Wolverhampton Wanderers Vs Liverpool - English Premier League - Friday 21st December 20:00GMT - Match Preview

Things could hardly be better for Liverpool at the moment, sitting on top of the Premiership table undefeated after 17 games. They put on their best performance of the season so far in the 3-1 destruction of Manchester United which left their rivals in turmoil and resulted in Jose Mourinho being sacked. They also learned that their opponents in the Round of 16 in the Champions League will be German giants Bayern Munich, but that won't take place until February and there are some critical games in the league coming up that will require their full attention. Starting with Wolverhampton Wanderers who Liverpool visit in a rare Friday night game.

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Liverpool put in their best performance of the season last time out, having 36 attempts at goal, but it is unlikely Klopp is going to stick with the same 11 from Sunday. Trent Alexander Arnold is making good progress according to Klopp but will not be ready for Friday however Milner should be fit and may start at right-back. Clyne had a superb performance on Sunday but it was just his 2nd game of the season and he may not be able to go again so soon. Matip and Gomez are both still injured and so the rest of the back line is likely to remain the same. Klopp has a full selection of midfielders beside long-term injury Oxlade Chamberlain and it will be down to who he feels best suits the challenge Wolves present as Fabinho and Keita have begun to show some great form while Henderson and Wijnaldum have proven reliable all season. Xerdan Shaqiri was the big hero on Sunday coming off the bench to score twice and may feel he should be rewarded with a start too but that will depend on what system the Liverpool boss goes with. With Wolves already having taken points from other title challengers here I don't feel like Klopp will take any chances resting players and may stick with Wijnaldum, Fabinho and Keita in midfield and the front three of Mane, Salah and Firmino.

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Liverpool may be flying at the moment but Wolves have to be respected and represent another difficult challenge for Jurgen Klopp to overcome. They may have only just been promoted back into the Premier League this season but have proven to be a difficult opponent and sit 7th in the table. They have lost 3 of their home games so far but did also hold Manchester City to a draw and also defeated Chelsea 2-1 that initiated their run of 3 consecutive wins they are currently carrying into this game. They play with 3 at the back with former Liverpool prospect Conor Coady in the centre of things. They seem to switch between 3-5-2 and 3-4-3 formations but however, they set up a lot of their threat comes from the wide positions often from Matt Doherty down the right. Raul Jiminez up front is their main goalscoring threat with 5 goals and 4 assists so far this season and they have a selection of Portuguese stars throughout the team notably veterans Patricio in goal and Moutinho in midfield who between them have numerous major honours and bags of experience. Alongside Moutinho in the centre is the exciting youngster Ruben Neves, he has previously been linked with a move to Liverpool in the past and is a big threat from range and set pieces.

It is all set to be another fantastic game and could well be decided by whoever manages to influence their will on the flank with Doherty up against Robertson. A victory would open up a 4 point gap between Liverpool and Manchester City adding pressure on to them ahead of their game on Saturday.