PREMIER LEAGUE: MOLINEUX, TUESDAY JANUARY 26, 2010. KICK-OFF: 2000 GMTWOLVERHAMPTON WANDERERS:
Fernando Torres has scored more goals in his injury-hit campaign than the complete complement of Wolves strikers have managed all season.
And Scotland international Chris Iwelumo knows that Mick McCarthy's lowest scorers in the Premier League have to alter that alarming statistic soon if they are going to stand any chance of retaining their top flight status.
Torres, recovering from a cartilage operation, has 12 goals to his credit, while Sylvain Ebanks-Blake, Andy Keogh, Kevin Doyle and Iwelumo have mustered just eight between them.
The Spaniard will be missing here, but Iwelumo insists that Wolves cannot keep missing goalscoring opportunities, however rare, as they look to end a run of three successive league defeats.
"We have heard the criticism and being the league's lowest scorers is not nice, but we are all big boys and we have to take it," said Iwelumo. "It is time that we stepped up to the plate and did something about it. The problem is that you do not get too many chances at this level.
"I have probably had three all season, when we were used to getting three every half hour in the Championship. Confidence is a massive thing for all players, but for strikers it is even more important, but we are all working our socks off to try and sort things out."
Scraping a draw at home to Championship side Crystal Palace in the FA Cup at the weekend will hardly have boosted morale too high for McCarthy's side, but they are desperate for revenge for their Boxing Day defeat at Anfield, which included the controversial sending of of Stephen Ward.
Strategy: McCarthy altered his FA Cup line up at the weekend with this game in mind and he is fully aware that while points against the Big Four are hard to come by, collecting them at Molineux is crucial to any aspirations of avoiding relegation. The former manager of the Republic of Ireland will be hoping that a double arrival from RSC Charleroi might give his side some impetus for the most "important 17 games of our lives."
Midfielder Adlene Guedioura has joined his former team mate at the Belgian club, Geoffrey Mujangi Bia on loan until the end of the season and is eligible to make his debut in what his likely to be another changed team, as McCarthy searches for a formula to drive his team towards safety.
Injury Update: Richard Stearman is available again after serving a one-match suspension. Michael Kightly is closing on a first team return after an ankle operation.
LIVERPOOL:
Rafael Benitez is hoping his side can continue to display their recent impressive work ethic. A win here would help Liverpool leapfrog Tottenham Hotspur. but Benitez just wants to concentrate on getting more good performances from his squad after recent wins over Aston Villa and Spurs as well as a draw at Stoke City.
He said: "The players have been really good and the commitment and the team spirit has been excellent. When you don't have two important players like Gerrard and Torres, everyone has to stick together and work hard. The players have taken responsibility.
"Wolves work very hard and have a good mentality as a team, so I think it will be a tough game for us but we have the challenge that we can be in the top four if we beat them, but the four teams are so close at the moment so I think it will be the same for the rest of the season. That means it's not a big difference if you're fifth or fourth at this stage."
Benitez also denied that he has been trying to unsettle Sunderland striker Kenwyne Jones after the Black Cats' manager Steve Bruce lambasted Benitez last week, labelling him as disrespectful for pursuing his player.
I was not dealing with this," Benitez said. "[Managing director] Christian Purslow has been talking with Sunderland chairman Niall Quinn so they have to manage the situation because I was not doing anything,
"I prefer not to talk too much because we will create a debate so Christian and Niall will continue to talk if they
need to talk. They were in contact but I don't know what the situation is now."
Strategy: Continue to climb the table. The victory over Tottenham Hotspur last week cut the gap between the two
sides to just one point so beating Wolves will see Liverpool regain a spot in the Champions League qualifying positions.
They will be boosted by the return of Steven Gerrard who has overcome a groin problem and Benitez will be hoping he will be back to his combative best.
Alberto Aquilani, Javier Mascherano and Lucas Leiva are all now fighting for just two other midfield positions because of Gerrard's return so that is likely to bring the best out of them, while Dirk Kuyt's brace against Spurs will have helped his confidence soar and Benitez will want more of the same from him.
Injury Update: Daniel Agger is still injured with a groin problem as is Fernando Torres with a knee complaint, while Glen Johnson and Yossi Benayoun are also set to miss the encounter with respective knee and rib injuries.
