MatchThe opposition lowdown: Wolverhampton Wanderers

View from Wolves

Steve Madeley, Wolves reporter for The Athletic

On manager Gary O'Neil's recent arrival...

He's been impressive in the way he has conducted himself and communicated with media and supporters and has impressed staff, too. He has also been bold in trying to introduce more of a front-foot style to that which Wolves played last season. But like all new managers, especially younger, less experienced ones, he will need to pick up a few early results to get any wavering fans on his side and to convince the squad that his methods are the right ones.

On Wolves' key dangerman...

The most eye-catching player so far this season has been Matheus Cunha, who has shown a vast improvement on his first six months at Wolves with some powerful running and beating of defenders, but the one to watch is still probably Pedro Neto. Wolves have scored four goals so far in the league and Neto has the assist on three of them so he is the clear and obvious threat.

On Wolves' style of play and predicted line-up...

So far the style under O'Neil has been aggressive, trying to control games through possession and win the ball high up the field. It is hard to predict the line-up as there are four new players who signed in the final days of the window and will come into contention for this game, but assuming O'Neil sticks with the 4-4-2 variation he has used so far, I'd expect something like this: Sa; Semedo, Dawson, Kilman, H. Bueno; Neto, Gomes, Lemina, Bellegarde; Cunha, Silva.

Recent form

Wolves have claimed two victories in their opening five fixtures across all competitions to begin the 2023-24 campaign.

They defeated Everton in the Premier League at Goodison Park and secured passage into the third round of the Carabao Cup with a home win over Blackpool.

Ahead of the September international break, Wolves were narrowly beaten in a thrilling 3-2 contest by Crystal Palace.

Previous meeting

The last meeting between the two teams came at Anfield in March. Liverpool claimed a 2-0 victory in L4, with second-half goals from Virgil van Dijk and Mohamed Salah earning three points for the Reds.

Stats

• Jürgen Klopp's men are currently on the longest unbeaten run of any team in the Premier League. They are 15 games without defeat (10 wins, five draws).

• Liverpool have won 12 of the last 13 league encounters between the teams – a run going back to January 2011.

• The teams have met twice on this date previously – a 1-1 draw in 1953 and a 6-0 Liverpool victory in 1963, both at Anfield.

• Only two outfield players have played in every minute of the Reds' league campaign so far – Andy Robertson and Dominik Szoboszlai.

What they said

Gary O'Neil, Wolves manager

"Liverpool have been very impressive this season, I think they've made a big improvement from last season with their structure. I've watched all of their games from this season and they look a very good side, so it'll be a tough game for us, of course.

"It's going to be a tough test. We've got a good game plan in place that allows us to be aggressive when we're ready to, allows us to have good spells with the ball, and I'm looking forward to seeing what the boys can produce."