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Sep

2024

Preview: Wolves vs. Liverpool

On Saturday evening, Liverpool travel to Molineux to face Wolves. At a glance, it might not seem like a pivotal game for the Reds in the grand scheme of things but this could shape the season for Arne Slot and his team.

By Sam McGuire

This is the sort of match that should be a routine win for Liverpool, especially when you consider the fact the Reds have an incredible record against their opponents having won eight of their last 10.

Wolves are bottom of the table, they’re winless in their opening five matches and they have just a single point to their name.

Gary O’Neil’s side have conceded 14 goals, the joint-highest in the Premier League. They haven’t been awful defensively, giving up chances worth 7.2 Expected Goals, but they’ve been a victim of poor goalkeeping and unbelievable finishing. Wolves have struggled going forward too, missing seven of their 10 Big Chances.

It is the worst possible combination. Unlucky in defence and poor in attack. This combination is likely why they have the lowest FotMob rating in the Premier League this season with 6.42.

There have been no home comforts for Wolves this term. They have played two at Molineux, lost two and conceded eight goals. Last season wasn’t much better in front of their home fans. They won eight of their 19 games at home and picked up 27 points. It was enough to place them 15th in the home form table.

By comparison, the Reds have won four matches and they’ve conceded just one goal. It should be a formality for the 2019/20 Premier League champions. They have a 100% record away from home in all competitions this term and had the third best away record last season. They travel well.

Liverpool have an xG Conceded total of just 3.9 across their five games and have racked up an impressive four clean sheets. They have the second-highest xG (10.1) and are joint-highest for Big Chances with 21. Defensively, they are resilient. Going forward, they are ruthless.

The star of the show for Liverpool has been Luis Díaz. The forward, who was linked with moves to Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain during the summer, has five goals to his name in the Premier League. Only Erling Haaland (10) has found the back of the net with greater regularity.

The Reds are firing and if it clicks for Slot and his players, Wolves could be ravaged on Saturday evening.

(Cover image from IMAGO)

You can follow every Premier League game with FotMob this season — featuring deep stats coverage, xG, and player ratings. Download the free app here.

Sep

2024

Preview: Milan vs. Liverpool

Liverpool travel to Milan this week to face off against the Rossoneri as the Champions League returns for the 2024/25 campaign.

By Sam McGuire

The new format for the competition won’t impact Matchday One. Every single team will want to start with a win.

And this is an intriguing match-up.

These two sides have a storied history in this competition. They are juggernauts of European football, but right now, both are a bit of an unknown. Both are under new management. Both are looking to bed in a new style of play. Both have had disappointing results this season. Both will want to make a good first impression in the Champions League with their new managers at the helm.

The Reds suffered their first defeat of the season on Saturday. They conceded their first goal of the Arne Slot era as Nottingham Forest rocked up to Anfield and claimed all three points. It brought Liverpool’s 100% record in the Premier League to an abrupt halt and, having seen how Slot struggled to manage the game, has heaped the first bit of pressure onto the Dutch tactician.

It doesn’t necessarily make this game a must-win but it is now very much a must-not lose match.

Milan, meanwhile, come into this game on the back of a 4-0 win over Venezia. It was their first win of the season. They have five points in Serie A having lost to Parma while drawing against Lazio and Torino. Interestingly, they are the joint-highest goalscorers in the Italian top flight under new boss Paulo Fonseca. The former-Lille manager was also believed to be on Liverpool’s shortlist as they assessed options following Jürgen Klopp’s departure. The Reds opted for Slot and Milan moved to bring him to Italy to replace Stefano Pioli.

They’re scoring goals but they’re also conceding goals. They have been breached on six occasions this term having conceded two goals in three of their four outings. They aren’t resolute defensively and they’ll have to be wary of this against a Liverpool side with seven goals in four games.

The Rossoneri had a good home record in Serie A last term, winning 12 of their 19 matches and losing on just three occasions. They were unlucky not to escape the Champions League group stage having finished level on points with PSG in a group containing the French giants, Borussia Dortmund and Newcastle United.

Both teams will want a good start in Europe and both managers will want to kick off their campaigns in the Champions League with a win. The pressure is on Liverpool but Milan have home advantage at the San Siro, let’s see if they can make it count.

(Cover image from IMAGO)

You can follow every Champions League game with FotMob this season — featuring deep stats coverage, xG, and player ratings. Download the free app here.