GW 18: Wolves vs. Liverpool

This weekend we have a very good game in store for us as Liverpool travel to Molineux on Friday. This should be an intense and interesting matchup as both teams are in top form at the moment and are looking really dangerous. Liverpool moved back up to 1st place after their win over Manchester United while Wolves have moved all the way up to 7th after beating Bournemouth on the weekend. Although they’re in good form, Wolves might have a tough time breaking down Liverpool’s defence as Liverpool have conceded the least goals in the Premier League while Wolves have only scored 19 from 17 and are quite a conservative side. In the last 4 Premier League matches between the sides, Liverpool have won 3 and Wolves have won 1 with Liverpool winning all of the last 3. Their last Premier League matchup was all the way back in 2012 where Liverpool ran away with the game winning 3-0 and with Liverpool in incredible form, it could end a similar way this time round.

Wolves have regained their form after a slight slip a few weeks ago and they look to be flying high yet again. There was a period where they had dropped all the way down to 12th but by winning their last 3 games they have moved up to 7th, just 1 point off Manchester United. As mentioned earlier, their attacking side needs to improve slightly as they’ve only managed 19 goals so far but they make up for this deficiency through their incredible defensive work. They have only conceded 19 this season which ranks 5th in the Premier League above teams such as United and Arsenal. Wolves have won their last 3 games only conceding 2 in that period while scoring 6 beating tough opponents Chelsea and Bournemouth. In Wolves’ last match they played very well against a Bournemouth side who were in 7th place before the match took place. They won 2-0 in the match, but Bournemouth dominated the match in terms of possession with 62%. This might be partly because Raul Jimenez scored an early goal in the 11th minute and Wolves proceeded to sit back for the majority of the game managing less shots than Newcastle but the same amount of shots on target. As Newcastle were pressing for a late goal, Cavaleiro and Costa sprang a counter attack and Cavaleiro finished the chance to secure the win. Although it worked against Bournemouth, you would expect that if they sat back in this match Liverpool would punish them much more severely.

Jimenez will be crucial in the match as he has been very good up top for Wolves this season. Against this incredible Liverpool defence, Wolves will need someone with the attacking output that he has been producing lately. He has scored 5 and assisted 4 this season and has 2 goals in his last 3 matches after his goal last week against Bournemouth. He is currently taking 3.1 shots a game which are elite numbers and recently he is starting to gain more confidence when in front of goal. He is also a good creator making 27 passes a match and 1.2 key passes which is very good when playing for a side who play counter attacking football. Captain Conor Coady will be crucial on the defensive side of things as he’ll be head to head against top scorer Mo Salah. At the moment, his defensive contributions are quite good as he is making 2.2 tackles and interceptions a game as well as 3.5 clearances from the heart of Wolves’ defence. He is also making 42 passes a match showing that he is involved in attacking and possession play. In this game, his fantastic leadership qualities will definitely be important as he will have to control his teams defensive play as well as motivate his side.

Liverpool are now back up to first and they look like they deserve it after a couple of brilliant displays over the last few gameweeks. They are still undefeated this Premier League season winning 14 and drawing 3 of their 17 games, while winning their last 6 in the competition. This is their best ever Premier League start as they look to go unbeaten for the whole first half of the season if they don’t lose against Wolves or Newcastle. They still have the best defensive record in the league only conceding 7 from 17  and only conceding 0.39 goals per match. They've been even better recently then they were at the beginning of the season winning their last 6 with a total goal difference of plus 14 as they’ve scored 16 and conceded only 2. Their last match was a good win over their long term rivals, Manchester United. They completely dominated the match winning 3-1 with a Allison error giving Lingard United’s only goal. Liverpool managed the most shots from any individual match this season as they took at total of 36 shots in the match with 9 coming from the first 20 minutes. They had full control in the match with 64% possession and 11 shots on target. When Shaqiri came off the bench he grabbed a double and sealed the match for Liverpool.

Shaqiri should be an important player for Liverpool in this match especially as he’ll be feeling confident after his last match. From only 627 Premier League minutes he has managed 5 goals and 2 assists, contributing to goal every 89.6 minutes. In his limited time on the field, he has also taken 18 shots and mad 376 passes. Wolves have a very deep defensive line especially against the better teams and Liverpool will definitely need Shaqiri’s creative ability if they want to break down their defence. Of course, Salah will be another key player for Liverpool as both his finishing and creative ability have helped the team so much this season. Salah is an incredibly threatening player as he has scored 10 goals and produced 4 assists this season. His underlying numbers are incredible as he is taking 3.5 shots a game as well as making 2.1 key passes and 2.1 dribbles per match. Although he didn’t score in his last match against United, the match before that he grabbed a hattrick so he is clearly in some pretty good form at the moment and will definitely cause problems for the Wolves backline.

Wolves come into the game relatively injury free as only 2 players from their senior squad have the potential to miss out. These are Jota and Enobakhare with only Jota a real worry if he doesn’t make the squad. He’s currently out with a knock but has a pretty good chance of making it back in time for the match. If he does have to sit out, Wolves might really miss him as he has scored 2, assisted 1 and had a shot rebounded in to the path of Doherty to score, in his last 3 matches. Liverpool have a number of concerning injury problems with Gomez, Matip and Alexander-Arnold all set to miss this game. They managed to do well against United without all of these players but their other defenders might be getting tired if they have to play constantly across all competitions. Liverpool will probably miss Alexander-Arnold the most as he is a very good creative player and would have been useful in breaking down Wolves’ defence.

Liverpool come into the match looking outstanding but both teams have a lot to play for with Liverpool looking to stay top and with Wolves wanting to get into a Europa League spot, so you would think that both teams would be trying especially hard. Although some people think that Liverpool are weaker when away from home, this is not entirely true as they have scored 3 or more goals in every one of their last 3 away Premier League matches. However, with Wolves winning their last 3 matches and only conceding 2 in that period, they could them surprise the league leaders. Overall, with Liverpool in incredibile form at the moment, I think they’ll edge past and win 1-0.