EPL: Wolves battle Liverpool again

Wolves vs Liverpool

Venue: Molineux

Kick off: 3PM

Only a couple of weeks on from defeating their West Midlands counterparts in the FA Cup, Liverpool travel to Molineux once again to tackle Wolverhampton Wanderers in today’s Premier League match.

However, Jurgen Klopp’s crop saw the defence of their FA Cup crown end at the hands of Brighton & Hove Albion last weekend, while the hosts have not been in action since losing 3-0 to Manchester City on January 22.

Becoming the latest victims of an Erling Braut Haaland hat-trick, Wolves’ trip to face champions Man City at the Etihad Stadium followed the script to a tee, as Julen Lopetegui’s men travelled back to base having been carved open by the rejuvenated Norwegian.

Haaland took 40 minutes to head home the opening goal of the contest, and he completed his fourth treble of the season early in the second half, crashing home a penalty before tapping home to round off the scoring with 54 minutes on the clock.

Few will knock Wolves for losing away to the reigning champions, with that three-goal loss bringing an abrupt end to their two-game unbeaten run in the top flight, and Wolves are still dangling just above the dotted line in 17th – coincidentally boasting 17 points and only sitting clear of Bournemouth on goal difference.

A run of just one win from their last seven matches in all competitions is not one that will inspire confidence, although their most recent Premier League home battle ended in a crucial 1-0 win over fellow strugglers West Ham United – ending a run of four straight defeats at Molineux.

Not since November 2021 have Wolves managed to claim back-to-back wins at home in the Premier League, though, and they remain the division’s worst scorers at home with a paltry six strikes, but Liverpool showed very little attacking incisiveness in their most recent league game either.

Having played out the dullest of dull draws with Chelsea in his 1,000th game as a manager, Jurgen Klopp admitted that he was happy to see his landmark game not turn out the same as Arsene Wenger’s, whose milestone match ended in a 6-0 loss to the Blues.

However, Klopp’s 1,001st game was even more of a forgettable affair, as they suffered their second defeat to Brighton & Hove Albion at the Amex in the space of a couple of weeks, bowing out of the FA Cup in the fourth round as Lewis Dunk and Kaoru Mitoma cancelled out Harvey Elliott’s opener.

The Reds will not be retaining their EFL Cup or FA Cup crowns this season, but Klopp admitted some pride in seeing his side put in an improved performance at the Amex, having gone down 3-0 to the soaring Seagulls in the league before that 2-1 knockout defeat.

Now purely focusing on their Premier League and Champions League exploits for the remainder of the term, Liverpool’s miserable three-game winless run in the top flight leaves them mired in mid-table obscurity – currently sitting in ninth place and 10 points off the top four, albeit with a game in hand on Newcastle United and Manchester United.

Failure to bring in more than one player in the January transfer window means that pessimism is rife around Anfield, and a record of two wins from their last nine Premier League away contests will hardly improve the mood – nor will their run of one clean sheet from their last 11 on the road in the top flight.

Wolves and Liverpool played out a 2-2 draw at Anfield in their opening FA Cup third-round game last month, but Klopp’s men edged the replay 1-0 thanks to a stunner from Elliott, and the Reds have won each of their last six Premier League games at Molineux.

Wolverhampton Wanderers possible XI: Sa, Semedo, Collins, Kilman, Bueno, Nunes, Neves, Lemina, Traore, Cunha, Podence.

Liverpool possible XI: Alisson, Alexander-Arnold, Gomez, Matip, Robertson, Thiago, Bajcetic, Elliott, Salah, Nunez, Gakpo.