. There are five teams fighting for that fourth spot – Aston Villa, Tottenham, Manchester United, Chelsea and Newcastle. They are definitely in that race, but I feel they will fall a bit short in the end.’
Merson is predicting that Newcastle United triumph 2-1 at Molineux on Sunday in a scoreline that would mark Newcastle’s first top-flight win at Molineux since 2011. The Magpies have drawn on five of their last six visits to the Black Country with a defeat in October 2021, a game that marked Mike Ashley’s final match as owner of the club, sandwiched in the middle of those games
Former Wolves winger Matt Jarvis has dropped an ‘honest’ verdict on manager Gary O’Neil that will perhaps shock the fans.
Since taking over at Wolves in August 2023, Gary O’Neil has had to deal with several setbacks behind the scenes but has still shown he’s a top man manager.
Whilst the Old Gold have won two of their last 16 games in the Premier League – including zero wins so far this season – O’Neil’s job at Molineux is relatively safe.
He’s had to work under a backdrop of PSR, where the club have been limited to what they can spend but he still managed to bring in several talented players this summer.
Despite O’Neil admitting that Wolves won’t be spending big money in the future, he is settled in his role at Wolves, with the hopes he can improve on last season’s 14th-place finish.
