Liverpool backed to suffer fresh Wolves blow in Chris Sutton prediction
Liverpool head into tonight’s FA Cup tie at Molineux needing an immediate response, but Chris Sutton is not convinced Arne Slot’s side will get one.
Just days after our damaging 2-1 Premier League defeat at Wolves, the BBC Sport pundit has backed the home side to win again and pile even more pressure on the Liverpool boss.
Writing for BBC Sport, Sutton made it clear he sees this as a huge night for both clubs, but especially for the Reds after another costly league stumble in the race for Champions League qualification.
He said: “This is a big game for Liverpool boss Arne Slot, too.”
That much is hard to argue with.
Tuesday’s defeat left us outside the top five, and while Manchester United and Aston Villa also slipped up, Chelsea’s win only sharpened the sense that Liverpool are running out of room for more mistakes.
Chris Sutton expects Wolves to punish Liverpool again
Sutton believes Slot cannot afford to rotate too heavily, even with Galatasaray coming up in the Champions League next week.
The pundit said: “With the heat that is around him, I don’t think Slot is in a position where he can afford to play a weakened side here – he has to go strong to try to avoid another shock result.”
Even so, the former striker still expects Wolves to come through.
He added: “I still think we will see another surprise, though.”
Sutton’s full prediction is a 2-1 Wolves win, which would send Liverpool out of the FA Cup and deepen the scrutiny on our Dutch head coach.
Liverpool do have reasons to believe
There are at least some numbers in our favour.
Liverpool have never lost consecutive matches that were both against the same opponent and both played on that opponent’s ground, which offers a small piece of encouragement before another trip to Molineux.
Andy Robertson also admitted after Tuesday’s loss that our display lacked the required level.
The Scotland captain said the performance “wasn’t good enough” and accepted we only raised the intensity too late, which suggests the squad knows exactly what must improve.
Team news is also slightly brighter for us than it was earlier in the week, with no fresh injuries reported and Florian Wirtz edging closer to a return.
Still, Sutton’s verdict is blunt.
Liverpool are under pressure, Wolves have belief, and another defeat tonight would leave Slot facing even more noise heading into Galatasaray.
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