2pts Wolves win-or-draw double chance at 19/10 (General)
0.5pts Craig Dawson to score anytime at 14/1 (General)
Liverpool were sluggish after the September international break last season, taking a solitary point from their games with Brighton (3-3) and a trip to the Emirates (3-2).
It would not be surprising to see a disjointed display at Molineux as 15 of their players were away on international duty.
Overall, Wolves have pleasantly surprised this campaign.
They were humbled by Brighton after a plucky performance at Old Trafford.
A smash and grab win at Goodison Park and a 5-0 thumping of Blackpool in the League Cup will have lifted morale but the 3-2 defeat at Selhurst Park serves a harsh reminder of how tough the campaign is going to be.
Unsurprisingly, Liverpool suffer without Virgil van Dijk, whose suspension for his red card at Newcastle forces him to miss a second successive game.
Since the beginning of the 2020/21 campaign, the Dutch centre-back has played 74 Premier League games for the Reds - over that period Liverpool’s win percentage was 65% and their loss ratio was just 14%.
Over that four-season period, Van Dijk has missed 44 league games and when he's absent the Reds' win percentage drops to 50% and their loss rate rises to 23%.
For that reason alone there is some juice in siding with the hosts here. I am not brave enough to back WOLVES on the nose but WIN-OR-DRAW DOUBLE CHANCE provides some extra security at a nice price.
Van Dijk only missed six league games last campaign, four of which were away from home and Liverpool did not win a single one of them.
Coincidentally, Wolves were one of the few sides to play the Reds during Van Dijk’s absence last season and the Wanderers beat them 3-0.
CRAIG DAWSON was among the scorers that day and I fancy him to repeat the feat at a cool 14/1.
The thinking being that Klopp’s side are significantly weaker at set-pieces without Van Dijk.
As far as centre-backs go, Dawson is pretty prolific. He’s scored 45 goals in his career (goals per 90 of 0.11) which means there’s plenty of value in his price TO SCORE ANYTIME.
If you are after something chunkier you can combine a Wolves win with Dawson to score anytime and keeper Jose Sa to be shown a card.
Assuming everything goes to plan and Wolves get their noses in front, surely their stopper will be pulling out all the tricks to ensure the hosts secure the three points.
Sa has picked up five cards domestically across his previous two seasons in the Black Country.
Score prediction: Wolves 2-1 Liverpool (Sky Bet odds: 16/1)
The international break has caused some issues for both managers. Hwang Hee-chan and Matheus Cunha face lengthy journeys so may not be risked by Gary O'Neil.
Sasa Kalajdzic could be handed a first Premier League start of the season should Cunha be unavailable.
Klopp faces similar issues but on a much larger scale. Alisson Becker, Alexis Mac Allister, Luis Diaz and Darwin Nunez all face tiring journeys back to Britain.
The latter, Nunez, picked up a muscular injury whilst away with Uruguay. Cody Gakpo should replace him up front.
Klopp has issues in central defence with Van Dijk suspended and Ibrahima Konate unavailable with a thigh injury.
Wolves: Sa; Semedo, Dawson, Kilman, Ait-Nouri; Sarabia, Lemina, Gomes, Neto; Kalajdzic, Silva
Liverpool: Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Matip, Gomez, Robertson; Szoboszlai, Endo, Jones; Salah, Gakpo, Jota
Odds correct at 1550 BST (14/09/23)
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