Wolves are taking on Newcastle United tonight in the Premier League, and Vitor Pereira has some decisions to make regarding his starting XI.
Wolves are looking to get back on track in the top-flight after losing against Nottingham Forest last time out.
But Pereira got a win against Bristol City in the FA Cup at the weekend, and that will have boosted morale.
Pereira gave a positive injury update at his press conference yesterday, revealing Matheus Cunha, Nelson Semedo and Craig Dawson are all available. Mario Lemina will also be in contention to play.
The returns of Cunha and Semedo are particularly positive, but there’s one man who could now get dropped as a result.
That man is Hwang Hee-chan, a player who could still make an impact tonight if called on from the bench.
Hwang Hee-chan actually has a great record for Wolves against Newcastle
It’s been a difficult season for Hwang Hee-chan.
After finishing as Wolves’ joint-top goalscorer last season, the South Korean has been nowhere near his best level in 2024/25.
He’s scored just two goals so far, but Hwang has had plenty of games where he has been totally ineffective.
He’s looked like he’s lacked confidence at times, and that’s far from ideal for Wolves.
| Hwang vs Newcastle |
| Appearances – 6 |
| Goals – 4 |
| Assists – 0 |
But it’s possible he could get some joy tonight, because Newcastle are actually Hwang’s favourite Premier League opponent.
He has played against the Magpies six times now, and has scored four goals against them. Two of those came in his first appearances against them at Molineux.
Hwang ‘disrespected’ at Wolves
Hwang is in another tough moment at Wolves, but journalist Liam Keen came to his defence in a new video over on Shots TV.
On Saturday against Bristol City, Hwang had had a poor game and was then taken off by Pereira in the second-half. As he went off, some supporters sarcastically cheered his departure from the field.
After the win over Bristol City, some Wolves fans also called for Hwang to be sold.
Keen said: “I think he’s been unfairly disrespected. A lot of it is on social media. I think quite a lot of it is hurtful to a player that is a good character and someone who is a good player who wants to do well for the team.
“I do think he’s been very unfairly targeted at times. But I can’t defend the performance he put in against Bristol City.”
It remains to be seen what kind of involvement he has tonight against his favourite opponents Newcastle. But him starting the game does feel very unlikely given his form and the players who are returning.