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Liverpool legend Mark Lawrenson has backed his former team to come out on top when they take on Wolverhampton Wanderers this weekend. The two sides will clash horns in a Premier League encounter at the Molineux on Saturday, September 16.
The Reds enter this game on a three-match winning streak in the league. Jurgen Klopp's men currently sit third in the standings with 10 points from four matches, two behind leaders Manchester City.
Wolves, meanwhile, have struggled so far this season and have lost three out of their four Premier League matches, winning just once. Gary O'Neil's men are 15th in the table.
Given their respective form guides, Lawrenson has hinted that Liverpool hold the edge, though he did raise concerns about their defense. The former centre-back, who played 341 times for the Reds between 1981 and 1988, said in his column for betting site Paddy Power:
"I think Liverpool will win. I’m not sure how they’ll line up defensively because Virgil van Dijk’s suspended, although they were really good in their last game against Aston Villa.
"Wolves are struggling and lost to Crystal Palace last time so I’ll go for Liverpool. Wolves 1-2 Liverpool."
As Lawrenson noted, Klopp will be unable to call upon captain Van Dijk, who received a one-match suspension for verbally abusing a referee. The incident took place during his side's 2-1 win over Newcastle United last month, where he was sent off for a last-man tackle on Alexander Isak.
The Dutchman was initially banned for one game - a 3-0 win over Aston Villa - before receiving a second suspension earlier this week. In his absence, Joe Gomez and Joel Matip started in central defense against Villa.
Apart from Van Dijk, Klopp confirmed that his team will also not have right-back Trent Alexander-Arnold. Gomez could therefore slot in at right-back, and either Ibrahima Konate or Jarell Quansah might play alongside Matip in defense.
The Reds are expected to be without Thiago Alcantara, who is yet to recover from a hip injury, as well. Wolves, meanwhile, will not be able to call upon midfielder Joe Hodge.
Liverpool and Wolverhampton Wanderers clashed four times last season
Liverpool and Wolverhampton Wanderers clashed twice last season in the Premier League. Both teams won at home with a clean sheet to their name as well. Prior to that, they also faced off twice in January in the third round of the FA Cup.
The first cup meeting ended 2-2 at Anfield, with Goncalo Guedes (26') and Hee-Chan Hwang (66') scoring for Wolves. Darwin Nunez (45') and Mohamed Salah (52') netted for the hosts. This led to a replay at the Molineux, and Harvey Elliott's 13th-minute strike sealed progress into the fourth round for Jurgen Klopp's side.
They then played against each other on in a Premier League clash in February. Wolves extracted revenge by romping to a 3-0 home win courtesy of goals from Craig Dawson (12') and Ruben Neves (71') after Joel Matip's fifth-minute own-goal.
Liverpool returned the favor in early March by winning 2-0 at Anfield thanks to strikes from Virgil van Dijk (73') and Salah (77').
