Noelle Matthews
- Liverpool v Wolves
- Wednesday, March 1 2023, 15:00 ET
- At Anfield, Liverpool
Liverpool is having a rough season, but you can bet on Jurgen Klopp’s Reds can earn a vital three points on Wednesday against Wolves.
Who do Bettors Favor?
The best-rated online sportsbooks have not lost faith in Liverpool yet, and bettors still favor the Reds by a significant margin here. Liverpool is rated as a -211 chance to beat Wolves at Anfield, while the visiting team is a big underdog at +560 and the draw can be wagered at +352.
| Liverpool v Wolves |  |  |  |
| Liverpool | -200 | -211 | -220 |
| Draw | +352 | +350 | +360 |
| Wolves | +580 | +560 | +550 |
Liverpool’s Fragile Revival
Liverpool has been as low as 16th in the Premier League table at one point this season, so the fact that it goes into this week’s midweek fixtures in seventh, only six points off fourth place, with a game in hand over most of its rivals, is an improvement, although its revival has been a fragile one.
Victory in the Merseyside derby, followed by an impressive 2-0 win at Newcastle suggested that Liverpool was back to its best, but last week, Jurgen Klopp’s team was humiliated at home in the Champions League, albeit by the reigning champions, and on Saturday, it dropped two points at Crystal Palace.
There is of course, plenty of time for Liverpool to fight its way back into the top four, but it needs to find the same consistency at the business end of the season that it has shown in previous years. Fortunately for Reds fans, the team remains strong at Anfield, in the Premier League at least, and has lost only once at home all season, taking 24 points from 33 available this season.
Wolves Still Face Survival Battle
It seems like a lifetime ago that Wolves was a serious contender for the top six, but it was only three years ago that the club finished seventh for the second season in a row. Mid-table respectability was salvaged in both of the last two seasons, but this time around, a survival battle beckons.
Bruno Lage took over from Nuno Espirito Santo and has in turn given way to Julen Lopetegui, but Wolves’ problems remain the same. Defensively it remains relatively solid, but goals are hard to come by. In fact, only Everton has scored fewer goals than the men in old gold this season, and that is not a recipe for success. What may count in Wolves’ favor ultimately is its strong recent away form, with only one defeat in its last six on the road, although this fixture is sure to test that form to the maximum.
EPL Betting Head-to-Head
Liverpool and Wolves are two of the oldest teams in English soccer, so it is not surprising to find that this head-to-head matchup has a long history. In fact, the first-ever professional game between Liverpool and Wolves took place in 1894, when Wolves won 3-1 in the First Division.
Up until the 1960s, this was a well-matched rivalry, indeed Wolves had a slight edge, but since then, Liverpool has effectively dominated. Between 1963 and 1979, Wolves won only three matches against the Reds, and while Liverpool was conquering European competitions in the 1970s and 1980s, Wolves was slipping down the football rankings to the bottom Division.
Back in the top division, Wolves is now an established Premier League regular and earlier this month, it broke a run of nine games without a win against Liverpool, when it won 3-0 at Molineux, thanks to an own goal by Joel Matip and goals from Craig Dawson and Ruben Neves.
EPL Team News
The team news for Liverpool has improved slightly in recent weeks, but it is still without a number of players. Thiago Alcantara, Calvin Ramsay, Arthur, Luis Diaz, and Ibrahima Konate are all missing, although Konate is at least back in training.
Both Darwin Nunez and Joe Gomez picked up injuries in the game against Real Madrid, but while Nunez is likely to return for this game, Gomez’s poor performance in the Champions League means Klopp will likely not be in a hurry to bring him back into the team.
For Wolves, Sasa Kalajdzic, Boubacar Traore, Hwang Hee-chan, and Chiquinho are all still out, although there is an outside possibility that Traore could be available for this game. Pedro Neto was missing for both of the last two games but may be fit here, while Daniel Podence and Diego Costa are pushing hard for a place in the starting lineup.
EPL Match Betting Pick
Wednesday’s visitors are not to be underestimated, given their recent away form, but if Liverpool can recapture even half of its usual end of season form, then Lopetegui’s team stands little chance of success here. Of course it is hard to predict what this Liverpool team will do, but its current odds in the match betting market probably underestimate its chances.
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