Newcastle United predicted line-up vs. Wolves: one major change made amid double injury headache

Newcastle United will look to put their disappointing midweek defeat to Borussia Dortmund behind them when they take on Wolverhampton Wanderers at Molineux Stadium on Saturday afternoon – but Eddie Howe’s planning will be hampered by two fresh injury problems and the suspension of Sandro Tonali.

Tonali, who arrived from AC Milan in the summer for a fee of around £55m, has admitted to breaching gambling rules in Italy and has been suspended for 10 months, which will rule him out for the remainder of the season and for Euro 2024 if Italy qualify. He will also have to undergo an eight-month rehabilitation programme to help the player with what his agent described as a “gambling addiction”. The final verdict came on Thursday after Tonali’s lawyers worked towards a plea deal to reduce the statutory three-year ban the offences carry.

Tonali may, however, still be able to face Wolves as the ban, which was confirmed by the FIGC on Thursday, has not yet been ratified by FIFA or UEFA - and Howe has said that there is a “high chance” that the Italian will play while the ban is finalised. There is no word yet on when that could occur, meaning Tonali’s odds of being involved are unclear at this stage.

Aside from that both Alexander Isak and Joe Murphy were forced off with apparent injuries in the Champions League and we have updates on their conditions below, along with all the rest of the latest team news and injury updates ahead of the weekend’s action.

Goalkeeper & Defence

Sven Botman, who has missed Newcastle’s last six games with a knee injury, will need to wait at least another week before he plays again, with the most optimistic projections for a return to full fitness placing him back on the field of play an important home game against Arsenal in early November.

There’s good news elsewhere, however. Swedish full-back Emil Krafth, who has missed over a year of football after suffering an anterior cruciate ligament injury, is making good progress and is close to being available for selection once more. He managed 45 minutes in a Newcastle Under-21 game against Nottingham Forest at the end of September, and even has a small chance of being named on the bench against Wolves. Aside from Krafth and Botman, Howe should have a full slate of defensive players to choose from.

Midfield

Tonali’s suspension isn’t the only problem Howe has in midfield – Elliot Anderson continues to be sidelined by a back problem and now Joe Murphy will miss out too after being injured on Wednesday night. The on-form winger suffered a possible dislocated shoulder five minutes after coming on as a second-half substitute, and while no return date has yet been set it’s likely that he will miss at least a couple of weeks with Howe describing it as potentially serious.

Harvey Barnes remains a long-term injury victim as well and may not play again until the new year, while 17-year-old talent Lewis Miley will not be called up after succumbing to an unspecified illness. He is expected to be ready to play again in mid-November. Joe Willock is, however, fit again and got a 20-minute runout during midweek.

Forwards

Alexander Isak is another played who was taken off injured during the defeat to Dortmund – he left the field after just 15 minutes in evident discomfort, and Howe has since confirmed that the club suspect he has suffered a recurrence of a groin injury that has caused him to miss gametime already this season. Scans will be needed to assess the extent of the injury so not timeframe is known at this point, but the Swedish striker will almost certainly not be available for the trip to Wolverhampton.

Full predicted line-up vs Wolves

Pope; Burn, Lascelles, Schär, Trippier; Joelinton, S Longstaff, Guimarães; Gordon, Almirón, Wilson.