Newcastle United Need Points Against Wolves

Newcastle United are only four points ahead of the Premier League relegation zone so need points when they entertain Wolves at St James' Parks on Saturday.

March has been a terrible month for Alan Pardew and his side as they experienced two losses from their two games, with the latest being the 4-0 thrashing by Stoke City last time out.

That result leaves Newcastle sitting only four points above the bottom three, despite the fact they are only 11th in the table after 30 games of the season.

The Premier League is incredibly tight coming into the later stages of the campaign and Newcastle need to add to a record that shows they have won only one of their last nine games.

Points are becoming vital to the Magpies as they have seemingly slumped since selling Andy Carroll to Liverpool, meaning a continuation of this poor run could see them drop into the bottom three.

One side firmly rooted in a relegation scrap is 18th-placed Wolves, but they have seen an upturn in fortunes in recent weeks with two wins and two draws in their last four matches and are 3/1 with bookmakers to get a win at St James Park'

Mick McCarthy's side will pose a big threat to Newcastle but they have struggled on the road, with only two wins in 15 matches away from Molineux, however given their recent form they could cause a shock.

Newcastle have stuttered at St James' Park and have five defeats compared to four wins in front of their home fans, with bookies pricing them at 10/11 to win this game, with the draw 5/2.

Pardew is definitely without Alan Smith, Jonas Gutierrez, Dan Gosling and Hatem Ben Afra for the clash, while there are injury worries concerning Leon Best and also Jose Enrique – who suffered a hamstring problem during the Stoke drubbing.

Chiek Tiote will miss the clash through suspension and his absence could leave a gaping hole in the middle of the Newcastle midfield.

For Wolves, Kevin Doyle will be a massive blow as he injured knee ligaments playing for Ireland in midweek, with the striker to be replaced by Sylvan Ebanks-Blake, who is 8/1 to score the first goal of the game.

That change is likely to be McCarthy's only alteration from the side that beat Aston Villa last time out, with Michael Mancienne and Stephen Hunt making their returns from injury on the bench,

Goalkeeper Steve Harper has said it is "important" that morale throughout the side remains high and demanded a "response" following that Stoke beating.

"It will be a tough game, we've done a lot of preparation work, and we know Wolves will come at us," he added.

"The fans have seen what they can do, and hopefully we can get them roaring behind us. Nothing matters other than Saturday, it's an old cliché but it's very much to the fore in everybody's mind."