Liverpool vs Wolves Predictions
| Liverpool Odds | -700 |
| Wolves Odds | +1600 |
| Draw | +800 |
| Over / Under | 4.5 +100/-125 |
Liverpool will want to send outgoing manager Jurgen Klopp off in style when they host Wolves in Sunday’s Premier League finale.
Klopp announced he would be ending his tenure on Merseyside after a decade in charge back in January while the Reds were in the midst of a genuine title challenge. He leaves having won four domestic trophies, including the 2019-20 league title, as well as the 2018-19 UEFA Champions League.
Wolves are closing a solid first year under manager Gary O’Neil, who has brought mid-table security to a club that hasn’t had that in recent seasons. But a combination of injuries and natural regression have resulted in a stretch of one win in eight for the Midlanders, who could still finish as high as 10th if several results go their way on Sunday.
Liverpool won these teams’ previous meeting 3-1 at the Molineaux back in mid-September, just before O’Neil’s men began an extended home unbeaten run.
Let's get into our Liverpool vs Wolves prediction ahead of Klopp's final fixture.
Liverpool
Liverpool haven’t been as explosive in attack as the Manchester City or Arsenal teams they challenged much of the season, but their true failing down the stretch of the season has come in defense.
The Reds have conceded two or more goals 15 times overall in all competitions this season. Seven of those occasions have come since the start of April, including four straight in the league. Most recently, Jurgen Klopp’s men lost a two-goal advantage late in a 3-3 draw at Aston Villa that virtually helped the Villains seal their fourth-place finish.
The good news for home supporters going to Anfield is that most of those performances have come on Liverpool’s travels. But the Reds conceded three times to an excellent Atalanta side in the first leg of their Europa League defeat and twice to Tottenham Hotspur in a 4-2 league win.
The emotion on Sunday’s occasion will also present a major unknown in how it could shape the hosts’ performance.
Klopp’s tenure is the most significant in the club’s history since Kenny Dalglish’s first turn in charge that ended in 1991. It’s the longest continuous reign at one of world football’s most famous jobs since Bob Paisley guided the Reds from 1974 to 1983.
Wolves
Wolves have had the opposite problem as Liverpool during their stretch run, with an attack that hasn’t completely stalled but has failed to show the explosiveness of earlier in the season.
With injuries plaguing all of O’Neil’s preferred front four at different stages, his side hasn’t scored more than two goals since a 4-2 win over Chelsea in early February.
With the manager’s higher pressing style, that has made Wolves’ margin for error too small to string together the consistent results they accrued before New Year’s. Since the Chelsea win, they’ve taken points from back-to-back matches only once, as compared to previous unbeaten runs of four and five games in league play before that February fixture.
Matheus Cunha scored to pull Wolves within one in what finished a 3-1 defeat to a surging Crystal Palace in their final home match of the season. The tally pulled the Brazilian even with Hwang Hee-Chan for the team lead with 12 league goals, with one of the pair having scored in Wolves’ last three matches.
Liverpool vs Wolves
Prediction
As often with these games where one side is heavily favored, to the extent there is any value on the moneyline, it is on the favorite.
The -700 odds imply Liverpool would win 87.5% of the time in this game. And the Reds have actually won eight out of nine against bottom-half foes. The only loss came against Crystal Palace at a time when the Eagles were developing into far better form than anything Wolves' play has suggested lately.
But the Reds have not been able to gain separation in such games in the way their other top-tier clubs have at times. And there may not be much incentive here in a game loaded with emotion and finality.
So the play here is tying that moneyline value to the total coming in under 4.5 total goals at +110 odds and an implied 47.6% probability. It's a wager that has come good on 11-of-18 occasions between Liverpool's home fixtures against the bottom half and Wolves' visits to the top half sides.
