Preview: Liverpool vs. Wolves
The Premier League title race comes down to the final day as Liverpool take on Wolverhampton Wanderers.
LIVERPOOL VS. WOLVERHAMPTON
| Sunday, May 22nd|
Premier League | Anfield
4PM GMT/11AM EST
Manchester City is probably going to win their fourth Premier League title in the last five years tomorrow when they play Aston Villa. All they have to do is win, and they have shown that they’re very, very good at doing that. Right now, 538 puts the odds at about 82% in City’s favor.
But. There’s something in the air around Liverpool this season. Have you felt it? There’s this energy, this feeling that something truly magnificent might be about to happen on Sunday.
But first, Liverpool have to win their match against Wolves. They have to win or nothing that Steven Gerrard’s Aston Villa or Pep Guardiola’s Man City do will make a difference. So it comes down to picking up all three points at home and hoping for a miracle.
Through this, Jürgen Klopp has a Champions League final match next week to consider and a few recovering superstars to manage. Mohamed Salah, Virgil van Dijk, and Fabinho are all doubtful to play as they return from some minor injuries. If there is any chance that playing on Sunday will potentially keep them from playing against Real Madrid, Klopp will likely be unwilling to take that risk.
Liverpool are undefeated at Anfield in the league, though a draw will be useless to them on Sunday. They’ll need to find a way past Wolves’ tight defense to get the ball into the back of the net.
Wolves, who have had a good season overall, are in the midst of a poor run of form. They’ve failed to win any of their last six games, drawing two and losing four. Whatever happens on Sunday, they will remain in the top half of the table, but the final game of the season is always a crapshoot.
They’ll love to be the ones to spoil the Kop’s fun.
Predicted Liverpool Lineup (4-3-3)
Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Matip, Konaté, Robertson; Keïta, Henderson, Thiago; Mané, Jota, DÃaz
Best guess is that Klopp has faith that his team can pull off this game without Salah, van Dijk, or Fabinho. Meanwhile, injury sustained by Joe Gomez (this poor guy) is less severe than was feared when he went off. Other than that, the squad is ready, which gives Klopp plenty of options.
It’s possible that for his last game as a Red, Divock Origi will be given another start as a fitting way to end his storied time with the club.
Wolves will be without Max Kilman, Nelson Semedo, and Romain Saiss.
What the Managers Had to Say
Jürgen Klopp: “We have our situation - ours is full throttle, give it a try, let’s see what’s the outcome. We didn’t win this game yet and in all of our talks it is like, ‘Then you win and we have to look there.’ No, we have to play 95 incredibly difficult minutes.”
Bruno Lage: “It will be exciting to be involved in this situation, and for us it’s a moment to play against a strong team, the manager is a big reference in the world, and we go there to give a different image than what we did in the last six games. We have a good record in away games, we had good performances against these kinds of teams, and we go there with an ambition to play the way we like to play in a big stadium.”
The Officials
Referee: Anthony Taylor. Assistants: Gary Beswick, Adam Nunn. Fourth official: Tony Harrington. VAR: Stuart Attwell. Assistant VAR: Dan Cook.
Kickoff is set for 4PM GMT/11AM EST tomorrow. In the meantime, The Liverpool Offside team will keep you updated with all of the team news and match buildup as it becomes available, along with providing a matchday liveblog and post-match recaps and reaction. If you want to join the discussion, sign up for an SB Nation account and have your say on the action as it happens.
Source: liverpooloffside.sbnation.com
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