Wolves vs. Newcastle Betting Tips: Two cards based bets for today's early kickoff

This week’s Super Sunday gets underway in the West Midlands as Wolverhampton Wanderers welcome Newcastle United to Molineux, with the hosts already desperate to put points on the board.

The big news for the visitors is that on Friday afternoon they completed the club-record signing of Alexander Isak from Real Sociedad for a reported £63m, knocking Joelinton off the top spot.

The 22-year-old will be remembered by most for his impressive performances in a Sweden shirt at the European Championships in 2021, particularly his scintillating man of the match display against Slovakia.

The fact he can play anywhere across the front-line is one of his biggest strengths, and gives Eddie Howe an elite option once Callum Wilson inevitably gets injured.

While Newcastle address one of their major issues, Wolves continue to struggle with one of theirs - and they’re desperately running out of time as the need for a striker becomes abundantly clear.

Linked with 6ft 7in colossus Sasa Kalajdzic in recent weeks - and reportedly having a bid rejected on Friday - their lack of a goal-scorer needs addressing before the transfer window slams shut.

They haven’t scored a Premier League goal since opening the scoring in their first game, despite being arguably the better team against Spurs last weekend and creating two ‘big chances’ against Fulham the weekend before.

It means they’ve now gone 264 minutes without bagging, only West Ham have been goalless longer, and it sees them languishing in the relegation zone.

At the opposite end of the table after three games sit their visitors, who’ve made a strong start to the season and went toe-to-toe with reigning champions Manchester City last weekend.

The Magpies pushed the title-favourites all the way on Tyneside, leading by two goals at one point, as Eddie Howe’s adventurous tactics caught Pep Guardiola off-guard.

The performances of Bruno Guimaraes and Joelinton were particularly impressive, and they’ll need to be on top form here to deal with Wolves’ midfield duo of Ruben Neves and Matheus Nunes.

That Brazil v Portugal battle is one of the more interesting match-ups this weekend, and one you should definitely be excited to observe.

Neves is comfortably one of the league’s premier midfielders, combining a tenacious nature with an aesthetically pleasing elegance as he runs the midfield for Wolves.

While that tenacity serves him well in most cases, it often has the propensity to get him into trouble - and it often did last season.

The Portuguese midfielder amassed nine bookings in 31 starts last term - and has certainly started this year in the same vein, having already earned a yellow in the 2nd of Wolves’ opening three fixtures.

He’ll have the unenviable task of halting the progress of Newcastle’s own elite midfielder, Bruno Guimaraes.

The Brazilian has been a revelation for the Magpies since joining from Lyon for an estimated £40m back in January and, combined with the reincarnation of Joelinton, has been the key behind Newcastle’s surge in form.

He’s also been one of the most fouled players in the Premier League since his arrival in the North-East, suffering 52 fouls in 14 appearances at an average of 3.7 per game.

Brighton’s Alexis Mac Allister and Nottingham Forest’s Lewis O’Brien have both been booked in direct competition with Guimaraes this season too, whilst Joao Moutinho was booked in the reverse fixture back in April.

Taking charge of this one is Peter Bankes and he’s been no stranger to a card or few so far this season.

In the five games he’s officiated this term, the Merseyside official has dished out an astonishing 30 bookings - at an average of SIX per game!

It’s not a far cry from his average last season either, having handed out 4.5 per game across his 12 Premier League assignments.

Alongside Ruben Neves, I’ve identified two other potential problem causers; as Newcastle’s midfield enforcer, Joelinton is another that is no stranger to the attention of Premier League referees.

With six bookings in 20 appearances during this calendar year and 53 fouls committed, he’s never far away from trouble and should have his hands full with Wolves’ record signing, Matheus Nunes.