Liverpool V Wolverhampton Wanderers

Saturday 26^th December (Boxing Day) – 17:30 GMT

Liverpool

League Position:

Recent Form:

(Liverpool have scored in every home fixture this season)

Times maybe rough at Liverpool but what more could you ask for, to turn the tidings in your favour, than a home fixture with lowly Wolves. Rafael Benitez’s side won’t get an easier opportunity to pick up three points all season then this Saturday but will the added pressure of playing under the ESPN camera’s be a factor? After all, in the three matches that Liverpool have featured in on ESPN, the Reds’ have only managed to win one of them, and it would semm Liverpool prefer to shy away from the limelight, which is no surprise considering their drastic season up till now.

As if Liverpool’s season couldn’t get any worse they go and lose at bottom of the league Portsmouth. The 2-0 defeat at Fratton Park will now go alongside the six other defeats they’ve suffered this season, five more than they lost in the whole of the previous campaign. Liverpool did start the game brightly, passing the ball around crisply, but they failed to create anything clear cut and, once Portsmouth scored their first, quickly followed by the dismissal of Javier Mascherano, who will evidentially will miss this fixture, Liverpool never recovered and looked a demoralised bunch.  

That’s been the problem with Liverpool this season compared to last season. If they went a goal down last year then their battling qualities shone through more times than not. Remember their late victories over Middlesborough, Fulham and even Portsmouth? Well, they seem a distant memory now and on the seven occasions that Liverpool have fallen behind this season, only once have they managed to turn things around and record a hard fought victory. That rare sighting coming against Bolton, winning 3-2. However, an early setback really shouldn’t be on the cards in this encounter as, despite Liverpool’s recent form woes, they should stroll through an outing with what is a poor Wolves side.

At Anfield this season, Liverpool have been better but still not good enough. In nine home fixtures, Liverpool have slipped up four times, with a home record of 5-2-2. They’ve already lost twice at home which is ridiculous for a team that went the entirety of last season without a single loss at home. Arsenal & Aston Villa can both boast about their victories at Anfield this season but Wolves don’t even come close to the stature and quality available at the two clubs mentioned. Rafa has seen his side score plenty of goals at home, though, with a home goalscoring record of 24-11, but their defence has been very shaky and in nine home matches, Liverpool have kept just three clean sheets and haven’t kept one since their 2-0 win over Man Utd, five home fixtures ago.

Wolverhampton Wanderers

League Position: 12th

Recent Form: LWWLW 

Yet another tough fixture for Wolves and there will be questions asked if Mick McCarthy doesn’t rest his entire starting eleven on Saturday in another fixture where Wolves look unlikely to get anything from. However, after the backlash he received after his Old Trafford antics, we doubt he will field such a depleted side at Anfield and who would blame him considering Liverpool’s current predicament. Still, a tough outing for the Wolves and one we can’t see them getting anything out of.  

Avoiding the drop is all Mick McCarthy is concerned about and his controversial tactics to field the fringe players at Old Trafford showed his intent and desire of doing whatever necessary to avoid such a disaster. The gamble did pay off, though, when goals from Milijas & Kevin Doyle gave Wolves all three points against Burnley at the weekend. Their third win in as many games. Mick McCarthy has now guided Wolves to three wins in four games but will be hard pressed to get a positive result from this fixture.

The win at home to Burnley last week lifted Wolves further away from the dreaded drop but they aren’t out of the woods just yet, far from it. They are currently just three points off Bolton who occupy the first of three relegation spots and a defeat at Anfield would see them drop right back into contention after an impressive run of form to get them out of the equation, albeit temporarily.  

Wolves, in general, have been a poor outfit away from home, bar a few shock results. Their record this season away from Molineux is 2-2-5, with their two wins both coming by a 1-0 scoreline, one at Wigan and the other at Tottenham Hotspur. The latter result was outstanding but they did ride their luck on several occasions and would need a miracle for a similar result at Anfield as they’ve been far too negative at times when on their travels. At Molineux, Wolves have been able to express themselves a whole lot more in terms of creating chances. On the road, though, they struggle to keep the ball let alone carve open any defence, whilst their defending at times has been laughable.  

Wolves are vulnerable to just capitulating and an early goal for the home side on Saturday could open the Wolverhampton floodgates. They battled on stoutly at Old Trafford but a Wayne Rooney penalty spelt the end for Wolves, with Rooney strike just 30 minutes into the game instantly demoralising Wolves who eventually went on to lose 3-0. They were battered 4-0 at Chelsea, with 4-0 an injustice on how superior Chelsea were that day. Wolves have shipped 19 away goals this season, managing just 8 in return, and have failed to score in two of their previous three outings.

Head-to-Head (Last 10):

Liverpool W: 1 Wolverhampton Wanderers W: 0 Draw: 1

Encounters between these two aren’t all that common, just twice in fact, and it’s Liverpool who etched their way ahead on the h2h counter, only just, with a narrow 1-0 victory at Anfield the last time these two met. Wolves did, however, hold the Reds’ to a 1-1 draw at Molineux, although both results are somewhat insignificant as the last time these two clashed was nearly six years ago.

Match Verdict: Liverpool to WIN – 1.30 VCbet

We know Liverpool haven’t been playing well of late, and that Wolves will be confident after a victory in their last outing, but the gulf in class between the two sides is too big to ignore and only a Liverpool win will suffice in Saturday’s encounter at Anfield. The Reds’ will be desperate to return to winning ways at home after their last visit ended in a miserable 2-1 defeat by Arsenal. Fernando Torres is back and should scare the living daylights out of that Wolves defence, while Steven Gerrard, who hasn’t been half the player he was last season, really does need to up his game and take this match by the scruff of it’s neck. A comfortable home victory for us else anything else would lead to yet more criticism of this massively underachieving club.

Match Odds:

Liverpool – 1.30 VCbet

Draw – 5.80 SportingBet

Wolverhampton Wanderers – 12.00 PaddyPower

SoccerBetting Value Tip: Yossi Benayoun Anytime Scorer – 3.50 Expekt.com