Liverpool have struggled to keep clean sheets throughout the season and have not kept one in the four games since their return, conceding eight in that time. In the league, they have not kept a clean sheet since West Ham on the 19th October. They’re going to be without Virgil van Dijk here and so are going to be even more vulnerable at the back. Having said that, whilst big money striker Darwin Nunez has missed plenty of big chances over the course of the season, they have managed to score eight since the restart and in every game since Nottingham Forest away on the 22nd October. At home, they have scored in every match this season other than against Derby in the EFL Cup with a heavily rotated side. Over 2.5 has landed in six of their nine home league games this season, and they have had at least 1.5 expected goals in each of those games, whilst conceding at least one expected goal in seven of them. They do not have the depth to rotate too much up front whilst Jota and Diaz are out and Firmino is a doubt, so they should stick with Salah and Nunez up front with Gakpo likely to start. Klopp has also said they will field a strong team as a result of poor form and the rest of a week after this one.

Last season Wolves were a team that weren’t expected to score many goals but wouldn’t concede many either under Bruno Lage. However, their defence became leakier at the start of this season and they couldn’t find more goals and the Portuguese manager was sacked. They were unlucky that new signing Kalajdzic tore his ACL almost instantaneously and brought in Diego Costa but he has not reached the heights of his Chelsea days and is yet to score this season. They have conceded 27 and scored just 11 in their Premier League games so far this campaign. They are yet to keep a clean sheet on the road so far this season, and given that they are going to Anfield, they are unlikely to do so here. There were only two goals in the game against Aston Villa but Adama Traore and Danny Ings both missed big chances for either team in the second half and there could have been more. New signing Cunha has not scored so far this season but he has been reduced to substitute appearances and only started twice for a poor Atletico Madrid side. He has shown he is capable of scoring goals in Spain and Germany in years gone by. Lopetegui has also complained that this will be Wolves’ third game in six days, suggesting he may rotate and that may be something that Liverpool will hope to pounce upon.

The signing of Cody Gakpo has provided some hope for Liverpool fans in what has been a very disappointing season in terms of their recent high standards, and it came out of nowhere with no press rumours or speculation. He has certainly impressed recently in the Eredivisie, last season hitting 12 goals and 12 assists in 22 starts (27 appearances) and has built on that this season. He has already matched the number of assists and scored nine goals in just 14 matches in the league, and he’ll be hoping to build on that.

For PSV this season, he managed three goals and two assists in just five appearances and 368 minutes in the group stage. This included an assist against league leaders Arsenal. Across the last three seasons, he has played 14 times in international club competitions and has registered eight goals and four assists in that time. For his country he has already scored six goals in just 14 appearances, including one in each of the group stage matches in the World Cup. In his eight starts for the Netherlands since June, he has scored five times and registered one assist, showing that he can play well on the global stage rather than just in the Netherlands. He is not a certainty to start here given that he has not been at the club for too long but Jurgen Klopp should see this as an opportunity to introduce him to the home fans and ease him in.

Matheus Cunha has joined Wolves on an initial loan deal with an obligation to buy in the summer for £43 million, regardless of what division they are in so there is plenty of pressure on him to hit the ground running this January. There were big things hoped for him after his initial first few seasons in the Bundesliga where he managed seven goals in his first season in the Bundesliga, averaging 2.81 shots per game. He moved to Atletico Madrid and despite scoring six times he wasn’t given too many opportunities. Over the course of his career, he has averaged 3.31 shots per 90 minutes, hitting 204 shots with 86 on target from 115 matches played. He managed one shot at Aston Villa in the 25 minutes he got off the bench in midweek. He’ll be looking to impress if he’s given his first start and he should be given plenty of opportunities with Liverpool’s current defensive frailties.

Matheus Nunes has impressed for Wolves since signing from Sporting Lisbon in the summer, but he also is prone to fouling players. He conceded 39 last season in the Portuguese League, and 63 across the two seasons before that in just 21 starts. In the Premier League he has conceded 18 fouls in just 13 starts. He committed two at Aston Villa in midweek and conceded two in his only start in just 64 minutes in his only start in the World Cup against South Korea. In the Premier League, he has committed at least one foul in 10 of his 13 starts and committed four at Bournemouth. He has committed at least two in six of his 11 most recent league starts. Thiago and Harvey Elliott in Liverpool’s midfield are their two most fouled players and the Portuguese man is likely going to try and disrupt their control of the game.