WOLVES VS LIVERPOOL: PREDICTED LINEUP

Liverpool travel to Molineux stadium tomorrow (15:00 GMT kickoff) to take on Wolverhampton Wanderers. The Reds lie in 9th place whilst Wolves hover just above the relegation places. Here’s how Jürgen Klopp could line his side up for the encounter. For a match preview, you can head over here.

The manager confirmed no changes to the set of players available in terms of injuries, with none of the injured contingent available for selection just yet. They all remain close to a return however, with Luis Diaz (who is the furthest away) back running outside.

With this being the third meeting between these two sides in the space of a month, we should see both managers try and surprise each other with their selection and setup. The two encounters prior to this were both keenly contested, with a Harvey Elliott cracker the only thing separating the teams.

In terms of selection for this one, there will be one enforced change in the back five as Konaté is currently out with a hamstring strain. Joel Matip will come in for him in a like for like swap to complement Alexander-Arnold, Gomez and Robertson in the backline infront of Alisson.

The duo of Matip and Gomez have not played together as much as their longevity at the club would suggest. They’ve been teammates for almost seven years now but a combination of the presence of Van Dijk, injuries and form has seen them rarely partnered together.

They will have to gel together quickly as the manager’s options at centre back have been temporarily whittled right down. Beyond these two are Nat Phillips and Rhys Williams (who has been recalled from his loan spell at Blackpool), a fond throwback to the 2020/21 campaign.

In terms of the midfield, the gaffer has publicly addressed Fabinho’s decline and praised the importance of having Stefan Bajcetic around. The 18 year old should make his second Premier League start here. It would mark a fourth successive start for the Spanish youngster.

He deserves it as well. The opportunity opened up for him and he’s grabbed it with both hands. He’s gone from barely playing for the U21s to being first choice for the first team in the blink of an eye it seems. It’s some rise since his switch from hometown club Celta Vigo in 2020.

Naby Keita and Thiago have completed Klopp’s preferred midfield trio for the past three games, and with the team losing all semblance of control following the introduction of Henderson and latterly Fabinho against Brighton last time out, we could see them start a fourth consecutive game.

Upfront, it’s possibly time to see Gakpo, Nunez and Salah together for what will be just their second start together. Hopefully the manager will utilise Darwin and Cody in their natural positions and not switch them around like we saw when Darwin came off the bench against Chelsea and Brighton.

Harvey Elliott has been in good form lately playing as part of the front three so we can expect to see him come on at some point. Certainly if Mohamed Salah’s struggles continue we could see him taken out of the firing line for the 19 year old.

Predicted team:

Alisson, Alexander-Arnold, Matip, Gomez, Robertson, Bajcetic, Keita, Thiago, Salah, Darwin, Gakpo.

Subs: Kelleher, Phillips, Tsimikas, Milner, Henderson, Fabinho, Jones, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Elliott.