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Wolverhampton Wanderers (3-4-2-1): Sa; Doherty, Agbadou, Toti; Semedo, J.Gomes, Andre, Ait-Nouri; Sarabia, Cunha; Guedes. Subs: Bentley, Bueno, Munetsi, Traore, Doyle, Forbs, Bellegarde, Djiga, Lima.
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Referee: Simon Hoooper and not Michael Oliver (Swindon)
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Defeat at PSV, defeat at Plymouth, a draw at Everton; Liverpool might just be enduring a blip that felt inevitable. But given Arne Slot’s men are in the last 16 of the Champions League, in the final of the League Cup, and sat four points clear at the top of the league with a game in hand, does it even matter?
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Er, yes – but not in the way we might think. It feels fair to say that this is not, perhaps yet, a vintage Liverpool side: they are vulnerable down the sides, could use a centre-back to play next to Virgil van Dijk, and the midfield is good but not great. They may also be over-reliant on Mohamed Salah … except that’s unavoidable when you have a great player and irrelevant when he’s impervious to injury.
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So with no domestic rival likely to make the title race into a serious contest, and no European rival even remotely convincing, a wobble now is to be welcomed. Though James Tarkowski’s midweek equaliser will have stung for reasons that have nothing to do with trophy accumulation, Liverpool have time and scope to ride out a slip in form, before rediscovering something better in time for the Premier League run-in and Champions League knockouts. They are set.
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However there’s always a however so, however: Wolves are dangerous visitors. Matheus Cunha is in the middle of a superb season, a ridiculosity of power, imagination and execution able to seize matches nominally contested by 21 others and make them solely about him. He’ll fancy the occasion, he’ll really fancy the right side of Liverpool’s defence, and if his side return home with a result, maybe, just maybe, a blip could intensify into something altogether more arresting.
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Kick-off: 2pm GMT
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Important Events
But there's an Arne slot here, so let's wait a moment. Next time, he says he hopes he will settle a bit when things go wrong. But he also hopes that his team will take the anger and aggression he felt, and they feel this time today. Wolves are fighting for something, he adds, and the league is like you need to respond in every game.
It's been a while since Jota began and they slowly brought him in, but he's a key player. And while Vitor Pereira says the wolves will attack, Slot says his team is ready to face one-on-one press across the pitch, or across the low block.
Two changes to Liverpool: Trent Alexander Arnold and Diogo Jota arrive and Connor Bradley falls to the bench. Cody Gakupo, in such a great shape, was injured.
Already in progress:
I'll write these down, Then we ponder what they mean.
Have some teams…
Liverpool (4-2-3-1): Allison; Alexander Arnold, Conate, Van Dick, Robertson. Gravenberch, Mac Allister, Szoboszlai; Salah, Jota, Diaz. submarine: Kelleher, Endo, Nunez, Chiesa, Elliott, Tsimikas, McConnell, Quansah, and Bradley.
Wolverhampton Wanderers (3-4-2-1): sa; Doherty, Agbadou, Toti; Semedo, J. Gomes, Andre, Ait-Nouri; Saravia, Cunya. Gadeth. submarine: Bentley, Bueno, Munetsi, Traore, Doyle, Forbs, Bellegarde, Djiga, and Lima.
Judgment: Simon Hooper Not Michael Oliver (Swindon)
preamble
They lost at PSV and lost at Plymouth, a draw at Everton. Liverpool may just bear the blip they felt inevitable. However, given that the Arne Slot man was the final 16-year-old in the Champions League and was in the League Cup final, he had a match and cleared four points at the top of the league. Is that important?
Yes, yes – but not the way we think about it. It's fair to say this is probably not on the vintage Liverpool side yet. They are vulnerable to the side, can use the centre-back next to Virgil van Dik, and the midfield is good, but not great. They may also be overly dependent on Mohamed Sarah… it's irrelevant when he's not injured, except that it's inevitable when you have great players.
So, it could make the title race a serious contest, and while European rivals are not convincing even remotely, wobble is now welcome. James Tarkowski's mid-week equalizer would have been stabbed for reasons that had nothing to do with the accumulation of trophies, but Liverpool rediscovered something in time for a Premier League run-in and a Champions League knockout Before you do, you have the time and range to overcome slips in shape. They are set.
However, as always, wolves are dangerous visitors. Matheus Cunha is in the middle of a great season, with the ridiculous laugh of power, imagination and execution that allows 21 people to nominally compete and only compete for him. He fantasizes that opportunity, he really fantasizes the right side of Liverpool's defense, and if his side goes home as a result, perhaps, maybe Blip will be stronger on something that will be completely arrested. Maybe you can do that.
Kick-off: 2pm GMT
