Premier League preview: Newcastle v Wolverhampton

Newcastle have a chance to move to fourth spot on the English Premier League table when they host Wolverhampton on Saturday.

Victory at St James’ Park coupled with dropped points by Arsenal and Chelsea will see Alan Pardew’s side move into fourth on 45 points.

But the task could be a surprisingly tough one for Pardew’s men, as they face a side who have proven difficult to beat away from home.

Despite Wolves sitting in 18th position, they have not lost in their last five away matches, including an FA Cup tie against Birmingham.

Newcastle, however, have won four home games in a row and come into this match keen to erase memories from their last Premier League outing.

Tottenham thrashed Pardew’s side 5-0 earlier this month with Louis Saha grabbing two goals for the London-based club.

But Pardew expects to have three of his better players back on Saturday.

Cheik Tiote is back from the African Cup of Nations, Yohan Cabaye returns from suspension and Ryan Taylor should be fit after recovering from a horrible tackle by Aston Villa’s Stephen Warnock in Newcastle’s 2-1 victory at the start of the month.

Tiote provides the steel in midfield and Cabaye injects some class and skill, while Taylor can fill many different roles.

Wolverhampton’s supporters will no doubt be happy to watch their team play and focus on some football after their club’s search for a new manager has dominated news in the past fortnight.

The favourite to take over is Reading manager Brian McDermott, although Terry O’Connor, who was former manager Mick McCarthy’s assistant, will lead Wolves on Saturday.

O’Connor is hopeful that defender Sebastian Bassong will be back after his hamstring injury.

A win for Wolverhampton would most likely take them out of the relegation spots.

They are currently equal with both Queens Park Rangers and Blackburn on 21 points.

If Newcastle win it will be the first time they have beaten Wolves twice in a season since 1905-06.