For the final time this season, Wolves are back on the road as Gary O’Neil’s side end their 2023/24 campaign at Anfield against Liverpool, with both teams hoping to finish on a high.
#1 Inside both camps
Wolves’ injury issues are close to being eradicated – just in time for the end of the season – with Craig Dawson the only confirmed absentee going into the weekend’s fixture as the defender continues to recover from groin surgery. Pedro Neto could make his return on Sunday after narrowly missing out on a place in the squad for Crystal Palace last weekend, while Santiago Bueno could be in from the start after the defender got another week of training under his belt.
In his final game as Liverpool boss, Jurgen Klopp is expected to be without two of his players against Wolves, with Joel Matip and Thiago Alcantara out with knee and thigh injuries respectively, while former Old Gold forward Diogo Jota might not be back to fitness having missed the last few weeks with a groin problem. Klopp has been handed a boost this week, with defender Andy Robertson back in training, and will be assessed before Sunday’s match.
Família 🇧🇷 pic.twitter.com/kG9ax1v2dL
— Wolves (@Wolves) May 13, 2024
#2 Coming into it
O’Neil’s side are aiming to finish their season on a positive note having only picked up one win from their last ten in all competitions. After victory over Luton Town at the end of April, Wolves have struggled for points, falling on the road at Manchester City a fortnight ago, before a disappointing end to their home campaign followed last Saturday after Palace came out on top at Molineux.
Wolves’ last three | L 1-3 Crystal Palace (A) – L 1-5 Manchester City (A) – W 2-1 Luton Town (H)
After an under-par spell which saw Liverpool fall to defeats against Palace at home as well as Everton away, which saw Klopp’s side drop out of the title race, as well as Champions League defeats to Atalanta, the Reds are unbeaten in their last three, with draws on the road against West Ham United and Aston Villa, while claiming all three points last time out at Anfield, overcoming Tottenham Hotspur.
Liverpool’s last three | D 3-3 Aston Villa (A) – W 4-2 Tottenham Hotspur (H) – D 2-2 West Ham United (A)
#3 Since last time
Wolves 1 Liverpool 3 | 16th September 2023
Despite taking the lead last time out against Liverpool, Wolves suffered a late defeat at Molineux, after Hee Chan Hwang’s early goal was cancelled out. O’Neil’s side led for the majority of the first half, but Liverpool came into their own after the break, with Cody Gakpo, Andy Robertson and Harvey Elliott finding the net to secure the three points.
Wolves’ XI | Sa, Semedo, Dawson, Kilman, Ait-Nouri, Lemina, Gomes, Bellegarde, Neto, Hwang, Cunha.
From the Wolves team which started back in September, Dawson remains out through injury, while there are still question marks around the return of Neto. Virgil van Dijk missed the game at Molineux through suspension, while Trent Alexander-Arnold was also out for Liverpool, while Wataru Endo, Luis Diaz and Elliott started last time out in place of Curtis Jones, Dominik Szoboszlai and Jota.
Liverpool’s XI | Alisson, Gomez, Quansah, Matip, Robertson, MacAllister, Jones, Szoboszlai, Salah, Jota, Gakpo.
#4 In the media
With Wolves’ season set to end after the visit to Anfield, the Athletic’s Steve Madeley believes the Old Gold have ‘big work’ to do this summer and analysis what changes need to be made at Molineux.
“’We’ve all seen seasons that end with a difficult run that gets carried over into the next season.’ This was a comment from The Athletic in Gary O’Neil’s latest post-match media conference. The response from the Wolves head coach reprised a familiar refrain. “There’s no reason for that apart from if you’ve got big weaknesses that you’re not able to deal with or cover up,” said O’Neil. “So if we go into next season with the same weaknesses as now, we have issues. If we’re able to improve them and get the levels back up to where they need to be, then we won’t. There’s no reason next season has to start slowly because this season has finished slowly. We’ll need to do some real big work in the summer.” O’Neil’s message has been clear and repeated often in recent weeks: Wolves’ squad needs attention ahead of next season. After the 3-1 defeat to Crystal Palace on Saturday, the head coach was in no mood to temper his comments.”
In Klopp’s final game in charge of the Reds, BBC Sport’s Mandeep Sanghera has paid tribute to the German and says he continues to be a captivating character as his Liverpool career comes to an end this weekend.
“Jurgen Klopp gave a "hello and sorry" after arriving a little late to his news conference this morning to look forward to Monday night’s game at Aston Villa. But, when he was reminded it wasn’t the first time in recent weeks, he replied with a, "to be honest, who gives a …?" It was classic Klopp as he continued to give the air of a manager who will be leaving at the end of the season. He is proving as captivating a character as he has always been as his stint at Liverpool comes to and end and showing why Reds fans adore him so much. With the Reds' title hopes all-but over, he also questioned if his side “were the best team in the league” in a season in which “we had our moments”. He said he was “surprised” Mohamed Salah was not on the Premier League player of the season shortlist but that was about as much as he had to say on the issue. Nevertheless, Klopp was on good form before making his exit in the build-up to his penultimate game as Reds boss.”
