Liverpool host Wolverhampton Wanderers on the final matchday of the 2021-22 Premier League season at Anfield on 22nd May. The Reds trail the Cityzens by just one point heading into this game. The last time these two teams met, Liverpool won 1-0 at the Molineux thanks to a stoppage-time winner by Divock Origi. Coming into this game, Liverpool won 2-1 at the St. Mary’s Stadium against Southampton, and Wolves drew 1-1 with already relegated Norwich City.
Liverpool head into this clash having won away at Southampton 2-1. Takumi Minamino and Joel Matip scored for the Reds in the 27th minute and 67th, respectively, after Nathan Redmond fired the Saints into the lead in the 13th minute. This win leaves Liverpool with a record of 27 wins, eight draws and just two losses and a goal difference of +66. This season, the Reds have the second-highest positional attacks with shots of any team, behind only Manchester City. They average around 9.35 such actions per game.
Right-back Trent Alexander-Arnold is the most successful threat creator for Liverpool in this Premier League season from both open play as well as from set-pieces. Following Alexander-Arnold is his partner in crime, Andrew Robertson. The Scotsman’s threat mostly comes from corners, but he has also created some chunk of his threat from open play. The full-backs have a combined 22 assists to their name (Trent with 12 and Andrew with 10), but it is Mohamed Salah who is the Reds’ leader in assists, with 13 to his name.
Wolverhampton Wanderers come into this game after drawing 1-1 with Norwich City who have already been relegated back to the Championship. Rayan Ait Nouri scored the equalizing goal in the 55th minute after Teemu Pukki put the Canaries in front in the 37th minute. Wolves have mathematically not qualified for Europe, but they have the chance to potentially spoil Liverpool’s quadruple dream. Wolves have had a sturdy defence this season, ranking fourth behind Manchester City, Liverpool and Chelsea, having conceded only 40 times. This is a whopping 17 goals fewer than what xGA predicted.
Seen above is the shot map of Wolverhampton Wanderers in the Premier League this campaign. While Wolves’ defence has outperformed their xGA, the same cannot be said about their attack. The team from West Midlands is one of the worse performing attacks in the division, having netted the fourth-fewest goals, with 37 (only Norwich, Burnley and Watford have scored fewer). The fact that Wolves are eighth on the points table speaks volumes about their rock-solid defence.
Wolverhampton Wanderers have underperformed on both their xG per game and their xA per game. They have 0.83 goals per game against an xG per game of 1.02 and 0.49 assists per game against an xA per game of 0.54. The West Midlands outfit also rank in the bottom half for key passes per game.
For the Reds to achieve the quadruple, Klopp’s men will be up for it for sure. They ought to win this game and hope that Manchester City either draw or lose against Aston Villa. Otherwise, the title will stay at the Etihad Stadium.
