Liverpool Vs Wolves Preview

Regardless of what happens on Sunday, I think it’s been a good season.

We started poorly and have finished worse, but there was enough substance in the middle to call it a success over 38 games.

My expectations were set low with an unproven head coach backed by minimal investment, so to be north of 50 points with a top-half finish guaranteed is pleasing.

However, we can’t ignore how dismal performances have been in recent months and the club must take bold and decisive action over the summer to reshape the squad. It does feel like stick or twist time.

Unless there’s a high calibre alternative available (Lopetegui is rumoured to be leaving Sevilla) I’d stick with Bruno based on what we saw up to February. He’s a capable pair of hands.

It would be nice to sign-off this campaign on a positive, but I’m not holding my breath.

Liverpool

I know many people reserve a lot of hate for the scousers, but what they’ve achieved this season has been incredible. To reach the final of all three cup competitions and still be in with a chance of winning the league on Sunday is something we won’t see again for a long time.

It’s not beyond the realms of possibility that Aston Villa spoil the party at the Etihad, which would open the door for the reds to complete a domestic treble before squaring up to Madrid next weekend. If they did sweep the board we’d be talking about the greatest achievement in English football history.

Jurgen Klopp rested all of his go-to guys against Southampton in midweek so expect to see Robertson, Trent, van Dijk, Salah and Mane all back in the team on Sunday, refreshed and ready to go.

They’ve won 14 and drawn 4 in the league at Anfield this season, which gives them the best home record in the Premier League (City also have 14 wins but 2 defeats).

Wolves

Bruno can’t have them charging around the pitch trying to get after Liverpool as he did against City. This should be a proper batten down the hatches performance – low block, packed midfield, etc.

We went with something similar at Stamford Bridge and got a lot of joy on the counter-attack in the first half and I don’t see a better way.

I’d love to see a Wolves side that could engage teams higher up the pitch, counter-press and plunder goals, but we have to be realistic about the personnel and the methods that have become so deeply ingrained in this group.

What we can’t do is mess around with possession in central areas and allow Liverpool to swarm all over us. We need balls played into channels for our wingbacks and Neto to forage.

Last time out

The only time I thought we might get a point out of the match at Molineux in December was about 10 seconds before Origi slotted the winner. It was a cruel way to lose. We need the same resilience on Sunday.

It was a blood bath at Anfield last season and 4-0 didn’t flatter them. We made all the mistakes you can’t afford to on that fateful evening – starting with a horrible mistake from Coady – and were dutifully put to the sword.

Predictions

Well done to PeteRobbo for being the only one to correctly predict the 1-1 draw with Norwich last weekend.

And an even heartier well done to Brompton Wolf who has already won the 2021/22 Prediction League with an unassailable 4 point lead amassed at the end of Gameweek 37. I’ll do some final checks on the points tallies of all those at the top of the table to make sure it’s accurate before posting the final table next week.

As always, if you’d like to join in, it’s simple – just leave your prediction in the comment section below using the boxes provided. Then repeat for every preview article throughout the season, making sure you always use the same email address to make your prediction. Your email is what ties you to your overall score.

You can read my prediction for the game in the comment section below.

Up The Wolves!