Filed under: Liverpool, Wolverhampton, Premier League, Football, Match Previews
PREMIER LEAGUE: ANFIELD, SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 2011: KICK-OFF: 1500 BSTIt says everything about the misfortune Steven Gerrard has endured this calendar year that the Liverpool captain has only started one Premier League match at Anfield with Luis Suarez.
The club's two most creative talents combined to help shoot down Manchester United 3-1 back in March.
And Kenny Dalglish would love a similar outcome against Wolves as Gerrard prepares to return to the Premier League stage for the first time since Sir Alex Ferguson's side were sent packing.
The influential England midfielder is in the frame to make a timely start after emerging unscathed from a 15 minute cameo in the 2-1 Carling Cup victory at Brighton on Wednesday.
Liverpool have managed seven wins in 14 top-flight games in Gerrard's absence.
But back-to-back defeats to Stoke and Tottenham means the stage is set for Gerrard to ride to his team's rescue as he looks to put a "nightmare" six months behind him after groin surgery.
However, Wolves will be determined to strike gold in front of the Kop for the second successive season.
Mick McCarthy's side sentenced Liverpool to a 1-0 home defeat in the final days of Roy Hodgson's ill-fated reign last December.
Gerrard will not want his homecoming ruined by the Black Country club.
Key Match-up: Pepe Reina v Kevin Doyle: A late consolation from the penalty spot by Ashley Barnes took some of the gloss off the Brighton win. Reina has not managed a clean sheet in his last five outings, a statistic Dalglish is anxious to correct after some unconvincing performances at the back. Doyle missed the corresponding fixture last season, when Stephen Ward's goal earned Wolves a shock win at Anfield. Doyle arrives on Merseyside with just one goal to show for his efforts so far this season.
Form Guide: With league matches against Everton and Manchester United on the horizon, Liverpool need to follow up their Carling Cup success by recording a first league win in three. Depite their crushing 5-0 cup win over Millwall in midweek, Wolves have not scored a Premier League goal in 315 minutes after taking one point from the last nine on offer.
Odds: Liverpool 4/11, Wolverhampton 9/1, Draw 7/2
LIVERPOOL:
Dalglish has told fans not to read anything into Andy Carroll's omission from the side in midweek.
The record £35 million signing was an unused substitute as Craig Bellamy marked his first start since returning to the club with a goal.
Carroll's form and fitness have come under scrutiny since the striker arrived from Newcastle at the end of January.
But Dalglish insists the 22-year-old England international is part of his long term plans.
"Andy is a professional footballer who understands what goes on in football," said the Liverpool manager.
"He worked really hard at Tottenham. It was a bad performance and a bad day for us.
"We don't have a team, we have a squad. There will be times when someone will play and others won't. Sometimes you'll be lucky and sometimes you'll be unlucky.
"But the football club is more important than one individual, including myself. I'm sure the players realise that. Although there will be a disappointment if you aren't playing, I think there's an understanding as well."
Strategy: The inquest into last week's 4-0 White Hart Lane disaster has proved long and painful. Plenty has been said about Dalglish's darkest day since returning to the dug out. While nothing can change the outcome, Liverpool's players have to show they have put that unpleasant experience behind them. An up-beat, high-tempo display has to be the aim. So too a clean sheet. This is as big a game for Jamie Carragher as it is for Gerrard.
Injury Update: Defenders Fabio Aurelio (Achilles) and Glen Johnson (hamstring) have returned to training, but the game has come too soon for either full back to feature. Daniel Agger is also missing with a fractured rib sustained in the defeat at Tottenham.
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