Liverpool travel to Wolverhampton Wanderers for their FA Cup replay on Tuesday night and the Reds will be hoping to seal their place in the next round of the competition with the win.
Liverpool were held to a 2-2 draw at Anfield last time out and it remains to be seen whether they can grind out a positive result away from home.
The Reds are coming into this game on the back of a humiliating defeat against Brighton at the AMEX Stadium and they will be desperate to get back to winning ways.
Jurgen Klopp’s men have failed to win their last three matches across all competitions and the fans will be expecting a strong reaction from the players.
Meanwhile, Wolves will feel hard done by the result at Anfield last week. They had a winner incorrectly ruled out and the home side will be desperate to grind out a win here.
Julen Lopetegui’s side are coming into this game on the back of a narrow win over West Ham at the weekend and they will be fairly confident of putting on another impressive performance here.
Wolves managed to outplay Liverpool at Anfield last week and this will be another tricky encounter for the visitors.
We travel to Wolves next in the FA Cup. #WOLLIV pic.twitter.com/FcNXoU8FQ9
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) January 15, 2023
Team News and Tactics
Wolverhampton Wanderers
The home side will be without the services of Sasa Kalajdzic, Boubacar Traore, Pedro Neto, and Chiquinho because of injuries.
Lopetegui is likely to field his side in a 4-4-2 formation with Jose Sa in goal.
Dexter Lembikisa is expected to start as the right back here with Jonny Otto on the left. Nathan Collins should partner Toti at the heart of the defense.
Meanwhile, Adama Traore will retain his place in the right wing after his impressive performance at Anfield last week. Rayan Ait Nouri will continue on the left flank and he will look to offer an offensive threat as well as help out at the back.
Matheus Nunes was excellent against Liverpool at Anfield and he will hope to make his mark once again when he starts alongside Ruben Neves in the middle of the park.
Goncalo Guedes and Hwang Hee-chan are expected to lead the line for the hosts.
Probable Lineup (4-4-2): Sa; Lembikisa, Collins, Toti, Otto; Traore, Nunes, Neves, Ait Nouri; Hee-chan, Guedes
Liverpool
The visitors have a number of injury problems heading into this game.
Virgil van Dijk, Luis Diaz, Diogo Jota, and Arthur Melo are all sidelined with injuries. Meanwhile, Klopp has confirmed that Darwin Nunez is very close to returning. That said, the Uruguayan is unlikely to be risked here.
Jürgen Klopp has confirmed the Reds are set to make changes for tomorrow night's #EmiratesFACup third round replay:
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) January 16, 2023
The Reds are likely to line up in a 4-3-3 formation with Alisson Becker in goal.
Trent Alexander Arnold and Andrew Robertson are likely to be deployed as the full-backs and Joe Gomez will partner Ibrahima Konate at the heart of the defense.
Jordan Henderson put on a shocking display against Brighton and he’s likely to be replaced by Harvey Elliott in the middle of the park. The youngster will be partnered with Fabinho and Thiago Alcantara.
Cody Gakpo is expected to lead the line once again with Mohamed Salah and Alex Oxlade Chamberlain on either side of him.
Probable Lineup (4-3-3): Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Gomez, Konate, Robertson; Elliott, Fabinho, Thiago; Salah, Gakpo, Chamberlain
Key Stats
- Liverpool have kept a clean sheet in 6 of their last 8 away matches against Wolves in all competitions.
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Liverpool have won 6 of their last 7 away matches against Wolves in all competitions.
- Out of 17 previous meetings, Wolverhampton Wanderers have won 3 matches while Liverpool won 12.
- Wolves are unbeaten in their last 3 FA Cup games vs Liverpool.
- Liverpool have scored in their last 14 matches vs Wolves.
Player to watch
Matheus Nunes
The Portuguese midfielder was outstanding against Liverpool last week and he could be a key player for Wolves once again.
The Reds have been vulnerable in the middle of the park all season and their midfield has been steamrolled time and again by opposition players.
Nunes is likely to be afforded a lot of space and time here and he could dictate the tempo of the game for Wolves.
Prediction
Wolves 2-1 Liverpool
Liverpool are undoubtedly the better team on paper but they are severely lacking in form and confidence right now.
The Reds have lost three of their last four matches away from home and this will be a difficult outing for them.
On the other hand, Wolves will be quite upbeat heading into this game on the back of their last two performances – at Anfield and against West Ham. The home side have the quality to grind out a positive result here and the Hard Tackle predicts and narrow 2-1 win for them.
