James Collins’ side, currently sat second in the league standings, know victory over the Magpies would all but book a spot in the post-season competition where the teams in second to fifth place go head-to-head for the chance to join league champions Fulham in the top tier of English youth football next season.
Wolves are on a high heading into the business end of the season, having lost just once in Premier League 2 since the turn of the year, and are the form team of the competition, quickly recovering from the only blot on their copybook against Nottingham Forest two weeks ago to comfortably overcome Middlesbrough on Good Friday afternoon.
Chem Campbell’s opener was added to by a Lee Harkin brace as Collins’ side made it seven wins from their last eight matches in all competitions – putting themselves firmly in the play-off hunt.
Wolves reached the 40-point mark against Boro and stand one point ahead of Norwich City in third, but with a game in hand over the Canaries, while Nottingham Forest and Stoke City are two points back on 38, occupying the other play-off places.
A win against Newcastle this evening will mean the Magpies – on 35 points – would not be able to catch Wolves with two league matches remaining, and the under-23s would need just a point from those fixtures to secure a top five finish. But with home advantage in the play-offs on the side of the team which finishes second, there is still plenty to play for in the coming weeks.
The under-23s will be back at Molineux next Monday evening for their penultimate league game of the season against fellow play-off chaser Stoke City (7pm kick-off).
Season ticket holders and members can get free entry into Molineux for this evening’s match but must claim their ticket in advance. For non-season ticket holders, tickets cost £4 for adults, £2 for over-65s and under-21s, while under-17s can gain free entry.
CLICK HERE TO RESERVE OR PURCHASE TICKETS
Parking will also be available for spectators on a first come/first served basis in the Stan Cullis and Waterloo Road car parks.
Supporters can watch all the action from Molineux live this evening, as the match is streamed online via wolves.co.uk, the Wolves App and the Wolves YouTube channel.
The live Wolves TV match stream, beginning at 6.55am, can be found here, or click here to watch on YouTube, while supporters can also catch download the Wolves App now on iOS here and on Android here.
WHEN
Monday, 7pm
WHERE
Molineux
LAST THREE
Wolves
3-0 vs Middlesbrough (A)
1-0 vs Peterborough United (A) PLC
0-1 vs Nottingham Forest (A)
Newcastle
5-1 vs Burnley (H)
2-4 vs Middlesbrough (A)
4-3 vs West Bromwich Albion (H)
WHAT THE BOSS THINKS
Speaking about playing successive games at Molineux, Collins said: “It’s a great way for us to end the season. We had Peterborough at their ground [in the Premier League Cup], then we’ll have two games at Molineux on successive Monday evenings and then we’ve got Norwich away on the last day of the season at Carrow Road.
“These are all proper grounds and proper stadiums to play on and will all be good challenges for our boys to get used to playing on what they hope will be common for them in the future in their careers.
“Then, if we get to semi-finals and finals as well, hopefully they’ll be at stadiums as well, so we’ve got some real high-profile games for our level coming up and that’s when you find out about your players and they’ll learn about what it’s all about.”
NEXT FOUR
18/04 Newcastle United (H)
25/04 Stoke City (H)
29/04 Norwich City (A)
TBC Premier League Cup semi-final
