Liverpool begin the defence of their FA Cup crown with the visit of Wolverhampton Wanderers to Anfield for Saturday's third-round match.

The Reds enter the clash on the back of a humbling 3-1 loss to Brentford in the Premier League, while Julen Lopetegui's side were pegged back in a 1-1 draw with Aston Villa.

Match preview

Dreams of an EFL Cup double have already come to an end for Liverpool courtesy of perennial winners Manchester City, and the Anfield faithful may not be all that optimistic about their team's chances of retaining their FA Cup crown if recent results are anything to go by.

Jurgen Klopp immediately pointed to perceived injustice in Monday's 3-1 defeat to Brentford, where Ibrahima Konate's own goal and Yoane Wissa's header put the Bees 2-0 up before Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain pulled one back early in the second half, only for Bryan Mbeumo to restore the hosts' two-goal cushion late on.

While accepting that the manner of his side's dreadful showing did not warrant anything other than a defeat, Klopp was left infuriated after Mbeumo's nudge on Konate before Brentford's third goal went unpunished, as Liverpool continue to play Champions League catch-up in sixth place in the table.

Premier League fortunes take a backseat for the time being as Liverpool begin their quest for successive FA Cup crowns, having overcome Chelsea in last year's final after only previously getting as far as the fifth round since 2015.

However, the eight-times winners - who are now without a clean sheet in five matches - have gone out in four of their last seven third-round ties while entering the FA Cup as holders, and their most recent exit at this stage coincidentally came at the hands of Wolves in the 2018-19 campaign.

A first taste of a West Midlands derby for Wolves manager Julen Lopetegui ended with the spoils shared in a 1-1 draw with Aston Villa, as Daniel Podence's early effort was cancelled out by Danny Ings 12 minutes from time to leave Wolves in relegation danger.

Lopetegui's start to life at Molineux can certainly be described as unspectacular, with victories over Gillingham and Everton - the latter coming via a last-gasp Rayan Ait-Nouri effort - preceding defeat to Manchester United and Wednesday's stalemate with Villa.

Only Southampton have performed worse in the Premier League this season than Wolves, who do have four previous FA Cup successes to their name, although not since the 1959-60 season have the West Midlands outfit managed to go all the way in the tournament.

Furthermore, only once have the visitors to Anfield managed to beat the reigning holders of the FA Cup - beating Manchester United in the 1949 semi-finals before getting their hands on the trophy - although a three-game unbeaten run away from home ought to stand them in good stead somewhat.

As well as eliminating Liverpool in the 2018-19 third round, Wolves also dumped the Merseyside giants out in round four under Klopp in the 2016-17 tournament, but the visitors have suffered seven successive top-flight losses to the Reds since their last cup success.

Team News

When it rains, it pours for Liverpool, who lost Virgil van Dijk to what was initially thought to have been a precautionary substitution at Brentford, but the Dutchman is now confirmed to be nursing a hamstring injury and will be out for over a month.

The Dutchman is joined in the medical bay by Arthur, Luis Diaz and Diogo Jota, although James Milner and Roberto Firmino will endeavour to come back from their hamstring and calf issues in time for Saturday's game - the same goes for the concussed Jordan Henderson.

There should also be a Reds debut for Cody Gakpo after Liverpool completed the formalities of his transfer from PSV Eindhoven, and the 23-year-old could be brought in from the first whistle amid Liverpool's lack of options on the left-hand side.

Wolves were also forced into an unwanted half-time change in their last Premier League outing, with Podence coming off at half time against Villa with a knock, although Lopetegui is hopeful that the issue is a minor one.

However, midfielder Boubacar Traore has picked up an unspecified problem which could rule him out for a couple of months, joining long-term absentees Chiquinho, Pedro Neto and Sasa Kalajdzic in the infirmary.

While still expected to put out an XI capable of going toe-to-toe with Liverpool, Lopetegui could opt to hand Matija Sarkic a start in goal, and there may be a full debut for Atletico Madrid loanee Matheus Cunha.

Liverpool possible starting lineup:
Kelleher; Alexander-Arnold, Matip, Gomez, Robertson; Keita, Bajcetic, Henderson; Salah, Nunez, Gakpo

Wolverhampton Wanderers possible starting lineup:
Sarkic; Semedo, Collins, Kilman, Ait-Nouri; Hodge, Neves, Nunes; Traore, Jimenez, Cunha

We say: Liverpool 2-1 Wolverhampton Wanderers

Both sets of fans will no doubt be excited to catch a glimpse of Gakpo and Cunha in action, but the latter cannot solve Wolves' ongoing goalscoring woes all by himself.

Lopetegui's side can still feel optimistic about troubling Klopp's shaky backline, but with the Anfield roar behind them, we still expect the holders to book their place in round four.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.

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