FA Cup third round replay preview: Wolves v Liverpool
That controversy perhaps rocked their cup confidence as Wolves fell to an EFL Cup quarter-final elimination at the hands of Nottingham Forest in their next match, though they did bounce back with a vital 1-0 home win over West Ham in league action at the weekend.
Julen Lopetegui’s men now make a swift return to Molineux hoping to make it out of the third-round for a third successive season, despite their last two eliminations at this stage coming via replays. The four-time winners likely can’t draw much confidence from their recent record against Liverpool, winning only twice in the last 14 head-to-heads (D1, L11), although both those successes interestingly came in the FA Cup!
Meanwhile, things seem to be going from bad to worse for Liverpool after their 3-0 demolition by Brighton at the weekend, with manager Jürgen Klopp insisting he "can't remember a worse game”. That result means Liverpool remain winless in 2023 (D1, L2), with a once water-tight defence conceding eight goals in those three matches.
The vulnerable Reds who are already down and out in the Premier League title race hit the road seeking to salvage their pride, but winning only four of 13 away games this season (D2, L7) off the back of keeping only two clean sheets shows they’re nowhere near the levels we have become accustomed to. The reigning double-cup holders have already lost the chance to defend their EFL Cup crown, and who knows what possibly suffering only their second FA Cup third-round exit in the past 12 seasons could trigger at Anfield.
Players to watch: Wolves’ Hee-chan Hwang will be hoping for an immediate impact after netting the decisive equaliser at Anfield, having scored the match opener in four of his previous five goalscoring outings at club level. Liverpool will hope the signing of Cody Gakpo will pay immediate dividends considering he’s not lost in the last 21 club games he’s found the net (W17, D4).
Hot stat: There have been eight goals scored in the 15 minutes following half-time across Liverpool’s last six games.
Follow Wolves v Liverpool on Flashscore this Tuesday from 7.45pm
