12 Jun 2019
There have not been many more memorable title races, certainly not in the Premier League era. The lead has changed 32 times this season, and Liverpool go into the last day of the season knowing that only a win will be good enough if they are to secure their first English title in 29 years.
And should Manchester City win at Brighton, even victory against Wolves at Anfield will not be enough.
Wolves have nothing to play for. They cemented seventh place in the table and the possibility of Europa League football next season with a 1-0 win over relegated Fulham on Saturday.
Should Watford lose to Manchester City in the FA Cup final, then Wanderers will be in Europe, a glorious end to a remarkable first season back in the top flight.
Liverpool are in the Champions League final, of course. Their stunning comeback to dispose of Barcelona on Tuesday was one of the most remarkable in the history of Europe’s main club competition.
What an incredible few days it would be should they hoist the Premier League trophy as well. They are 11/2 to take the title, and are 4/11 to beat a Wolves team that comes into this on the back of three straight wins.
Wanderers have one of the better historic records against Liverpool, having beaten the Reds on 36 occasions (L50 D17) and have won on three of the last six trips to Anfield. They have also knocked Liverpool out of the FA Cup in two of the last three years.
Nuno Espirito Santo’s side have won six of their 18 road games this season (D5 L7) and only Manchester City, Liverpool, Tottenham and Chelsea have a better defensive record in terms of goals conceded. Wolves are 8/1 to win on Sunday.
Liverpool are unbeaten at Anfield (W16 D2) and while still chasing City, the gulf in class between the top two and the rest of the league is underlined by the fact that Chelsea, in third, are a whopping 23 points behind Liverpool.
The Reds won 3-2 at Newcastle on Saturday night, thanks to a controversial free-kick awarded with four minutes to go, which resulted in Divok Origi’s headed winner, but City went back to the top of the table on Monday with a 1-0 win over Leicester.
A draw would not be good enough for Liverpool, should City lose by less than three goals at Brighton, as the Citizens hold a four-goal advantage over the Reds and are a point clear. The draw is on offer at 17/4.
TEAM NEWS
Liverpool’s 4-0 win over Barcelona, which put them through to the Champions League final for the second successive season, may have come at quite a cost.
Roberto Firmino, Mohamed Salah and Naby Keita were all missing against Barcelona, while Alex Oxlade-Chamberlin was rested. He is expected to return to face Wolves, but Salah is in concussion protocol and there is only a small chance he could return.
Firmino’s ongoing groin injury means he is likely to be ruled out again. Keita is out for the rest of the season.
Jordan Henderson received a knock on his knee and he is a doubt, while full-back Andrew Robertson received a kick on the calf from Luis Suarez and is also facing a race to be fit, but it is likely he will be sidelined.
Virgil Van Dijk has been troubled by a foot injury in recent weeks and Sadio Mane also received a knock. Mane is in line to win the Golden Boot as the Premier League’s top scorer. He has 20 goals and is two behind teammate Salah. Mane is 14/1 to win the Golden Boot, while Salah, on 22 goals, is 3/10.
Wolves boss Nuno, who has been nominated for manager of the season after his side picked up 57 points – the most of any newly-promoted side for almost two decades – has no major injury concerns.
Raul Jiminez and Diogo Jota will lead the line for Wanderers and they are respectively priced at 11/4 and 10/3 to score at any time.
REDS JUMP FINAL HURDLE?
It will be a cruel blow should Liverpool lose the Premier League title race by such a slim margin – and then lose the Champions League final. But Jurgen Klopp’s side have a never-say-die attitude and they are odds-on to win at least one trophy this season.
The destiny of the Premier League is out of their hands, but there is no pressure on the Reds after their thrilling defeat of Barcelona.
It would be astonishing if, despite two highly-charged emotional back-to-back games took their toll at this stage.
Klopp’s side are high on adrenaline and they are 10/11 to be leading at half-time and full-time against a Wolves side that seeks successive wins over the Reds for the first time since 1980.
Goals have been a feature of recent meetings, with five of the last six clashes yielding three goals or more. It is 8/13 that over 2.5 total goals will be scored again on Sunday.
The Genting Casino Premier League odds suggest that Liverpool will be the ones doing the scoring and it is worth noting that only four of the last 12 meetings saw both sides find the net.
It is 19/20 that both sides score and 17/20 that Liverpool win to nil.
Wolves have scored at least once in five of their last seven trips to Anfield, however, and they are 5/6 to get at least one goal (over 0.5 goals).
Whatever the outcome, this has been a remarkable season for Klopp’s side and given their penchant for late goals, it would be no surprise to see them win the title in dramatic fashion. So, don’t forget to check out correct score and goal time markets.
To see all the odds on this clash, click here.
