Liverpool play Wolves twice in the space of three days this week, so we’ve previewed both matches for your reading pleasure!
The Reds head to Molineux on Tuesday and Friday, with a Premier League meeting up first, followed by an FA Cup fifth round clash.
With the first of the two games close, we’ve spoken to Dave Azzopardi (@daveazzopardi) from Talking Wolves to preview both matches and dissect a tough season for Wanderers.
Just how big a disaster has Wolves’ season been?
It’s been an awful season for Wolves.
Only two league wins so far is really frustrating, but I feel we could and should have more points, and a mixture of bad luck and individual errors have cost us in several games.
Off the pitch, Wolves have been run so poorly, so it’s probably no surprise the club are in the mess that we see currently.
But changes have been made, both with the chairman and the head coach, and it seems like Wolves are finally wanting to start putting things in place for the club to head in the right direction again.
Which three players have struggled most? Anyone impressed?
Wolves have already moved on a couple of the high-profile strugglers already, to be fair.
Emmanuel Agbadou, Jorgen Strand Larsen and Jhon Arias were all sold in January, mainly because it maximised the amount of money we could get for them.
But they were also really underwhelming.
Mateus Mane is standing out for a number of fans – he is maturing week by week and looks like a really exciting prospect.
He is someone I’m expecting to probably lose in the summer.
Are you happy with Rob Edwards ahead of next season?
This is a huge topic of discussion amongst Wolves fans at the moment.
For me, I’m more than willing to give Rob Edwards a chance currently.
He left a great opportunity with Middlesbrough to join us, and I think he deserves credit for that.
Although results haven’t got much better, the overall quality and organisation of the team seems to have improved.
After Friday’s win over Aston Villa, and Edwards’ reaction after the victory, I think more fans are willing to give him a chance.
How do you rate Liverpool’s season? Would you keep Arne Slot?
Things are improving for Liverpool and I think Champions League qualification is more than likely.
Arne Slot deserves more time, especially if he achieves a top-four or top-five finish.
He set such a high bar last season with the league win, and that was always going to be tough to maintain.
What’s your favourite and worst memory from this fixture at Molineux?
We don’t get many wins against Liverpool at all, but the 3-0 win in 2023 was a really good one.
It was early days for us under Julen Lopetegui and it was a real statement performance. Really memorable.
I don’t have any ‘bad’ memories as such from this game, but one defeat that does stick out is early 2020 when we lost 2-1.
I thought we were fantastic that day, and despite the defeat, it really showed how good Wolves could be.
Which of the two games are more important this week?
Realistically, the FA Cup game has to be Wolves‘ priority.
But I got a little bit too excited after the win over Villa and am looking at any potential routes for a great escape!
A win in the league would be unbelievable, but really, survival looks slim, so a cup run would probably be preferred.
Are you expecting two very different starting XIs?
No, I think Wolves will probably go as strong as they can, barring maybe the goalkeeper changing for the FA Cup fixture.
We’ve had a busy schedule, though, so there may well be rotation regardless.
Looking ahead to Tuesday’s game, where will the key battles take place?
I think the midfield battle will be key.
We came out on top of that against Villa, and players like Joao Gomes really stood out.
Our overall wing play seems to be improving, too, and Hugo Bueno has really kicked on from our left-hand side.
So hopefully he gets some joy in either fixture.
Finally, what are your predictions for both games?
Obviously, I want to win, but both games are going to be tricky.
I think Liverpool edge it 2-1 in the league, and I’m going to be brave and say Wolves win 1-0 in the cup!
Source:
www.thisisanfield.com