FA Cup: Liverpool and Wolves Take a Break from Premier Stress  

Liverpool vs Wolverhampton Wanderers

Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool and Julen Lopetegui’s Wolves are in FA Cup action this weekend, and the third round match will be a nice distraction from the pressures of the Premier League, which have not been kind to either club in recent times.

After drawing 1-1 with Aston Villa on Wednesday night Wolves still find themselves in the bottom three of the league table, while Liverpool are sixth after a damaging 3-1 defeat away to Brentford. So an all top flight clash in the oldest cup competition in the world is well worth focusing on for two famous old clubs which need a bit of a lift.

Talking Points

Is this the Reds’ best chance of Silverware?  

The latest FA Cup 2023 betting odds, here at SBOTOP, price Liverpool at 6.50 to win the 2023 competition, behind only favourites Manchester City. But while the Sky Blues continue their league title campaign with a match against Chelsea on Thursday night, the Reds are pretty much out of that race, already 16 points behind leaders Arsenal. And a Round of 16 Champions League draw against Real Madrid looks pretty daunting at the moment, while Liverpool were dumped out of the Carabao Cup by Manchester City last week.

So, as well as being a distraction from the league, the FA Cup represents Klopp’s best chance of silverware this season, but he’ll go into this tough tie without centre back Virgil Van Dijk, who limped off in the defeat to Brentford. Van Dijk was replaced by Joel Matip who might well get the nod to line up alongside Ibrahima Konate against Wolves; and Klopp will be looking for a more solid defence than his team put up against the Bees.        

The Lopetegui effect 

Wolves are unbeaten away from home in four games and they bossed much of their meeting with Aston Villa on Thursday night after Daniel Podence gave Lopetegui’s side a deserved lead, only to be denied by a late Danny Ings leveller. Former Sevilla boss Lopetegui joined Wolves as the World Cup began and has led the team to an impressive win over Everton and the draw with Villa, while losing narrowly to Manchester United in his first game at Molineux. Four points from every three will see Wolves safe and they have more than enough within their squad to pull away, but the new boss has certainly made a good start and was delighted with his team’s efforts against Aston Villa, saying: “We came here thinking to win and beat a fantastic team. This current Aston Villa is one of the best in the Premier League. They have shown that against Manchester United and Tottenham.

“We are improving and feeling better in ourselves.”

Podence took the headlines against Villa for his brilliant strike but centre back Max Kilman also put in a brilliant show, clearing one effort off the line in a man-of-the-match performance. After Conor Coady headed off to Everton Kilman became the key man at the heart of Wolves’ defence and he will relish coming up against Liverpool’s Mo Salah and Darwin Nunez. 

Lopetegui’s only gripe is that his team has had two days fewer than Liverpool to prepare.        

History

Liverpool are the 2022 FA Cup champions, winning for the eighth time in their history while Wolves’ last triumph came back in 1960, the fourth FA Cup title in a long and illustrious history.   

Liverpool have totally dominated the head to head encounters in this fixture, winning 13 of the last 18 meetings, drawing two and losing just three.

When the two teams last met the Reds came out on top of a league match in May, winning 3-1 at Anfield as they recovered from an early Pedro Neto goal with three late replies,  Salah scoring the vital second on 84 minutes.    

In terms of recent form, Wolves have the edge with three wins, two draws and a single defeat over the last six games, while Liverpool have won three and lost three.

Betting Tip

The outcome of this clash between Liverpool and Wolves will be one of the most sought after FA Cup 2023 results in the third round as the legions of Reds fans from around the world hope for a positive result. And the Reds are a short price of 1.25 to win this game in 90 minutes, with Wolves at 7.96 and the draw at 4.64. 

2-0 to Liverpool is the most likely score line at a price of 5.41, but a bet on two or three goals opens other options, including a shock Wolves win… 

 

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