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Wolverhampton Wanderers – Liverpool FC
This week is a bit quieter in English football. For once, there is no English week in the Premier League. However, some teams from the highest English division are still in action. In the FA Cup, the replays of the 3rd round are scheduled this week. On Tuesday there will be a duel between two Premier League teams. Wolverhampton Wanderers will meet Liverpool FC at their home Molineux Stadium.
Wolverhampton have played a season to forget so far and are deep in the relegation battle of the league. At the weekend, however, the Wolves managed a liberating blow when coach Julen Lopetegui’s team won 1-0 against West Ham United. Wolverhampton are now 16th in the Premier League. The weekend before, Wolves and Liverpool drew 2-2 in the 3rd round of the FA Cup, which is why it now comes to a deciding match.
Liverpool have always played for the English championship in recent years and have been in three of the last five Champions League finals. This season, however, things are just not going right for Jürgen Klopp’s team. LFC are only ninth in the league and lost 3-0 to Brighton & Hove Albion at the weekend. Find out who will advance to the fourth round of the FA Cup in our Wolves vs Liverpool betting tips.
Wolverhampton – Liverpool Info:
– Date & Time: 17.01.2023, 20:45 hrs.
– Venue: Molineux Stadium, Wolvemhampton
– Competition: FA Cup, 3rd round – decider
– TV coverage: DAZN
Wolverhampton Form & Balance Check
Julen Lopetegui has been coach at Sevilla FC since 2019. However, after a poor start to the season and a defeat to Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League, his Sevilla era ended in early October last year. Lopetegui has now been coaching Wolves since mid-November and is expected to lead the Wolverhampton club back into safe territory. After only Portuguese coaches had been in charge at Wolves since 2017, a Spaniard now leads the team from the West Midlands for the first time.
Wolves’ form has also improved under Lopetegui. Before he took over, Wolverhampton were 19th in the table with just ten points. The Spaniard picked up a strong seven points in his first four Premier League games and climbed his team out of the relegation places. At the weekend, Wolves won the basement duel against West Ham 1-0, and they will now be aiming for a place in the 4th round of the FA Cup against Liverpool.
Goals are scarce
Wolverhampton Wanderers moved out of the relegation places with victory over West Ham. However, in one statistic the team from the West Midlands is still bottom of the Premier League. Wolves scored the fewest goals in the entire Premier League. Wolverhampton have only scored twelve times so far. Right winger Daniel Podence is the team’s top scorer with five goals.
One reason for the misery in the offensive is the injury of hopeful Sasa Kalajdzic. The newcomer from VfB Stuttgart suffered a serious injury right at the beginning of the season and has only played 45 minutes for his new club so far. His replacement Diego Costa has not yet been successful in the Premier League. At the beginning of the new year, Wolves also signed Matheus Cunha from Atlético Madrid, who is expected to provide impetus in attack.
Wolverhampton facts & analysis
– 16th place in the Premier League
– Weakest offence in the Premier League
– 2023 still without defeat in regular season
Liverpool form & balance check
Liverpool have always been favourites to win every possible title in recent years. Since the 2016/2017 season, Liverpool always finished every season in the top-4 of the Premier League. In addition, the Reds won the Premier League title in the 2019/2020 season. And in the Champions League, Liverpool also reached the final in three of the past five seasons.
This season, however, coach Jürgen Klopp’s team is hardly recognisable. Liverpool have already conceded six defeats in the Premier League this season. That is as many as in the 18/19, 19/20 and 21/22 seasons combined. The Reds’ lack of form is also reflected in the table. Liverpool are only ninth in the table and are already ten points off a Champions League place. At the weekend, the Reds lost 0:3 against Brighton & Hove Albion.
lack of consistency
Mo Salah, Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mané formed Liverpool FC’s attacking trio for many years. Since the Senegalese’s move to Bayern in the summer, the Reds’ attack has changed. Darwin Núñez, the second most expensive new signing in the club’s history, is still working to win over the fans. Liverpool’s offensive problems are compounded by injuries to Diogo Jota and Luis Diaz.
The Reds, however, have lacked consistency above all else this season. In some games, Liverpool completely dismantle their opponents and score big wins like the 9-0 against Bournemouth or the 7-1 against Glasgow Rangers. On other days, however, the attack completely lacks punch, resulting in defeats against relegation candidates such as Nottingham or Leeds.
Liverpool facts & analysis
– Currently in 9th place in the Premier League.
– 28 points after 18 games
– 13 points less than a year ago
Predicted line-up – last update on 16 January 2023
Wolverhampton last played with a 4-3-3 and we think Lopetegui will lead his team onto the field with this formation again. Podence will be the decisive figure in attack. Sasa Kalajdzic and Chiquinho are missing due to injury.
Liverpool will also play with a 4-3-3 again. The Reds’ attack is very depleted. Núñez, Díaz, Jota and Firmino are out injured. In defence, van Dijk will also miss out due to injury.
Wolverhampton – Liverpool direct comparison & Statistics
Both teams have played 66 competitive matches against each other so far. Liverpool won 38 games, whereas Wolverhampton only won 17 games. Before the 2-2 draw a week and a half ago, Wolves lost seven games in a row against the Reds.
– Liverpool have never won the FA Cup against Wolves.
– The two stadiums are 109 kilometres apart.
– When Wolves lead 1-0 in home games, they win 81% of the games.
– Liverpool have conceded one goal in each of their last nine games
