Wolverhampton Wanderers

Nick Mashiter
BBC Sport football news reporter

Image source, Getty Images

Context is everything and boss Gary O'Neil has been at pains to point out Wolves' circumstances.

It is one win in 14 games, if last season's disappointing conclusion is taken into , but it is not something O'Neil is entertaining.

He did not bristle at the suggestion in his post match press conference after Sunday's 2-1 defeat to Newcastle, he understands the talk around their form, but it was clear he feels it should not be taken into .

He called it "irrelevant" to compare the two and that is understandable given there has been a summer and a transfer window between them.

Yet in order to silence any doubters or detractors Wolves need to win. Their performances have been good enough - they could have beaten Newcastle - and there remains belief they can arrest any issues in time.

O'Neil pointed out the level of opposition - expecting Arsenal, Chelsea and Newcastle to finish in the top six - while they have taken a point from Nottingham Forest who may be more on their level.

He highlighted the important context but results are what Wolves need now.

Image source, Getty Images

Gary O'Neil spoke to BBC Match of the Day after Wolves' defeat to Newcastle: "It is the Premier League and it can happen. We have got some tough games against teams who are going to finish high up the league and unfortunately they can kill you with moments. I asked the group to give everything and that was pretty close to everything today. We made an error for the second goal which was the only disappointment for me. Harvey Barnes was allowed to come inside which shouldn't have happened. Losing Nelson Semedo to cramp was bad and he is important for us so we need to make sure he is alright."

On Andre's first start: "Very good, he's a good player obviously. New system today with the three midfielders in. An awful lot of positives. Of course the only positives that people are interested in is points. From my point of view, to have come up with a new structure for the team and for it to look how it did against Newcastle was a big plus for us.

On the performance: "Looking forward to what we can do. Tough run coming up, one of the toughest starts fixture wise. If we play like that every week then we will be absolutely fine. If we maintain our level, that sort of performance will pick up a lot of points this season. Keep pushing."

Image source, Getty Images

Wolves midfielder Andre completed all 40 of his es today against Newcastle, the most on record by a player on their first ever Premier League start without misplacing one (since 2003-04).

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Nick Mashiter
BBC Sport football news reporter

Image source, Getty Images

Gary O'Neil has painted Wolves as underdogs again this season.

The closure of the transfer window has clearly left the manager in a better mood and he is noticeably brighter now he knows what he has to work with for the next four months.

He underlined a siege mentality when speaking ahead of facing Newcastle, with games against Aston Villa, Liverpool, Brentford and Manchester City to follow.

"Not many people outside of here expect us to take many points but that is not our expectation," he said at Compton on Friday.

It is easy to see why but at Molineux last season Wolves beat Chelsea, Tottenham and City while drew with Newcastle and Villa as well as running Liverpool and Manchester United close.

Their expected goals (XG) was higher than Chelsea's in the chaotic 6-2 home defeat to the Blues last month and they will remain a threat, especially at home.

Yet, failure to take at least a point against the Magpies will result in Wolves' worst start to a season since returning to the Premier League in 2018.

That would bring mild cause for concern but O'Neil has been here before, when Wolves were written off when he replaced the unhappy Julen Lopetegui just days before the start of last season.

It still feels too early to worry about Wolves' prospects. The squad needs time to settle after what was a turbulent summer with the loss of Pedro Neto and Max Kilman, near transfer misses and deadline day arrivals of Sam Johnstone and Andre.

O'Neil got it right last season in difficult circumstances and he is in tune with what is needed again.

There are two Premier League games on Sunday and BBC Sport will bring you all the action and reaction throughout the day.

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BBC Radio 5 Live match commentary on both games on BBC Sounds

• Wolves v Newcastle - BBC Radio WM from 16:30 BST

Chris Sutton is making predictions for all 380 Premier League matches this season, against a variety of guests.

For week four, he takes on Femi Koleoso and Ife Ogunjobi from jazz band Ezra Collective, the 2023 Mercury Music Prize winners.

Sutton's prediction: 1-1

Newcastle are unbeaten in the Premier League so far but their performances have not been there and they have got away with it a little bit up until now.

Wolves, in contrast, are yet to win. They made lots of mistakes when they got hammered 6-2 by Chelsea, but created plenty of chances themselves too.

Is it going to click for Newcastle this time, or will Wolves get it together? You could make a case for both teams and, whoever wins, it would not surprise me.

The safe bet would be a draw here, and you can guarantee that is the result the public will vote for above, but only spineless people would go for that ...

Koleoso's prediction: 1-1

These are both tricky teams to predict. Newcastle don't look good at all, and Wolves kind of gave up against Chelsea.

Ogunjobi prediction: 2-1

Wolves looked good against Chelsea in the first half, then fell apart. I reckon they will take this one.

Read the full predictions and have your say here

Nick Mashiter
BBC Sport football news reporter

Image source, Getty Images

Jose Sa could leave Wolves after losing his place to Sam Johnstone, boss Gary O'Neil its.

The 31-year-old was dropped after Johnstone's £10m arrival last month.

Johnstone ed on deadline day from Crystal Palace and started in the 1-1 draw at Nottingham Forest before the international break.

He is expected to play in Sunday's Premier League game against Newcastle at Molineux.

Sa has been number one since ing from Olympiakos in 2021, but O'Neil conceded he could look for first-team football elsewhere.

"I understand Jose won’t want to be number two for too long - especially not at this stage of his career with the quality that he has," he said.

"You see it at other clubs. You can keep two number ones together, but for a short time. After that it becomes difficult - they go off and try to become a number one somewhere again.

"If Jose doesn’t get that here, I’m sure he’ll go and try to get it somewhere else.

"The conversations between me and him have been honest and professional. We’re both understanding of the situation and where we are with it."

Sa has made 118 appearances for Wolves and only signed a new four-year contract, which was due to keep him at Molineux until 2027, 12 months ago.

O’Neil added: "He won’t be happy if he’s not playing and I wouldn’t expect him to be.

"It’s part and parcel - it’s no problem for me. Jose knows what I think of him and what the position is.

"We all have our own decisions to make, but so far, the way he’s trained and worked has been excellent. He knows he needs to be here and needs to fight - but things could change in the future."

Nick Mashiter
BBC Sport football news reporter

Image source, Getty Images

It has been widely accepted for some time but Wolves boss Gary O'Neil slipped in a telling quote during his pre-Newcastle news conference.

Wolves' finances are known to have been restricted this window, but the manager has given the clearest indication things are changing for, potentially, the foreseeable future.

"The transfer windows now for Wolves are not what they were. [Ruben] Neves, Matheus Cunha, and Mario [Lemina] arrived for big fees. It's different," he said.

"The excitement, for me, is we know where we are now. We have the opportunity to upset what people expect from us this year."

There were frustrations with the limitations during the summer, with O'Neil saying the squad was not where he expected it to be in of transfers, but it is clear he will meet the challenge head on.

O'Neil still has credit in the bank from a positive first season and was clearly buoyant at Compton now the window has closed and the distractions are over.

Newcastle, Aston Villa, Brentford and Manchester City await in the Premier League in their next four games but, given O'Neil's track record of producing unexpected results, Wolves should not be written off during a tricky fixture list.