Following a 2-2 draw at Anfield earlier this month, Wolverhampton Wanderers and Liverpool will play their FA Cup third round replay at Molineux on Tuesday night.
Jurgen Klopp’s team came from behind to lead 2-1 in the previous meeting, with Darwin Nunez and Mohamed Salah canceling out Gonzalo Guedes’ opener.
We travel to Wolves next in the FA Cup. #WOLLIV pic.twitter.com/FcNXoU8FQ9— Liverpool FC (@LFC) January 15, 2023
We travel to Wolves next in the FA Cup. #WOLLIV pic.twitter.com/FcNXoU8FQ9
Despite racking up 65% possession and ten shots, the Reds were forced to settle for a replay when Hwang Hee-chan equalised for the Wanderers midway through the second half.
The two sides are separated by 11 points in the Premier League table, with sixteenth-place Wolves trailing ninth-place Liverpool. But who will progress on Tuesday?
Wolves have played two games since the meeting at Anfield. After losing to Nottingham Forest on penalties in the EFL Cup quarter-finals, they beat West Ham 1-0 in the Premier League on Saturday.
It is worth noting that Wolves have lost just one of their seven games in normal time since the World Cup break, picking up three wins and three draws across all competitions.
That said, the Wanderers have not been involved in many high-scoring games of late – with five of their past seven outings producing under 2.5 goals.
Although Julen Lopetegui’s side have only managed to win four of their 19 Premier League encounters this season, they will fancy their chances of overcoming off-form Liverpool.
Indeed, the Merseysiders head into Tuesday’s replay on the back of a disappointing 3-0 defeat to Brighton in the Premier League.
As a result, Klopp’s men have now lost six of their 18 Premier League games this term – leaving them ten points outside the top four and a whopping 19 points behind table-topping Arsenal.
It’s fair to say that Liverpool have struggled since the World Cup, recording two wins, one draw and three losses in all competitions.
The Reds claimed their eighth FA Cup title last season, defeating Chelsea in the final on penalties. However, they will need to up their game if they are to defend their crown.
Head-to-head: Wolves have failed to win any of their last eight meetings with Liverpool, suffering seven straight defeats before the 2-2 draw at Anfield.
Given that Liverpool have lost just two of their previous 14 matches against the Wanderers, the hosts could struggle to pick up a positive result on Tuesday.
Team news: Wolves will be without the injured quartet of Pedro Neto, Boubacar Traore, Chiquinho and Sasa Kalajdzic on Tuesday, while Diego Costa is a doubt.
There are question marks over the fitness of Liverpool forward Darwin Nunez, with Luis Diaz, Virgil van Dijk, Diogo Jots and Roberto Firmino sidelined due to injury.
There is no denying that Wolves have improved since Lopetegui’s arrival. Still, Liverpool have more than enough firepower to advance on Tuesday.
Forebet predicts that Liverpool will claim a low-scoring victory over Wolves, keeping a clean sheet in the process.