Wolves on brink of Premier League relegation as Leeds ease drop fears while pressure mounts on Newcastle boss Eddie Howe after Bournemouth defeat

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Wolves' eight-year stay in the Premier League is almost over after a 3-0 defeat to Leeds which pulls Daniel Farke's side closer to safety.

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First-half goals from James Justin and Noah Okafor in the space of three minutes and a late effort from Dominic Calvert-Lewin consigned the Midlands club to a 22nd defeat of the campaign and all but sealed Leeds' place in the top flight next season.

Wolves, who were promoted to the Premier League in 2018 under Nuno Espirito Santo, avoided relegation from the top flight on Saturday after Tottenham Hotspur drew 2-2 against Brighton.

It has been a season to forget for the Molineux club. They sacked Vitor Pereira in early November after failing to win any of their opening 10 Premier League games this term.

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Former Middlesbrough boss Rob Edwards was appointed as the Portuguese's successor and, despite a resurgence this year which saw them collect notable victories over Aston Villa and Liverpool, as well as a draw at home to leaders Arsenal, it has not been enough to help them avoid the drop.

Wolves have collected 15 of their 17 points since the former Wales international took charge, but a demoralising 4-0 defeat away to West Ham earlier this month all-but ended any faint hopes of a miraculous escape.

Edwards' side were unpicked twice in a matter of moments at Elland Road to leave them with that familiar sinking feeling.

Wolves were consigned to their 22nd Premier League defeat of the season

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A spectacular overhead kick from Justin on 18 minutes, after stand-in goalkeeper Dan Bentley had initially saved Ethan Ampadu's close-range effort, set the tone for another disappointing afternoon for the Old Gold.

Just one minute and 26 seconds after the restart, Brenden Aaronson's cutback was then converted by the in-form Okafor to double Leeds' advantage, putting them nine points clear of the bottom three.

Wolves improved in the second period, with Karl Darlow making a fine save to somehow turn behind Ladislav Krejci's header from point-blank range. Adam Armstrong then saw a composed finish ruled out for offside, but the damage had already been done.

In stoppage time, Calvert-Lewin was upended inside the box by Hugo Bueno, and the striker dusted himself down to notch his 11th Premier League goal of the season from the spot.

James Justin celebrates breaking the deadlock in spectacular fashion

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It is the first time this season that Daniel Farke's side have collected back-to-back Premier League victories, having secured a stunning 2-1 win away to Manchester United last Monday.

Okafor's first-half brace at Old Trafford, in addition to his strike against Wolves, means he has now scored five goals in his past five league games.

There has been a sense of inevitability to Wolves' plight for some time, with three straight defeats in August meaning they propped up the table - and they have been bottom ever since.

The pressure is mounting on Newcastle head coach Eddie Howe after a fourth straight Premier League defeat as Bournemouth moved up to eighth with a 2-1 win at St James' Park.

Adrien Truffert celebrates his late winner at Newcastle

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Marcus Tavernier's opener was cancelled out by William Osula in the second period but Adrien Truffert's late strike ensured the visitors collected all three points.

The full-time whistle was greeted by a chorus of boos from the home supporters and when asked about his future, Howe said: "My belief in myself can't waiver, and it's not.

"I think that is in every moment, that's in good moments where I try to stay level and calm and don't believe the hype one way, it has to work in reverse the other way, where I have to retain a belief in my work and my staff and what I do.

"Despite what other people say, that is there, but of course, I am very aware of those results, and they aren't good enough."

Newcastle are locked on 42 points and are still not mathematically safe. Their problems were compounded by an injury setback for Tino Livramento, who was forced off with a groin injury.

Eddie Howe applauds the home fans at the final whistle

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"For Tino, that’s a huge blow for him and for us," added Howe, whose side have now lost five of their past six home league games.

"I actually thought that Kieran’s [Trippier] introduction at the start of the second half made us stronger but then losing him was a big blow.”

When asked if Newcastle could even get dragged into an unexpected scrap against relegation, Howe said: "I don't know about that. But eight defeats out of 11 isn't good enough.

"Winning games is a very simple remedy, but very hard to deliver. Momentum is against us, and you can feel that in the big moments in the game. But then you are looking at big players to swing it your way and we haven't done it individually enough.

"We need and want to create more at home – more goalscoring opportunities, more shots. We’ve come away with 12 shots at the opponents’ goal and that’s not enough. But then the other side of the coin is that we haven’t defended the two goals anywhere near well enough either. With both sides of the game at the moment, we’re not quite there.

"I’m beginning to say the same things as well, and that’s a huge frustration for all of us. The players are feeling that frustration equally as much as anyone else. The late goals, again there was no reason for that to happen today.

"Both teams have made changes, our subs did pretty well and I thought their subs did well too. But the big moment in the game goes against us. There were a couple of big actions in that goal – we lose headers, we lose our runner from a cross coming into the box. That’s been systematic of what’s happened in recent games."

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