Newcastle United vs. Wolverhampton Wanderers – EPL, February 27, 2021

There doesn’t seem to be too much confidence in Steve Bruce to lead this Newcastle away from the bottom three – and with Fulham picking up results now, every game is vital.

Wolves had looked like it might be dropping further down the table a few weeks ago but have now picked up some decent results and will probably finish off in a disappointing but comfortable, mid-table position.

Newcastle has only won two of its last 14 EPL games, so there is little surprise that BetOnline has it down as the underdog here. Wolves have not looked very good this season, but there has been an improvement in the last month. The draw bet might be the one to go for if you are unsure how good Wolves are their main striker and goal scorer.

Newcastle has beaten Everton and Southampton since the end of January, and it is very noticeable how surprising those results were to most neutrals – and also how much of the reaction was centered on how poorly the losing side was. In both cases, there was little talk of how Newcastle had improved.

The return of Allan Saint-Maximin has been a huge boost to the team, but the continued absence of Callum Wilson almost negates all that positivity. He is really the only goal-scoring hope in the side, and with Fulham now just three points behind, Steve Bruce must be praying that his midfielders can start chipping in with some goals of their own.

Nuno Espirito Santo has not enjoyed much luck this season either and continues to miss Raul Jimenez upfront. The Mexican striker is a cut above the rest of the team – and the sale of Diogo Jota on top of his absence has made for a frustrating season for Wolves after the highs of last year.

Jimenez is, at least, back in training now, but Wolves has scored no more goals than Newcastle this season and could do with its own injection of creativity in the box. The good news is that the Black Country club has now gone four games unbeaten and even beat a Leeds side that dominated their game last Friday. Some further luck would definitely be welcomed.

I think it is a huge sign of change in fortunes that Wolves overcame Leeds last week, even while not playing quite as well as its Yorkshire opponent. Wolves have not been able to play in the same way as they did last season, but if it can pick up a few more points to secure top-flight safety over the next few weeks, it can relax and start planning a better campaign for next year.