Liverpool head to Wolves with a Champions League spot still firmly in their sights
Liverpool will be looking to close the gap on the Premier League top four when they travel to Molineux to face bottom of the table Wolves on Tuesday night.
Despite a difficult season for the reigning champions, Champions League qualification is still very much up for grabs for Arne Slot’s side.
Those hopes have been aided by four consecutive victories in the Premier League, including an emphatic 5-2 victory against West Ham United last time out. This, combined with losses for both Aston Villa and Chelsea, has left the Reds fifth in the table, three points behind fourth-placed Villa.
The Merseysiders will be facing a Wolves side that are sat bottom of the table on just 13 points – 16 points from safety. Despite their precarious league position, Wolves will be buoyed following positive results of late, taking a point against league leaders Arsenal and a 2-0 victory over West Midlands rivals Villa last Friday night.
Here is everything you need to know about the clash…
What time is Wolves v Liverpool kick-off?
The game will kick off at 8:15pm on Tuesday, March 3, at Molineux, Wolverhampton.
Will the Wolves v Liverpool game be broadcast on TV?
The game will be shown on TNT Sports 1 and TNT Sports Ultimate, with coverage starting at 7pm.
The game will also be available to stream through Discovery+ if you have the TNT Sports package.
Short highlights will also be available on the Sky Sports Premier League YouTube channel with extended highlights available on Match of the Day on Wednesday, March 4, at 10:40pm.
Watch the Premier League on TNT Sports
TNT Sports broadcasts select Premier League fixtures and fans can stream each one on the TNT Sports Prime Video channel. A monthly subscription also includes select Champions League, Europa League and FA Cup games.
Team news
For Wolves Brazilian midfielder Andre is a doubt for the encounter but the Brazilian could still feature. Aside from that the home side have no other injury concerns ahead of tonight’s match. Manager Rob Edwards also confirmed that South Korean winger Hwang Hee Chan is fit and available.
Slot has confirmed that Liverpool are likely to be without German midfielder Florian Wirtz for the game but was optimistic to have him back for the FA Cup match against the same opposition on Friday.
Right-back Jeremie Frimpong was back in the side against West Ham having recovered from an injury.
What the managers are saying
Going into the match, Edwards tasked his side to carry on the positive momentum following their victory against Aston Villa. Edwards stated: “Some good results and performances have been creeping in more and more this calendar year and that was a big moment. Felt it at the whole club, a really nice moment to share with the supporters.”
Edwards stated that they would also need this positivity when facing Liverpool, adding “we’ve got to be at our best to threaten, they’re the champions, an amazing football club and it’s really exciting for us that we get to face them twice but we know the size of the task as well”.
Edwards also touched on the brilliance of Brazilian midfielder Joao Gomes. “I think he’s a wonderful player who’s shown real glimpses. It’s been hard for him in a team that has struggled to get results and it can be challenging,” he said.
In the build-up to this match, Slot was asked about the state of his side in regards to the return of Frimpong and about the form of winger Cody Gakpo.
On Frimpong Slot stated: “Right-back isn’t the only position that we have struggled but it stands out most. Having Jeremie back is nice. We have to take into account a lot of games especially players who come back from injuries. But we know the importance of every game now. But I’m not the only one to have that. I prefer to manage how many minutes he can be given rather than see him with the medical team.”
On Gakpo Slot said: “I don’t only judge them on the goals they score, attackers are judged on fact we keep a clean sheet just as defenders are judged on scoring. But I know attackers want to score goals. I was happy as it was the 4-1 so that gave us a more comfortable cushion but even more happy for him to score. He needed that goal.”
Slot added: “I don’t think his confidence was gone in that regard, but I did see a few times recently he made a few different decisions that I’m used from him. That doesn’t mean lack of confidence. But when players are not scoring they start to think more and usually overthinking is not the best thing you can do.”