(Football news) In gameweek four, Jurgen Klopp’s team defeated Aston Villa by a score of 3-0, while their opponents were defeated by Crystal Palace by a score of 3-2.  When Crystal Palace and Wolves faced off two Sundays ago, viewers could have been excused for turning off the television at halftime because Gary O’Neil’s team managed to contain the Eagles without posing a significant threat to their own position. However, both sets of attackers shined during the frenzied second half.

Over the course of the 45 minutes, no fewer than five goals were scored, but sadly for Wolves, two of them one from Eberechi Eze and one from Odsonne Edouard made the headers of Hwang Hee-chan and Matheus Cunha meaningless.

A smash-and-grab victory over Everton and a 5-0 EFL Cup demolition of Blackpool gave O’Neil’s team a morale boost at the end of August, but the harsh reality check they received at Selhurst Park has left them lagging in 15th place in the preliminary table after already losing three games this season.

Although the hosts gave Manchester United a very good fight in gameweek one, points matter more in the battle for the bottom spot than performances. Teething problems are to be expected as Wolves adjusts to life without Julen Lopetegui, even though his departure initially seemed inevitable.

Wolves’ solitary defeat at Molineux thus far this season came in a 4-1 thrashing at the hands of Brighton & Hove Albion, but prior to that, they had gone five games without a loss at home while giving up just one goal.

But when Brighton came to town, such defensive tenacity quickly became inconsequential, and a similar tale may easily unfold against a goal-happy Liverpool, for whom the international break could not have come at a worse moment.

Aston Villa’s ability to score goals without either of their first-choice center-backs could have been disastrous for Liverpool two weekends ago, but Jurgen Klopp’s team returned to form in front of the Anfield faithful with a commanding victory, scoring three goals against the Lions without answering.

The Reds easily won thanks to goals from Dominik Szoboszlai, Matty Cash, and Mohamed Salah, who scored from close range. Unai Emery had already suffered humiliating losses at Anfield during his brief tenure as Arsenal’s manager, and this time was no different.

Al-Ittihad made persistent attempts to lure Salah away from Merseyside as his typical goal for Liverpool was scored, but the Egyptian wing king is still firmly committed to Liverpool, who have taken 10 of the possible 12 points to sit third in the table after four games.

Only Tottenham Hotspur, who have a slightly better goal difference than the Reds and have gone 15 games in the top flight without losing, have fared better than the Reds, aside from Manchester City and their perfect record. Klopp’s club has scored in 14 of those 15 games.

The focus will soon shift to Liverpool’s Europa League debut against LASK Linz, but the guests must first exact revenge on Wolves for their disastrous 3-0 loss at Molineux in February of last year, which they somewhat made up for with a 2-0 victory at Anfield only a few weeks later.

Wolves Premier League Form

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Liverpool Premier League Form

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Joe Hodge, a 21-year-old youngster who suffered a thigh injury near the end of August, is the lone player being treated by the Wolves medical staff. A return date has not yet been announced.

Although the goal scorers from Selhurst Park, South Korea’s Hwang and Brazil’s Cunha, have particularly taxing travels back to the West Midlands, the early kickoff may still present challenges for both managers. It is unclear at this time if O’Neil will risk either player right away.

While Sasa Kalajdzic is a possibility to fill in for Cunha should the South American need more time to recover from his international endeavours, Hwang only had to sit on the bench versus Palace before making an impact.

Alisson Becker, Alexis MacAllister, and Luis Diaz must also be given a once-over before they return, and Uruguay manager Marcelo Bielsa has revealed that Darwin Nunez had been dealing with a muscular issue during the break. Klopp, who has been open about his misgivings about the 12:30 kickoffs, must now do the same for the returning Alisson Becker, Alexis MacAllister, and Luis Diaz.

The reinvigorated attacker scored two assists against Villa after scoring a game-winning brace against Newcastle United, but Klopp may be concerned about his readiness for this match. Thiago Alcantara may also be questionable after suffering a hip setback.

Due to the withdrawal of Ibrahima Konate from France duty due to a thigh injury and the extension of Virgil van Dijk’s suspension following his admission to a charge of improper conduct against Newcastle, Klopp once more runs the prospect of being without both of his starting centre backs.

However, Joe Gomez and Joel Matip were a formidable force against Villa, where Trent Alexander-Arnold was forced to leave the game with a thigh injury 20 minutes before the finish and missed England’s most recent matches as well, adding to Klopp’s defensive conundrum.
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