Wolves Vs Liverpool FA Cup Preview

Wolves meet Liverpool once again at Molineux tonight after the sides were forced into a third-round FA Cup replay with a 2-2 draw at Anfield earlier this month.

Struggling Liverpool will hope to bounce back from a 3-0 Premier League defeat to Brighton last weekend while Wolves, who have also struggled so far this season, come with confidence after seeing off West Ham at Molineux in their previous fixture.

The Wanderers pulled themselves out of the relegation zone with Daniel Podence firing home the winning goal for the 1-0 win.

And, Wolves will hope to find the back of the net at home once again tonight with Jurgen Klopp saying his side need to go ‘back to basics’ to improve their form.

The previous tie at Anfield was filled with goals and drama with Darwin Núñez and Mohamed Salah on the score sheet for Liverpool, and Gonçalo Guedes and Hwang Hee-chan for Wolves. 

Julen Lopetegui’s side thought they’d won the game when Toti flicked home, but the linesmen had ruled it offside earlier in the move.

Debate has occurred since the game at Anfield whether the goal was rightly or wrongly ruled out, but nevertheless the decision cannot be overturned after the whistle and the sides will meet again tonight to face-off for a place in the fourth round of the competition.

Wolves will look to right the wrong and progress after exiting the Carabao Cup last week in controversial circumstances. The FA Cup represents the Wanderers’ last chance at silverware this season and the same could be argued for Jurgen Klopp’s reds.

Liverpool find themselves with a tough Champions League round of 16 tie against Real Madrid and out of contention for challenging for the league title, sitting ninth in the Premier League from 18 games.

The Liverpool of this season has been very different to the side of recent years that football fans have become used to seeing towards the top of the table, and the same could be said for Wolves at the bottom. However, Julen Lopetegui is changing things for the better, with his side on the up.

Midfielder Pablo Sarabia is set to have a medical today before completing a £4.4m move to Molineux from Paris Saint Germain, which Wolves fans may think is a steal.

The 30-year-old Spain international will not be signed in time to feature in tonight’s FA Cup game however, likewise to the unavailable Mario Lemina who isn’t registered to play following his £9m move from Nice.

FA Cup rules state: “All players must have been eligible to play in the original tie in order to play in a match which is replayed, postponed or ordered to be replayed.”

Liverpool’s Darwin Nunez is edging closer to fitness after a minor muscle injury and remains a doubt to play a part in the game likewise to Roberto Firmino who is still not fit.

We can expect to see the likes of Naby Keita, James Milner and Stefan Bajčetić feature for Liverpool in the midfield as well as Fabio Carvalho who may be used having not featured in the past five matches.

Liverpool, the current holders of the trophy after beating Chelsea in the final last year, are below par this season and Jurgen Klopp labelled their performance at Brighton: “bad, really bad.”

Klopp said ahead of tonight’s game: ““We need fresh legs. The easy thing for me is to sit here and tell the boys ‘At Brighton you put us in the situation so let’s see how you can get us out of it’.”

“But that would mean I am out of responsibility (not being responsible) and I just can’t.”

Despite Liverpool not possibly carrying the same amount of threat into the game as they would’ve in previous years, Julen Lopetegui acknowledged the Reds’ quality.

He said: “Liverpool are one of the best teams in the world.

“The quality of his [Klopp’s] players, the coach, his history.

“I’m sure they’re going to come here and look to do a big match. We have to be ready to overcome them.

“The FA Cup is going to be an important aim for them – us too – we have to fight to overcome one of the best teams in the world.”

We will see who will progress and who will exit the FA Cup tonight out of Wolves and Liverpool from Molineux tonight.

K/O: 7:45pm from Molineux

Keep an eye out for the match report later this evening and quotes piece tomorrow.

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