With or without Arne Slot on the touchline, Liverpool's pursuit of Premier League stardom continues when Wolverhampton Wanderers stop over at Anfield on Sunday afternoon.
The Reds extended their lead at the summit of the table despite dropping two points in gut-wrenching fashion against Everton in midweek, a few days after Vitor Pereira's side eased past Blackburn Rovers in the FA Cup.
Match preview
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You would be hard-pressed to conjure up a more fitting end to the Goodison Park Merseyside derby era; from David Moyes manning the Toffees' touchline, a glut of goals and a furious post-match brawl, the final Everton-Liverpool encounter at the Toffees' historic home had it all.
Slot's crop were a matter of seconds away from going nine points clear at the top of the Premier League rankings, only for centre-back James Tarkowski to spark Merseyside mayhem with an incredible 98th-minute volley, one that survived VAR checks for both offside and a possible foul.
The emotion of such a volatile occasion became too much for Curtis Jones and Slot at the end as both men saw red - the former for squaring up to Abdoulaye Doucoure after his away-end celebrations and the latter for something he said to Michael Oliver - but as things stand, Slot will still be barking orders from the dugout on Sunday as he awaits a ban verdict.
While the Reds missed the chance to more or less put the title race to bed, a seven-point buffer over Arsenal - who can cut the gap down to four by beating Leicester City on Saturday - is still of the healthy kind, and the walls of the Anfield fortress are standing as strong as ever.
Liverpool might only have two wins from their last five matches in all competitions, also suffering a shock FA Cup exit to Plymouth Argyle this month, but they have prevailed in each of their last four at home, appropriately netting four goals in all but one of those victories.
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Speaking of teams finding the back of the net four times, Pereira's resurgent Wolves have done exactly that over their last 180 minutes of football, putting both Aston Villa and Blackburn to the sword by two goals to nil since the beginning of the month.
After controversially getting the better of their West Midlands rivals at Molineux, Wolves punched their ticket to the fifth round of the FA Cup courtesy of two quickfire strikes at Ewood Park, where Joao Gomes's opener preceded a Matheus Cunha clincher just one minute later.
Now on the hunt for three successive wins in all competitions for the first time since February 2024, Wolves still remain dangerously close to the demotion zone in 17th position and will fall into the bottom three before Sunday if Leicester stun Arsenal.
Finding their bite on the road remains a tough ask for Wolves, though, as the Old Gold have only taken one point from their last three Premier League away matches and have kept just two top-flight clean sheets on the road since the start of 2024.
The visitors did give the leaders a good run for their money when Liverpool visited Molineux in September, but Slot's men still ran out 2-1 winners, and not since Mick McCarthy masterminded a 1-0 triumph in 2010 have Wolves come up trumps in a Premier League fixture at Anfield.
Team News
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While Slot will not incur a possible suspension or fine just yet given that he has until next Wednesday to respond to his FA charge, Jones is definitely suspended on account of his post-match red card in the Goodison Park scuffles.
The midfielder could be one of four Liverpool absentees when Wolves pay a visit, as Tyler Morton (shoulder) and Joe Gomez (hamstring) are still sidelined, and Slot also revealed on Friday that Cody Gakpo is uncertain, having picked up a knock in the derby.
Should Gakpo not be risked for the showdown with Wolves, either Darwin Nunez or former Old Gold attacker Diogo Jota ought to spearhead the charge; the latter netted 44 times for Sunday's visitors but has since struck just once against his old team.
As for visitors Wolves, their FA Cup triumph over Blackburn came at the cost of losing Hwang Hee-chan to a hamstring injury at half time, and the South Korea international is now expected to be absent for the next two to three games.
Fellow attacker Jorgen Strand Larsen only has a slim chance of coming back from a muscular problem in time too, so Matheus Cunha should act as the focal point with support from Goncalo Guedes and Pablo Sarabia at Anfield.
Whether Boubacar Traore is back from illness also remains to be seen, but long-term knee victims Sasa Kalajdzic, Enso Gonzalez, Yerson Mosquera and Leon Chiwome remain sidelined.
Liverpool possible starting lineup:
Alisson; Alexander-Arnold; Konate, Van Dijk, Robertson; Gravenberch, Mac Allister; Salah, Szoboszlai, Diaz; Jota
Wolverhampton Wanderers possible starting lineup:
Sa; Agbadou, Toti, Bueno; Semedo, Gomes, Andre, Ait-Nouri; Sarabia, Guedes; Cunha
We say: Liverpool 2-0 Wolverhampton Wanderers
Not once this season have we witnessed Liverpool and Slot rage in the manner that they did at Goodison Park, and there is certainly the potential for a knock-on effect this weekend.
However, Wolves arrive at Anfield with a depleted attack and a dismal defensive record on the road in the Premier League, so even with Pereira's men showing steady signs of improvement, the leaders should stay at least seven points clear.
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Ben Knapton
