Wolves v Liverpool: Preview, probable lineups, team news, and prediction | FA Cup 2018-19
In the last fixture of the FA Cup third round, Klopp's Liverpool side travel to Molineux to face Wolverhampton Wanderers on Monday night. This all Premier League tie is probably the pick of the bunch amongst the 3rd round fixtures.
The two sides met recently in the Premier League which ended 2-0 in Liverpool's favor with Virgil Van Dijk and Mohamed Salah grabbing the goals to give Liverpool the victory. Despite not being at their best, Liverpool overcame Nuno's defiant Wolves side on their own turf.
However, the last FA Cup tie between the two sides gives us a completely different picture. Wolves, who were a Championship side at the time, came out on top beating the Reds 2-1 to cause a massive cup upset.
Current Form
Wolverhampton
Though their recent form has been up and down to stay the least, they are definitely one the improved side this season. Since their defeat at the hands of Liverpool, Wolves have lost against Roy Hodgson's Palace side and drew with the out of sorts Fulham.
However, they continued their excellent form against top six sides with a victory against Tottenham Hotspur. After a screamer from Harry Kane, Wolves came from behind to win 3-1.
Liverpool
Liverpool suffered their first league defeat of the season last time out against title rivals Manchester City. City won 2-1 thanks to Sane's winner. Whilst the Reds will be coming into this cup tie off the back of a defeat, it is hard to forget their stellar form which has seen them rise to the top of the Premier League standings.
Team News
The Reds are still without Centre back duo, Joel Matip and Joe Gomez, for this FA Cup tie. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain is also out with his long-term knee injury. Besides these notable absentees, Liverpool have a full strength squad to pick from, but a lot of rotation from Klopp is expected. Jordan Henderson, Wijnaldum, and James Milner are rested for the clash.
Wolves have no real injury concerns for the tie against Liverpool with Diogo Jota being expected to return from a hamstring injury after missing the 2-0 defeat against Crystal Palace.
Probable line-ups:
Wolverhampton XI: John Ruddy, Matt Doherty, Kortney Hause, Connor Coady, Ryan Bennett, Jonny, Romain Saiss, Ruben Neves, Ivan Cavaleiro, Morgan Gibbs-White, and Leo Bonatini.
Liverpool XI: Simon Mignolet, Rafa Camacho, Ki-Jana Hoever, Virgil Van Dijk, Alberto Moreno, Fabinho, Adam Lallana, Naby Keita, Divock Origi, Xherdan Shaqiri, and Daniel Sturridge.
Prediction
With both sides likely to rotate, it is hard to use the recent fixture as a guide to the way the fixture is going to go. Liverpool's depth is evidently stronger than Wolves' and are, therefore, going to be the favorites.
Wolverhampton 1-3 Liverpool