We round up the key Fantasy Premier League (FPL) talking points from Newcastle United v Wolverhampton Wanderers in our Scout Notes summary.
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WOOD NETS WINNER
Chris Wood (£6.7m) netted his second Premier League goal for Newcastle on Friday, both of which have arrived in his last five matches.
After a slow start to his Tyneside career, the New Zealander is starting to settle ahead of Double Gameweek 33, which sees Eddie Howe’s side face back-to-back home clashes against Leicester and Crystal Palace.
And Howe’s home record has been very good, too.
In fact, the Magpies have now won four matches in a row at St James’ Park, while Manchester City are the only team to take all three points since he took charge.
In a match low on quality, Wood had a goal disallowed by VAR before his second-half penalty secured the points, although it was arguably team-mate Allan Saint-Maximin (£6.8m) who was the livelier of the two forwards.
Lining up on the left of Newcastle’s front three, the Frenchman had plenty of chances to affect the game, as he racked up four goal attempts, three shots in the box and 34 final-third touches, all match-leading totals.
“He’s needed the two games he had. He gave everything for the team. The move for the penalty was really good and he had a few chances today. He didn’t take those chances but it was great to see.” – Eddie Howe on Allan Saint-Maximin
“He’s a goalscorer. He wants to score. I trust my players and if they want the penalties then they get it. He wants that responsibility. If you come to this club you need broad shoulders and he has that.” – Eddie Howe on Chris Wood
Newcastle have struggled to score goals from open play of late, but at the same time, they have been clinical from set play situations. In fact, eight of the Magpies last 12 goals have arrived from dead balls, whether it is penalties, corners or free-kicks.
Following tonight’s clean sheet, which notably saw Dan Burn (£4.4m) and Martin Dubravka (£4.4m) collect bonus points, Newcastle have now conceded 13 goals in their last 12 outings, and five of those arrived in the heavy defeat at Tottenham Hotspur in Gameweek 31, highlighting the defensive improvements made under Howe.
FRASER INJURY LATEST
Newcastle were hit with an early blow against Wolves after Ryan Fraser (£5.3m) limped off after just 13 minutes at St James’ Park.
The Scot chased down a ball in the early stages but pulled up with a hamstring injury.
Despite initially trying to carry on, he then went down again and was eventually replaced by Miguel Almiron (£5.0m), who only recently returned to fitness himself.
Eddie Howe confirmed after the match that it was a hamstring injury, although he was unsure how serious it is and that he will be assessed ahead of next weekend’s match against Leicester.
BLUNT WOLVES
Following tonight’s defeat to nil, Wolves have now managed just one goal in their last three away matches.
Against Newcastle, they were missing the influential Daniel Podence (£5.5m) through a foot injury and struggled without him, as they could only muster five shots which carried an xG value of 0.29.
Above: Wolves shot map v Newcastle in Gameweek 32
However, on a more positive note, they can at least now welcome back Raul Jimenez (£7.5m) following suspension, which is important given that Fabio Silva (£5.6m) has struggled to make much of an impact in the Mexicans absence.
Bruno Lage also sounded optimistic regarding Podence and Leander Dendoncker’s (£4.7m) availability, with the latter also missing out tonight through illness.
“We don’t have a match in the next week but in the couple of weeks we have in front of us they will be ready to return to training with the team.” – Bruno Lage on Daniel Podence and Leander Dendoncker
As alluded to above, Wolves face a blank in Gameweek 33 thanks to their game with Man City being postponed because of the latter’s involvement in the FA Cup.
A trip to Burnley and a home game with Brighton follows, before a tough May schedule which sees them up against Liverpool and Chelsea.
Newcastle United XI: Dubravka, Krafth, Schar, Burn, Targett, Shelvey, Guimaraes (Longstaff 88), Joelinton, Fraser (Almiron 13), Saint-Maximin (Murphy 90+5), Wood
Wolverhampton Wanderers XI: Sa, Boly, Coady, Kilman, Jonny, Cundle, Moutinho, Marcal (Ait-Nouri 86), Trincao (Campbell 78), Hwang (Neto 78), Silva
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