Wolves will return from the international break this weekend with just one point on the board in the Premier League.
Wolves were given a tough fixture list to begin the season as they were handed defeats by Arsenal and Chelsea before drawing against Nottingham Forest.
Unfortunately for Gary O’Neil, it doesn’t get easier after the break as the Old Gold host Newcastle United at Molineux on Sunday, a side who have won two and drawn one of their opening three matches.
To give them every chance of securing three points against the Magpies, O’Neil could unleash forward Hwang Hee-chan, who has plundered four goals in five meetings.
Supporters will hope that Hwang can be one of several players who can inspire their side to three points, with controversy surrounding the refereeing selection for the match.
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Chris Kavanagh confirmed as referee for Wolves vs Newcastle United
Last season, it was a recurring theme for Wolves to be on the wrong end of a VAR decision that cost them a result, most notably in April’s 2-1 defeat to West Ham.
Luckily, decisions have gone the way of O’Neil’s men in the first three games and they’ll be hoping that continues after the Premier League confirmed Chris Kavanagh as referee for the match.
Kavanagh has taken charge of 16 Wolves matches, resulting in eight wins, one draw and seven losses while dishing out 32 yellows and two red cards.
There always seems to be action when the man from Greater Manchester is refereeing a match, as most recently, he controversially handed Declan Rice a second yellow card in the Gunners 1-1 draw against Brighton.
Arsenal fans were understandably seething by that decision and the Wolves boss felt a similar way towards Kavanagh in the final-day defeat to Liverpool in May.
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Gary O’Neil was ‘disappointed’ when Kavanagh sent Nelson Semedo off vs Liverpool
Wolves concluded the 2023/24 campaign with a trip to Anfield and from the 28th minute onwards, it was an uphill battle to secure a result in what was Jurgen Klopp’s final game.
Nelson Semedo was initially shown a yellow card for a challenge on Liverpool midfielder Alexis MacAllister but after the VAR checked for a red card, Kavanagh instead sent Semedo off.
Whilst Ian Wright agreed with the decision to send the Portuguese right-back off, claiming the challenge was ‘dangerous’, Jamie Carragher felt it was ‘harsh’ and O’Neil was ‘disappointed’ that a red was shown so early in the match.
Speaking after the game, as relayed by journalist Nathan Judah, O’Neil said: “Disappointed with the red card – ref had a really good view, he’s fractionally late, yellow is fine.
“VAR doesn’t even pause it right – there’s no way VAR need to get involved.”
Although there was controversy surrounding the decision amongst many, a red card was probably the correct call as the challenge was reckless, though he was trying to trap the ball when making contact with MacAllister.
Nonetheless, O’Neil and Wolves will be praying for no controversial decisions when they host Newcastle on Sunday.