Match preview
Two Sundays ago, viewers of Crystal Palace vs. Wolves may have been excused for turning off the television at halftime because Gary O’Neil’s team contained the Eagles without posing a significant threat to them. However, both sets of attackers sparkled during the frantic second half.
Over the space of 45 minutes, no less than five goals were scored, but unfortunately for Wolves, two of them—one to Odsonne Edouard and one to Eberechi Eze—made Hwang Hee-chan and Matheus Cunha’s heads meaningless.
O’Neil’s team had a morale-boosting end to August with a smash-and-grab victory over Everton and 5-0 EFL Cup thrashing of Blackpool, but the harsh reality check they received at Selhurst Park has left them languishing in 15th place in the preliminary table after already being defeated three times this season.
Even though Julen Lopetegui’s departure seemed inevitable for a while, Wolves still had to get used to life without him. The hosts gave Manchester United a very tough time in gameweek one, but in the battle for the bottom spot, points come before performances.
Wolves’ solitary defeat at Molineux thus far this season came in a 4-1 thrashing at the hands of Brighton & Hove Albion, but prior to that, they had gone five games without a loss at home while giving up just one goal.
Such defensive resilience quickly paled into insignificance when Brighton came to town, though, and a similar story could very well materialise against a goal-happy Liverpool, whom the international break could have hardly come at a worse time for.
Facing a goal-happy Aston Villa side without either of their first-choice centre-backs could have spelled disaster for Liverpool two weekends ago, but Jurgen Klopp’s crop reverted to type in front of the Anfield faithful with a statement win, putting three past the Lions without reply.
During his brief tenure as Arsenal manager, Unai Emery endured humiliating losses at Anfield, and this game was no exception as the Reds cruised to victory thanks to goals from Dominik Szoboszlai, Matty Cash, and Mohamed Salah.
Al-Ittihad made constant attempts to lure Salah away from Merseyside, but the Egyptian wing king remained as dedicated as ever to Liverpool, who have taken 10 of the 12 points that are available to sit third in the table after four games.
Only Tottenham Hotspur, with their significantly better goal difference, have outperformed the Reds, aside from Manchester City and their spotless record.
, and Klopp’s team have now gone 15 games unbeaten in the top flight – scoring in 14 of them.
Attention will soon turn to a Europa League opener with LASK Linz for Liverpool, but the visitors must firstly avenge last season’s dismal 3-0 loss to Wolves at Molineux in February, which they semi-rectified with a 2-0 Anfield success only a few weeks later.
The sole player that the Wolves medical staff is now caring for is Joe Hodge, who had a thigh injury around the end of August. There is currently no word on when the 21-year-old might be able to resume playing; however, Tommy Doyle should be back from a minor knee issue.Although the goal scorers from Selhurst Park, South Korean Hwang and Brazilian Cunha, both had long travel times back to the West Midlands, it is still unclear whether O’Neil will risk either player right away due to the early kickoff.
However, Hwang only came off the bench against Palace before making an impact, while Sasa Kalajdzic is a replacement option for Cunha in case the South American needs more time to rest up after his international travels.
Alisson Becker, Alexis MacAllister, and Luis Diaz are all returning, so Klopp must give them a once-over. Meanwhile, Uruguayan manager Marcelo Bielsa said that Darwin Nunez had been nursing a muscular problem during the break.
The rejuvenated forward had two assists against Villa after his game-winning brace against Newcastle United, but Klopp is sure that he will be fit for the weekend. Thiago Alcantara, on the other hand, cannot be expected to be available for the weekend due to his hip setback.
After pleading guilty to a charge of improper conduct against Newcastle, captain Virgil van Dijk was given a one-game extension to his suspension, while his deputy Trent Alexander-Arnold will also miss out after suffering a thigh injury two weekends ago.
On the plus side, Ibrahima Konate has resumed training after overcoming a muscular injury, and Joe Gomez should show to be an effective replacement for Alexander-Arnold at right-back.
Wolverhampton Wanderers possible starting lineup:
Sa; Semedo, Dawson, Kilman, Bueno; Sarabia, Lemina, Gomes, Neto; Kalajdzic, Silva
Liverpool possible starting lineup:
Alisson; Gomez, Konate, Matip, Robertson; Szoboszlai, Endo, Jones; Salah, Gakpo, Jota
We say: Wolverhampton Wanderers 0-2 Liverpool
Liverpool’s hopes of a fourth straight victory may be derailed by late arrivals from South America and ongoing selection problems at the back, but the returning Gomez and Matip created a strong defense against Villa and should be confident in doing the same against an unreliable Wolves attack.
If Diaz and Nunez are not needed, players like Diogo Jota and Cody Gakpo can step up, then O’Neil’s team shouldn’t be able to stop the Liverpool juggernaut come Saturday lunchtime.
