On Saturday evening, Wolves host Liverpool at Molineux, with the odds stacked against them securing a positive result.
It’s been a testing start to the Premier League season for Gary O’Neil and Wolves, who have slipped to four defeats in five games.
To make matters worse, Yerson Mosquera suffered an MCL and ACL injury in last weekend’s defeat to Aston Villa, leaving him sidelined for the remainder of the 2024/25 campaign.
That isn’t an ideal scenario heading into the Liverpool game, as Arne Slot’s side have scored 10 and only conceded once in the top flight.
Paul Merson has unsurprisingly predicted a 3-1 win for Liverpool against Wolves, with Chris Sutton also sharing his verdict on the match.
Chris Sutton shares Gary O’Neil verdict in Wolves vs Liverpool prediction
Wolves are in some torrid form at the moment and it’s carried on from last season, with O’Neil tasting one victory in 15 league games and failing to keep a clean sheet in 18.
It’s the sort of form that can see managers lose their jobs, and although O’Neil’s role is currently safe at Wolves, Chris Sutton thinks the fans’ patience with the Englishman is wearing a bit thin.
Predicting the Reds to secure a 3-1 win at Molineux, Sutton told BBC Sport: “Wolves have not been as bad as their results suggest but I suspect the fans’ patience is wearing a bit thin with their manager, Gary O’Neil.
“That is slightly unfortunate, and unfair, because overall he did well last season, but the way Wolves ended the last campaign poorly and have started this one the same way does not help him, clearly.
“This game probably won’t do much for his cause, either. It is hard to look past a Liverpool win, based on their firepower and their strength off the bench.”
How Wolves could cause an upset vs Liverpool
Hardly anyone sees Wolves taking even a point from this game such is the difficulty of it but there is at least some reason to be optimistic.
Last season, the Old Gold were an Achilles heel for the top six in the division, securing wins over Tottenham, Chelsea and Manchester City.
Wolves have failed to carry that giant-killing mentality into this campaign, where they’ve lost to Arsenal and Chelsea but one tactical tweak could change their fortunes.
It was around this time last year when O’Neil’s switch to a three-man defence saw them beat Man City 2-1 at home.
Currently, the Wolves boss has tried using a back four, and although promise has been shown, it’s ultimately not brought the desired results.
With the devastating injury blow to Mosquera, the Old Gold could use this as an opportunity to return to a system that brought them success against the big sides.
That switch, along with an improvement in O’Neil’s substitutions, are two variables that could help them pull off the unlikeliest of upsets on Saturday.