Liverpool v Wolves – Preview, Predictions, and Best Bets

Liverpool face Wolves in the English Premier League on Sunday. All focus is on Jurgen Klopp’s final match in charge against an opponent with just one win in ten fixtures. The Reds have won six home EPL matches in a row vs Wolves.

Liverpool Form

Liverpool’s results have been a mixed bag over the last two months. They exited the FA Cup and Europa League with the latter seeing a 3-0 home loss to Atalanta. A 1-0 league defeat at Anfield to Crystal Palace was a big blow in the title race.

After a 1-0 consolation win away at Atalanta, they beat Fulham 3-1 in the league before losing at Everton in the Merseyside derby to effectively end their title challenge. Since then, they’ve drawn 2-2 at West Ham, beaten Tottenham 4-2 at home (having led 4-0) and have drawn 3-3 at Aston Villa. They allowed 3.20 xG in that match having led 3-1.

Liverpool Team News

Jurgen Klopp is without Joel Matip and Thiago Alcantara for this match. Both Andy Robertson and Diogo Jota are pushing to be available for this clash after injuries.

Joe Gomez may keep his spot at left-back and Ibrahima Konate could continue to be benched in favour of Jarell Quansah. Darwin Nunez will hope for a recall up front.

Liverpool Motivation

The title has been gone for weeks and any hopes of a quadruple quickly vanished.

All motivation for this match is to win for Jurgen Klopp and to give the Anfield crowd a good send-off ahead of the off-season break.

Wolves Form

Wolves have had a good season overall but they’re on a run of one win in nine matches in the league. Injuries have played their part. They lost 2-1 at home to West Ham before drawing 2-2 at Nottingham Forest and being beaten 2-0 at home by Arsenal.

Another defeat at Molineux, 1-0 to Bournemouth threatened to see Gary O’Neil come under pressure. His side eked out a 2-1 home win over Luton, but two more losses have followed. They were thrashed 5-1 away by Man City before a fourth-straight home loss, 3-1 vs a confident Crystal Palace last weekend.       

Wolves Team News

Wolves have two significant injuries. Craig Dawson is missing after surgery and that weakens the backline a great deal. Pedro Neto is back training but it’s a risk to start him, so a short substitute outing is likely.

Jose Sa should return in goal after missing the last match with illness. Pablo Sarabia and Tommy Doyle are pushing for state in midfield in preference to Boubacar Traore.

Wolves Motivation

At this stage, Wolves would be satisfied to lose by a narrow margin and to avoid being humiliated.

A pretty defensive approach focused on counter-attacks is expected.

Key Stats

Liverpool have won just 3 of their last 9 matches

Liverpool have scored 2+ goals in their last 4 home matches vs Wolves

Liverpool have won 10 of their last 12 matches vs Wolves

Wolves have just 1 win in the last 10 matches

Wolves have conceded 22 goals in their 10 matches (all competitions)

Verdict

The Reds have struggled defensively of late but should blow Wolves away at the other end. A big win is possible to see Klopp off in style.

Best Bet: Liverpool win (-2 handicap) at 2.05
Alternate Bet: Liverpool win and both teams to score at 2.20
Goalscorer Tip: Mo Salah to score 2 or more goals at 3.60

James O'Connor

James is a football analyst who writes about the tactics of the PSL and English Premier League. He holds the UEFA A coaching licence and has previously worked for several clubs in analysis roles.Twitter: https://twitter.com/footy_analysis