Wolves-Liverpool preview
Liverpool manager Arne Slot says only he and his analyst will find their roles easier due to the familiarity of facing Wolves twice in four days.
The Reds visit Molineux in the Premier League on Tuesday and in the FA Cup fifth round on Friday, taking on opponents who recorded their second top-flight win of the campaign with an impressive 2-0 home win over Aston Villa on Friday.
“We have to fight very hard in the league to get what we want now,” said Slot, whose team is three points ahead of sixth-placed Chelsea and will overtake fourth-placed Villa if they beat the bottom club.
“There is [also] playing the FA Cup, so the focus will definitely be on that. [Teams] meet us [so] well… I don’t see much difference between playing twice in three days or [with] a longer period in between.”
Wolves are 14 points from safety with nine league games remaining but have avoided defeat in four of their last five games in all competitions, including a late comeback to draw 2-2 with leaders Arsenal in their previous home game.
“We need to continue carrying out actions like those on Friday and [against] Arsenal when they played here,” said new signing Adam Armstrong (via Wolves website.), who set up Joao Gomes to break the deadlock against Villa as the Wanderers ensured they surpass the lowest score ever in a Premier League season.
“We need to show the fight every week. The fans know what they’re going to get from us – hard work every week – and if we can perform like we did on Friday, that will help us.”
“We know where we are in the league. It hasn’t been good enough, but Friday was huge. The fans were missing a few wins, but Friday was incredible.”
Wolves-Liverpool team news
On-loan Girona defender/midfielder Ladislav Krejci is suspended by Wolves after being sent off during their 1-0 defeat at Crystal Palace on February 22.
Striker Hee Chan Hwang has returned to training after an injury, but remains a doubt. Winger Enso González has a long-term knee injury and midfielder André (heel/calf) is a doubt.
Striker Florian Wirtz (back) is likely to miss a third successive game for Liverpool.
Defenders Conor Bradley and Giovanni Leoni (both knee) are absent due to long-term injuries, as are defender/midfielder Stefan Bajcetic (hamstring) and midfielder Wataru Endo (ankle).
Right-back Jeremie Frimpong could start, having returned from injury as a substitute during the 5-2 home win over West Ham on Saturday.
“I don’t think the only position we had problems in was the right full-back position,” Slot said of Frimpong.
“He has been in more positions, but the right back is probably the one that stands out the most.
“Having Jeremie back is really nice, but [managing his minutes] It crosses your mind because we played three games in seven days.
“You have to take all those things into account, especially with players returning from injuries. But we also know the importance of each game.
“That is a challenge that the performance staff, the player themselves and the coach have.
“I would rather have this problem, manage how many minutes I have to give it, than see it with the medical staff recovering.”
Wolves-Liverpool predicted lineups
Wolves starting eleven: José Sá; Yerson Mosquera, Santiago Bueno, Toti Gomes; Jackson Tchatchoua, Ángel Gomes, Joao Gomes, Hugo Bueno; Jean Ricner Bellegarde, Mateus Mané; Adam Armstrong
Liverpool starting eleven: Alisson Becker Jeremie Frimpong, Ibrahima Konate, Virgil van Dijk, Milos Kerkez; Ryan Gravenberch, Alexis Mac Allister; Mohamed Salah, Dominik Szoboszlai, Cody Gakpo; Hugo Ekitike
Where to watch Wolves v Liverpool: TV channel, live stream online
Kick-off on Tuesday is at 20:15 GMT (15:15 ET / 12:15 PT). Live TV coverage in the UK is on TNT Sports 1, TNT Sports Ultimate and the Discovery Plus app.
TNT Sports costs £29.99 a month through Discovery Plus, which includes Eurosport and entertainment and is available on a wide range of devices including smart TVs and games consoles.
Wolves-Liverpool statistics
- Wolves have lost 17 of their last 18 Premier League games against Liverpool, winning the other 3-0 in February 2023 at Molineux under Julen Lopetegui.
- They have lost 10 of their last 11 Premier League games against the defending champions and won the other 2-1 against Manchester City in September 2023.
- Against the competition’s defending champions, Wolves have lost 74% of their matches (17/23); Among teams with at least 20 such matches, only West Brom (81% – 21/26) and Norwich (75% – 15/20) have a higher defeat rate.
- Seven of their last nine Premier League home games played on a Tuesday have resulted in wins (2L), and their 58% home win rate on Tuesdays overall in the competition (7/12) represents the best on any day of the week.
- This could be the first time Wolves have gone 10 Premier League games without a first-half goal since the period between August and November 2018.
- Liverpool have prevailed in 83% of their Premier League games against Wolves, winning 19 of 23 games (D2 L2); It is the best winning percentage of any team that has faced another at least 20 times in the history of the competition.
- They have won their last two league games away from home (1-0 against Sunderland and Nottingham Forest), which is equivalent to their previous 10 away games (D3 L5).
- The Reds are looking to win three consecutive away games in the Premier League for the first time since October 2024 (4 in a row), and could do so by keeping a clean sheet on each occasion for the first time since March 2022.
- Each of Liverpool’s last four Premier League away goals came from set pieces (two corners, one direct free kick, one throw-in). Excluding penalties, four of their previous 23 away goals in the league had come from set pieces.
- Only 14% of Liverpool’s away goals in the league this season have been scored in the first half (3/21), and one of those came before the 45th minute (Ryan Gravenberch, scoring in the 35th minute against Newcastle in August).
- In Premier League history, only three teams have a lower proportion of away goals in a season scored before the break: West Brom in 2008-09 (10% – 1/10), Leicester in 1994-95 (12% – 2/17) and Southampton in 1998-99 (13% – 1/8).
- Mohamed Salah has participated in nine goals of his last 10 first division Appearances against Wolves (5 goals, 4 assists), scoring in his last two games against them for Liverpool.
