Liverpool face Wolves in their next match as they continue their apparent procession to the Premier League title, and one key battle could play a big part in the result.
On the chalkboard
The Reds have been in supreme form so far this campaign, as we are now only too well aware. The have amassed 64 points from their first 22 matches – the most of any side in the history of the top five leagues in Europe at this point in a campaign – and are still unbeaten, with 21 wins and one draw. The 16-point gap at the top is beginning to look unassailable.
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Wolves, too, are having a good campaign by their standards. They are currently sixth in the table, tied with Manchester United, and are just five points off the top four. The first fixture between these two sides this season, at the end of 2019, was a captivating one, with Jurgen Klopp’s men picking up a narrow 1-0 victory and, with this clash coming at Molineux where both Tottenham and Manchester City have already been beaten, Thursday’s match could be just as interesting.
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In that previous fixture between the two, Pedro Neto made just his second-ever start for the Midlands outfit, and he put in a solid display – he completed four out of five attempted dribbles and even scored a well-taken goal, only for it to be chalked off by VAR. In that match, he played as a centre-forward as Wolves deployed a 3-5-2 formation.
In most matches this term, though, Nuno Espirito Santo has used a 5-4-1 or 3-4-3 formation – in both set-ups, widemen are used. In their last match against Southampton, he opted for the latter, and although they struggled from a defensive point of view at times, they were fantastic in attack, winning 3-2 after a brilliant second-half display.
That match saw Adama Traore start on the left and Neto play on the right. The former is usually a right-winger, whilst the latter is primarily used on the opposite flank. However, the switch worked a treat a St Mary’s Stadium, with Traore providing two assists and Neto getting himself on the scoresheet.
That means that Liverpool could face the same formation at Molineux. As such, Neto would face off against Andrew Robertson. The £72m-valued Scotland international – as per Transfermarkt – is one of the best left-backs in the world, and is fantastic going forward – he has six assists in the Premier League this term to date – but defensively he is not always as solid – for example, he was criticised in his performance against Napoli, only one of two matches Liverpool have lost in all competitions this time out.
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As such, he will have to keep an extra eye on a player who has two goals and two assists in the top flight in just five starts. With Traore on the other side, Wolves have the weapons to cause Liverpool all sorts of problems. Just like in December, this should be an interesting clash.
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