Joao Gomes: Wolves cannot be afraid to lose
Joao Gomes says Wolves ‘can’t be afraid to lose’ and must start to see out games after letting leads slip.
As they seek their first Premier League win of the season, their last two top flight fixtures has seen Wolves lose against Newcastle and Villa from a winning position.
Particularly in the West Midlands derby, Wolves began to sit back and protect their slim advantage, but J.Gomes insists his side must be braver in their approach going forward.
Liverpool have conceded just one goal in the Premier League so far this season and another strong defensive display will set a new club record.
Liverpool have completed a league double in six of the last seven seasons against Wolves.
They have won 14 of the last 15 league encounters – a run going back to January 2011 – and the only defeat in that sequence came in February, 2023, when they went down 3-0 at Molineux.
Moreover, no Liverpool player has ever scored a hat-trick against Wolves in any competition. The last to score twice was Sadio Mane in May 2019 – a challenge for Mo?
A clean sheet against Wolves will see Liverpool set a club record of conceding just one goal in the opening six league games of a campaign.
And if selected, Caoimhin Kelleher will play his 50th game for Liverpool in all competitions.
Arne Slot is the first Liverpool manager since Tom Watson in 1896 to register six wins from his opening seven matches in charge in all competitions.
Fifteen of Liverpool’s 18 goals this season have been scored by the forwards.
Mo Salah‘s goal against West Ham in the League Cup was his 14th after coming off the bench. Only two Reds substitutes have scored more – David Fairclough (18) and Roberto Firmino (16).
And on this day in 1968, Liverpool recorded their biggest ever win at Wolves: 6-0. Roger Hunt, ex-Wolves starlet Alun Evans and Peter Thompson all netted twice.
They have won one of the last 15 league outings, with three draws and 11 defeats and have no win in the last eight since a 2-1 home win over Luton in April.
In that run, they have lost six of the last seven home league games.
They are winless in the opening two top-flight home matches for the sixth time in the last seven seasons. They last lost their opening three Molineux league games three seasons ago.
Anthony Taylor is the referee, he has taken charge of this fixture three times. Liverpool have won all three.
He, notably, has awarded Liverpool four penalties in his last six Reds games.
Since Liverpool’s defeat to Nottingham Forest in the Premier League, they have bounced back with three consecutive statement results. After being edged out 1-0 at Anfield by Forest, the Reds have won their first Champions League fixture under Arne Slot, beat Bournemouth 3-0 in the league and put five past West Ham in the Carabao Cup.
Slot is enjoying a strong start to his chapter on Merseyside and fans can only hope this continues throughout the season. Their next challenge will be Wolves this Saturday as Liverpool make the trip to Molineux in search of another important three points. Gary O’Neil’s side may look an easy opponent on paper following their dismal start to the season, but the wounded animal is often the most unpredictable, and Wolves have certainly taken some blows already this season.
