Wolves vs Liverpool Prediction

As part of our weekend Premier League predictions, a Liverpool side struggling to keep pace with the top four visit an improving Wolves side. Will Liverpool grind out a hugely important win here? Or will Wolves continue their recent improvement? Find out with our Wolves vs Liverpool prediction.

Wolves vs Liverpool Prediction Match Overview

Wolves come into this match in better form than they were previously, highlighting that new coach Julen Lopetegui’s ideas are sinking in somewhat. They are thirteenth in the league form table over the last six games, with victories over fellow strugglers West Ham and Everton and a draw against Aston Villa gathering them seven points. This run represents an improvement. Their last game away at the Etihad was a routine home win for Man City, but the champions can destroy any team on their day. Wolves’ home form could have been better across the last six, losing four and winning only two. However, they were arguably unfortunate in the defeats to Brighton and Man United. Regardless, Wolves are in 17th position in the table with 17 points after twenty games. With 12 goals, they are the lowest scorers in the division, so they desperately need to start registering.

Liverpool come to Molineux in poor form. Not only did they lose at Brighton in the FA Cup after taking the lead, but they also lost to the Seagulls and Brentford away in the league and played out a turgid goalless draw with Chelsea at Anfield. The Redmen had won their three league games before this, and matters seemed to improve. However, it looks like it is back to square one – the loss to injury of defensive leader Van Dijk will not have helped. With four losses away from home in the last six, it is difficult for them to feel particularly confident approaching this game. They still desire a Champions League place come the end of the season. However, given their inconsistency, this is probably more hope than expectation. It has been a massive drop-off for Liverpool this season, and they sit in ninth place with 29 points after 19 games. This season is undoubtedly the most concerned coach Jurgen Klopp will have been in the last five years.

Wolves vs Liverpool Team News

Injuries and Suspensions

Wolves:

Might Not Play: N/A

Will Not Play: Kalajdzic, Neto, Chiquinho, B Traore

Liverpool:

Might Not Play: Carvalho

Will Not Play: Van Dijk, Konate, Melo, Diaz, Jota, Firmino

Wolves vs Liverpool Predicted Lineups

Wolves (4-3-3): Sa; Bueno, Collins, Kilman, Semedo; Lemina, Neves, Nunes; Podence, Cunha, Sarabia

Liverpool (4-3-3): Alisson; Robertson, Gomez, Matip, Alexander-Arnold; Bajcetic, Thiago, Elliott; Nunez, Gakpo, Salah

Wolves vs Liverpool Prediction Analysis

Midfield Contest, Passes, and Possession

Midfield will be a crucial area in this game. Wolves are eleventh in the table for possession stats, with 48.9 per cent across their 20 games. They are tenth for touches with 11,735. They are ninth for passing, with 7,667 passes completed in the league this season and have completed a fifth-highest 835 long passes, suggesting they are not averse to going more direct. Despite Liverpool’s reputation as a very direct team, they are second-ranked for possession (59.8 per cent) and rank highly for passes attempted and completed. While Man City are far ahead on their own with 12,503 completed passes this season, Liverpool are in second in this area with 9,848. They have completed 81 per cent of their passes, which is a good ratio. They have had 14,128 touches, just behind City again. They also rank behind City for medium and long passes and progressive passes overall. They are third behind City and Chelsea for short passes, with 4,399 completed.

This data suggests that Liverpool often control possession against other teams but are more open to playing a long pass than City and Chelsea. Still, Liverpool are more of a passing team than sometimes thought. They are middle of the road for attempted and successful dribbles, so they tend to try to play through teams with passing rather than beating players. This statistic might be surprising given the dribblers in their side, such as Salah, Nunez, and Thiago. The point is, we expect Liverpool to dominate the ball in this game and try to play their way through Wolves, who are more in the middle for possession despite the strengths of midfielders such as Neves, Moutinho, and Nunes. Wolves will likely press and harry them from the first minute to disrupt their rhythm, however.

Width and Attacking

Of course, as with any game of football, passing is rendered meaningless if there is no end product. Wolves know this all too well as (to reiterate) the lowest goalscoring team in the league. Lopetegui is trying to give his team more edge in front of goal, and the signings of Pablo Sarabia and Matheus Cunha are attempts to improve their goalscoring touch. In this game, the two might start alongside Podence as a trident in the attack. Podence and Sarabia are tricky, nippy and talented dribblers. They will look to get into spaces that Alexander-Arnold and Robertson vacate when the Liverpool full-backs drive forward. If they do this, they can produce crosses and cutbacks from which Cunha can try to score. Cunha is also good outside the box, so he should join in terms of link-up. Transitions will be an important area for Wolves to target. If Wolves can win the ball from Liverpool when the Merseyside team are attacking, they can break at pace and create chances. The introduction of speed merchant Adama Traore in the second half could aid this.

The two Liverpool full-backs have long been a primary source of creativity for the Reds. They have delivered a whopping 228 crosses between them this season. Some might say Liverpool have become too predictable and reliant on this service. The speed and running of Nunez and the trickery of Gakpo (added to Salah) should help with this. The three Liverpool forwards will aim to get behind Bueno and Semedo at every opportunity to attack Kilman and Collins. Sa in goal has a save percentage of 66 per cent this season. This ratio is modest, and Liverpool will fancy their chances of scoring against him if they get one-on-ones. It will be up to Thiago and Elliott to control the game and supply the forwards with the ball in the final third, where they can do the damage.

Beat the Bookmaker Wolves vs Liverpool Prediction

Liverpool are currently experiencing their most challenging time in many years under Klopp. They are performing below their levels, much of their team is ageing, and the squad needs a refresh. Wolves are also finding things difficult after several seasons where they had consolidated themselves as a good Premier League team. As a result, this could be a pretty cagey game. If Liverpool hit form, they could win this game comfortably. However, their self-belief is relatively low right now. We suspect they would take any win regardless of how it arrives. Wolves will see this as a chance to pile more pain on Liverpool. They will hope they can continue to show some slight improvement in performances even if the results haven’t always been coming.

Nevertheless, Liverpool will possibly prevail with a result from this game. In our opinion, the quality of their players will get them over the line, but it won’t be convincing. Wolves’ struggles in front of goal might continue.

Wolves 0-1 Liverpool

Beat the Bookmaker Wolves vs Liverpool Prediction – Liverpool Odds: