Nelson Semedo comes into this match short of game-time and is likely to be up against Anthony Gordon, who sits second among all Premier League players for fouls won this season.

The former Barcelona right-back was involved for Portugal against Scotland earlier this week and committed four fouls, picking up a yellow card in the process. Playing 75 minutes of that encounter as he continues to build his fitness levels.

In the final 10 competitive matches he played for Wolves last season, Semedo committed at least one foul in nine of them.

Facing Newcastle twice last season, giving up three fouls in the first match and then two in the second game. Was used in two different positions in these fixtures, playing as a right-back in the first clash, which was at home, and as a wing-back in the latter game.

Likely to get significant game-time in this match, having regularly been used for over 80 minutes last season. His fitness levels should allow this for the first time this season.

Ait-Nouri has been surprisingly active for Wolves offensively this season, posting four shots through the first three Premier League matches. This puts him second among the home side in terms of raw efforts at goal, sitting behind only Matheus Cunha.

Has 1.73 shots per 90 so far this season, and while that is well above last season’s total, he was still close to a shot per game last season on average. He hit 0.93 shots per 90 last term in the Premier League and 0.84 in the campaign previous so has a history of being an attacking threat, even if his form currently is exceptional.

Was used in a more advanced left midfield role against Nottingham Forest in the previous outing, and if deployed there again will retain a major offensive role. However, he is even a threat from deep. When playing as a left-back this season, he has had shots in all three matches he has played.

Last season was deployed as a winger against Newcastle in the home encounter between the clubs and managed one shot at goal.

Wolves have a very high foul count so far this season, with 45 given away through the first three matches of the season at an average of 15 per game. This is only one behind league leaders Nottingham Forest in this regard.

No team has drawn more fouls than Newcastle. The Magpies have picked up 48 fouls in total so far this season, with their chief free-kick winners being Bruno Guimaraes and Anthony Gordon, who won 16 and 10 free kicks respectively. Combined, they have picked up more than 50% of fouls Eddie Howe’s side have won. Although both have been on international duty, they are expected to play full roles in this encounter.

Wolves are especially prone to giving away fouls in the midfield area, with Joao Gomes having given away 10 already this season, so Bruno Guimaraes will be in his element. Another of Newcastle’s starting central midfielders, Joelinton, has also picked up six fouls.

Gary O’Neil’s side have not given up fewer than 13 fouls in any individual Premier League match so far this season, so it would be surprising if they were to go two fewer than this figure against the top foul-winning team in the league.

Wolves have been in decent form in front of goal lately, scoring five times in their last five matches and will fancy their chance of hitting the net against Newcastle.

Defensively, O’Neil’s side have struggled this season. Their only clean sheet in four competitive matches has come against Championship side Burnley in the EFL Cup, while they have conceded at least 1 xG in each of their three Premier League matches, suggesting their opponents will get chances.

Newcastle, meanwhile, have registered more than 1.5 xG for in each of their last two games. With Alexander Isak finding his shooting boots on international duty by scoring three goals in two games, the Magpies will be more dangerous than ever before this season.

The visitors, though, have defensive injury problems that have led to them conceding an inordinate number of scoring opportunities. They have failed to limit their opponents to below 1.2 xG across their three Premier League games this season, while they have kept only one clean sheet in four competitive outings.

Historically, this is a fixture that has seen both teams find the net. Eight of the last 10 between these clubs have finished with each team netting at least once. Incidentally, five of these fixtures have ended 1-1, including three of the last five at Wolves.

Newcastle are comfortably in the top half of the table when it comes to winning corners this season. They have picked up 19 corners over the course of their three matches to date, which places them joint-sixth among all Premier League teams.

Although the Geordies have conceded a whopping 32 corner kicks, they have played Tottenham, who are comfortably the best team in the Premier League in this regard.

Wolves have been dreadful at winning corner kicks. Across their three matches, they have won just ten of these situations, putting them second from bottom among all Premier League teams. Only Leicester with eight have been poorer.

The home side have not won any more than five corners in any of their three Premier League matches, with that high coming against Chelsea. On that occasion, they tied with their opponents in this regard but they have comprehensively lost the corner battle in the two other matches they have played.

Anthony Gordon has won ten fouls so far this season, putting him joint-second in the Premier League in this regard behind only team-mate Bruno Guimaraes, who has won 16 fouls. This is a rate of 3.7 per 90. He is likelier than his midfield colleague to play 90 minutes in this game given the Brazilian is having to travel back from South America after featuring in two international matches.

The former Everton winger has a strong history of winning fouls in the Premier League. Last term, he earned 2.09 fouls per 90, so his high count in terms of earning free kicks is not a short-lived phenomenon.

He’ll go head-to-head with Nelson Semedo, who is lacking game-time and committed four fouls against Scotland for Portugal in an international earlier this week.

The Wolves right-back has been lacking game-time this season which could well see him rusty against one of the hardest wingers in the league to pin down.

Semedo committed 1.4 fouls per 90 in the Premier League last season, suggesting that he could resort to giving away free kicks to stop Gordon.

Alexander Isak has been prolific at taking shots for Newcastle this season. He has eight overall, and even if only two of these have hit the target, this is out of character for the Swede to have such a low percentage in terms of accuracy. This is only a small sample size so far this season. Last term, half his shots found the target in the Premier League and in 2022/23, 46.9% of his efforts did. Expect his accuracy to improve in the weeks ahead.

Isak has a strong recent record of hitting the target in his recent matches. The striker has had at least one shot on target in his last five competitive outings for club and country, only failing to get a shot on target in one game this season.

He’ll be particularly confident ahead of this game. He has scored in his last three matches, including three for Sweden over the international break.

Only played once against Wolves last season but hit the target with two shots in that encounter, even scoring a goal.

Joao Gomes has committed 10 fouls in his three Premier League appearances this season, doing so at a rate of 3.85 per 90 minutes.

The Brazilian has committed at least three fouls across his last four competitive starts for club and country. In the Premier League this season, he has already given away three fouls against Arsenal and Chelsea before four against Nottingham Forest in his last outing in the competition.

Coming into direct competition with Bruno Guimaraes, who is the Premier League’s leading player in terms of winning fouls this season by a big margin. He has won 16 fouls, which is six more than any other player in the league. It’s not just Guimaraes who is winning fouls for Newcastle in central midfield, though, Joelinton has also picked up six, suggesting this is the type of battle that Joao Gomes will relish.