Premier League: Liverpool are Determined to Show Championship Pedigree

Liverpool vs Wolverhampton Wanderers

Liverpool are hopeful to give their fans something to cheer about as they take on the Wolverhampton Wanderers on Sunday night.

For the first time since being crowned as champions in the Premier League, Anfield will open its doors for live supporters to come in and shower cheers for their club.

The defending champions will serve as hosts for the Wolves, who are making a push for a Champions League spot.

As of the moment, the Wolves are level with Southampton and West Ham United – good for the seventh spot at the standings.

Nuno Espirito Santo’s men missed out on the festivities last term, and making it this time around is their main objective in the 2020/21 season.

Liverpool, on the other hand, remain second in the table despite the numerous ups and downs that they’ve already experienced this season.

With a chance for taking the solo lead in sight, Jurgen Klopp’s men too are motivated to win. However, the question for them is who will show up this weekend?

SBOTOP gives a glimpse of this mouthwatering clash with today’s match preview.

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Serie A

Talking points

Liverpool’s lineup is a revolving door

That earlier question points us to this talking point as the Reds’ rhythm has been hampered by illnesses, injuries, and everything in between.

But despite these maladies, Liverpool’s Premier League 2020 results have been decent by their standards and they remarkably booked their spot as well in the Champions League Final 16.

With their roster banged up, it gave Jurgen Klopp no choice but to throw his younger players into the fire right away.

Curtis Jones, Neco Williams, and Caoimhin Kelleher had large contributions over these past few games especially against Ajax to where it was decided by a second-half goal, which bodes well for the Reds’ future moving forward.

They will still miss their key players in Alisson Becker, Virgil van Dijk, Thiago Alcantara, and Andrew Robertson, but the good news is that they won’t be coming in very depleted unlike before.

Trent Alexander-Arnold was already seen training with the squad, while Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Naby Keita are also expected to be available once they are cleared fitness-wise.

Those additions along with Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane, Jordan Henderson, and Georginio Wijnaldum might prove to be enough against the Wolves. However, I consider Diogo Jota to be the biggest x-factor here.

The Wolves meet an old friend

The Wolves are looking to upset the defending Premier League champions — Nuno Espirito Santo directs the team from the sidelines

Speaking of Diogo Jota, the former Wolves youngster is about to play his first match against his former club, but his old friends will do everything they can to stop him.

In a season where the big teams in England have struggled so far, Nuno Espirito Santo’s side are plotting to make a surprising run as they vie for a top-four finish.

But like Liverpool, it won’t come easy for them as they lost one of their best players due to a horrific injury.

Raul Jimenez suffered a fractured skull during their 2-1 win against Arsenal in the last time out, as the forward accidentally hit his head hard to David Luiz’s during a corner kick.

This means that record signing Fabio Silva will get more playing time while Adama Traore and Pedro Neto are likely to start as well.

Rui Patricio, Conor Coady, Willy Boly, and Joao Moutinho will bank on their familiarity against Diogo Jota and co., and a victory at Anfield will give them a major confidence boost.

History

It doesn’t help that Anfield will be packed again for this fixture as the Reds are motivated to extend their superior record at home.

Their undefeated run now stands at 64 games, which is the second-longest in English football history, while they have won 29 of their last 30.

A goal here from Diogo Jota will make him the second player to ever score for and against the Wolves since Stephen Hunt.

Having 17 points already at this point of the season is the Wolves’ best start to a top-flight campaign since the 1979/80 season.

The Wolves have a poor record against Liverpool recently, losing each of their last seven Premier League matchups. They’ve only won once against them in their last 12.