Wolves v Liverpool preview
Liverpool head coach Arne Slot says only himself and his analyst will find their roles any easier because of the familiarity of facing Wolves twice in four days.
The Reds visit Molineux in the Premier League on Tuesday and the FA Cup fifth round on Friday, taking on opponents who collected their second top-flight win of the campaign with an impressive 2-0 home win over out-of-sorts Aston Villa on Friday.
“We have to fight really hard in the league to get what we want now,” said Slot, whose side are three points ahead of sixth-placed Chelsea and will move above fourth-placed Villa if they beat the bottom club.
“There’s [also] an FA Cup to play for, so the focus will definitely be there. [Teams] know each other [so] well… I don’t see that much difference between playing each other twice in three days or [with] a longer period in between.”
Wolves are 14 points from safety with nine league matches remaining but have avoided defeat in four of their last five matches in all competitions, including a late comeback to draw 2-2 with leaders Arsenal in their preceding home match.
“We need to keep putting in performances like 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 Wanderers ensured they surpassed the all-time lowest points tally 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 Friday, it will help us.
“We know where we are in the league. It hasn’t been good enough, but Friday was massive. The fans have been lacking a few wins, but Friday was amazing.”
Wolves v Liverpool team news
On-loan Girona defender or midfielder Ladislav Krejci is suspended for Wolves after being sent off during their 1-0 defeat at Crystal Palace on February 22.
Forward Hee Chan Hwang has returned to training following an injury but remains a doubt. Winger Enso Gonzalez has a long-term knee injury and midfielder Andre (heel/calf) is a doubt.
Forward Florian Wirtz (back) is likely to miss a third consecutive match for Liverpool.
Defenders Conor Bradley and Giovanni Leoni (both knee) are long-term injury absentees, as are defender or 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 struggled in was the right full-back position,” Slot said of Frimpong.
“It has been in more positions, but right full-back is probably the one that stands out most.
“Having Jeremie back is really nice but [managing his minutes] does go through your mind because of the fact we play three games in seven days.
“You have to take all those things into account, especially with players who come back from injuries. But we also know the importance of every single game.
“That is a challenge the performance staff, the player himself and the manager have.
“I prefer to have this problem – to manage how many minutes I have to give him – than to see him with the medical staff doing his recovery.”
Wolves v Liverpool predicted line-ups
Wolves starting XI: Jose Sa; Yerson Mosquera, Santiago Bueno, Toti Gomes; Jackson Tchatchoua, Angel Gomes, Joao Gomes, Hugo Bueno; Jean Ricner Bellegarde, Mateus Mane; Adam Armstrong
Liverpool starting XI: 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, online live stream
Kick-off on Tuesday is at 20:15 GMT (15:15ET / 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 vast range of devices including smart TVs and gaming consoles.
Wolves v Liverpool stats
- Wolves have lost 17 of their last 18 Premier League matches 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 reigning champions, winning the other 2-1 against Manchester City in September 2023
- Against defending champions in the competition, Wolves have lost 74% of their games (17/23); among sides with at least 20 such matches, only West Brom (81% – 21/26) and Norwich (75% – 15/20) have a higher loss ratio
- Seven of their last nine Premier League home games played on a Tuesday have resulted in wins (L2), with their 58% home win rate on Tuesdays overall in the competition (7/12) representing their best on any day of the week
- This could be the first time Wolves go 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) – is the best win ratio of any side to face another at least 20 times in the competition’s history
- They have won their last two away league games (1-0 v Sunderland and Nottingham Forest), which is as many as their previous 10 on the road beforehand (D3 L5)
- The Reds are looking to win three successive away Premier League fixtures for the first time since October 2024 (4 in a row), and could do so while keeping a clean sheet each time for the first time since March 2022
- Each of Liverpool’s last four away goals in the Premier League have come from set-piece scenarios (two corners, one direct free-kick, one throw-in). Excluding penalties, four of their previous 23 strikes on the road in the league had been from set-plays
- Only 14% of Liverpool’s away league goals this season have been scored in the first half (3/21), with one of those coming before the 45th minute (Ryan Gravenberch, scoring in the 35th minute against Newcastle in August)
- In Premier League history, only three sides have a lower ratio of away goals in a season scored before half-time: 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 been involved in nine goals in his last 10 Premier League appearances against Wolves (5 goals, 4 assists), scoring in both of his last two against them for Liverpool
