Paul Merson ‘shocked’ by what happened at Newcastle United earlier this week

Former Arsenal midfielder Paul Merson says he was “shocked” by Newcastle United’s defeat to Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League - but has tipped Eddie Howe’s side to bounce back at Wolverhampton Wanderers this evening (kick-off 5:30pm).

The Magpies’ eight-match unbeaten run came to an end against the Bundesliga side, who claimed a 1-0 victory courtesy of Felix Nmecha’s strike on the brink of half-time. It leaves Group F wide open with Paris Saint-Germain top on six points, United & Dortmund tied on four points and AC Milan bottom on two points.

Newcastle travel to Germany a week on Tuesday but for now their focus turns back to domestic competitions, starting with Wolves this afternoon. And Merson believes Howe’s men will win 2-1.

“Wolves are a decent team and have had some good results this season, but I’m just going to pick Newcastle to win this one despite their result in midweek,” Merson told Sportskeeda. “I was actually shocked by their defeat to Borussia Dortmund, I thought they’d blow the Bundesliga side out of the water.

“If Newcastle progress to the knockout stages of the UEFA Champions League and manage to sneak into the Premier League top four, I think that’ll count as a good season for them.”

Meanwhile, former Blackburn Rovers and Celtic striker Chris Sutton also believes Newcastle will win via a narrow margin (1-0).

“This is not an easy one to call - Wolves have put together a four-game unbeaten run and Newcastle have got a few injuries to contend with, as well as Sandro Tonali’s ban for breaching betting rules,” Sutton wrote in his BBC predictions column.

“I like the job Gary O’Neil is doing at Molineux, but the Magpies are defending really well at the moment and that is going to hold the key here.

“I am going with Newcastle to withstand a bit of pressure and bounce back from their Champions League defeat by Borussia Dortmund by nicking the points.