Wolverhampton Wanderers face an out-of-sorts Liverpool side who have been underperforming of late in this afternoon's Premier League clash, and Julen Lopetegui may certainly smell blood as he looks to secure what could be a vital three points in the Old Gold's relegation battle.

Indeed, Jurgen Klopp’s men haven’t won a match since their 1-0 victory at Wolves midway through January in an FA Cup replay, and there arguably isn’t a better time to face the Merseysiders than now.

Aside from long-term injury absentees Pedro Neto, Boubacar Traore, Chiquinho and Sasa Kalajdzic, Lopetegui has everyone else available for selection today.

However, a debut for new signing Joao Gomes may have to wait. With the Brazilian not having played since the end of last year, he could still be lacking that all-important match sharpness, something at which the manager himself hinted in recent days.

Lopetegui will likely rotate his team following their recent defeat to Manchester City, and we at Football FanCast predict the starting XI which will take to the Molineux pitch for the home side this afternoon…

Wolves predicted XI - Sa; Semedo, Collins, Kilman, Bueno; Nunes, Neves, Lemina; Podence, Cunha, Sarabia

Jose Sa retains his place in goal despite a poor performance against City, receiving a rating of just 5.8/10 from Sofascore, and he will be hoping to redeem himself against Liverpool.

The back four will likely be unchanged this afternoon, with new signing Craig Dawson having to wait to make his first start for the club. Nelson Semedo and Hugo Bueno will start on the right and left of defence respectively, while Nathan Collins and Max Kilman forming the centre-back pairing at the heart of the Wolves defence.

Mario Lemina will start his second Premier League game in a row, adding some defensive steel to the Wolves side, having averaged one tackle and 1.5 clearances per match while winning 100% of his aerial duels so far. The 29-year-old will again be joined by Ruben Neves and Matheus Nunes in the engine room, and Lopetegui will hope that they can grab a foothold on the game from the very start.

We anticipate that the 56-year-old will make three changes from the City defeat, replacing the entire front three which started at the Etihad Stadium. Daniel Podence will start on the left wing, with another January signing Pablo Sarabia making his first Wolves start on the right flank as Adama Traore drops to the bench, having been hauled off at half-time against Pep Guardiola's side.

Matheus Cunha replaces Raul Jimenez, with the £43m striker aiming to score his first goal for the Old Gold today. He was dubbed “special” by his former Hertha Berlin boss Bruno Labbadia, and a decisive goal today would certainly endear him to the Molineux faithful.