Preview: Wolverhampton Wanderers vs Liverpool - prediction, team news, lineups

Wolverhampton Wanderers and Liverpool lock horns for the second time in four days when they meet at Molineux Stadium in the FA Cup fifth round on Friday night.

The Old Gold remarkably emerged victorious in their Premier League meeting earlier this week, handing the Reds a shock 2-1 defeat.

Match preview

Wolverhampton Wanderers have endured a miserable and simply disastrous 2025-26 campaign, including the Old Gold being rooted to the bottom of the Premier League standings since matchday three of the campaign.

Vitor Pereira was dismissed after failing to lead Wolves to a win in their opening 10 Premier League games, but despite the change in management, the Old Gold were made to wait until matchday 20 for their first league triumph.

A 3-0 win over West Ham United was followed by another eight-game winless run, eventually ended when they fantastically defeated rivals Aston Villa 2-0.

That triumph was sensationally followed up with a 2-1 triumph over Liverpool earlier this week, featuring a dramatic 94th-minute winner from Andre, marking Wolves' first back-to-back wins since a six-game winning streak in April 2025.

Despite the recent upturn in results, Wolves' relegation still appears almost certain, with the Old Gold trailing 17th-placed Nottingham Forest by 11 points with just eight matches to play - while the Tricky Trees also have two games in hand still to play.

Although Wolves have suffered in the league, the Old Gold have largely impressed in cup competitions, defeating both West Ham and Everton before narrowly losing 4-3 to Chelsea in the EFL Cup, while they have progressed past Shrewsbury Town (6-1) and Grimsby Town (1-0) to reach the FA Cup fifth round.

Rob Edwards will be looking for his side to maintain their current momentum and extend their FA Cup run, but recording back-to-back wins over Liverpool represents a formidable challenge.

Arne Slot's Reds will be desperate to get their revenge against Wolves and get back to winning ways, especially heading into a crucial end to the 2025-26 campaign.

Liverpool, after winning the Premier League title last term and subsequently strengthening massively in the summer window, have massively underperformed expectations.

The Reds, due to multiple lacklustre runs, find themselves fifth in the Premier League table and facing a fight to even qualify for next season's Champions League.

Liverpool have 48 points from 29 league games, after 14 wins, six draws and nine defeats, leaving them three points behind Aston Villa and Manchester United, who could both extend their lead in their games in hand.

Despite their difficulties at times in the league, Liverpool have been dominant in their two FA Cup fixtures this season, demolishing Barnsley 4-1 in the third round before comfortably beating Brighton & Hove Albion 3-0 in the fourth round.

With the chance to salvage the campaign by lifting the FA Cup trophy, Slot will be eager for his side to book their place in the next round of the competition with a win on Friday.

Despite the defeat to Wolves earlier this week, Liverpool otherwise have a superb record in this fixture, including victories in all of their six prior meetings.

Wolves FA Cup form:

W W

Wolves form (all competitions):

D W D L W W

Liverpool FA Cup form:

W W

Liverpool form (all competitions):

L W W W W L

Team News

Wolverhampton Wanderers are without any injury issues heading into Friday's FA Cup meeting, leaving Edwards with a fully available squad to select from.

Sam Johnstone has started both FA Cup fixtures this term, and the goalkeeper should replace Jose Sa on Friday, while the rest of the side that started in the victory over Liverpool earlier this week could retain their starting spots.

Meanwhile, Liverpool are dealing with injuries to Conor Bradley, Giovanni Leoni, Florian Wirtz, Stefan Bajcetic, Wataru Endo and Alexander Isak.

Slot could look to make numerous changes in search of a response to the defeat last time out, meaning the likes of Andrew Robertson, Rio Ngumoha, Joe Gomez and Curtis Jones could start.

Wolves possible starting lineup:

Johnstone; Doherty, Bueno, Krejci; Tchatchoua, Mane, Andre, J Gomes, Wolfe; A Gomes, Armstrong

Liverpool possible starting lineup:

Alisson; Jones, Gomez, Van Dijk, Robertson; Gravenberch, Mac Allister; Salah, Szoboszlai, Ngumoha; Ekitike

We say: Wolves 1-3 Liverpool

Wolves may have triumphed against Liverpool earlier this week, but the Reds will be eager to bounce back and get their revenge, and given their undeniably superior quality, we expect Slot's side to win this one.