Arne Slot explains how Jeremie Frimpong absence has impacted Liverpool title defense
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The Liverpool manager will be hoping familiarity breeds success during a double-header against the Midlands outfit that could prove pivotal in determining the trajectory of his side's season.With an FA Cup fifth-round encounter to follow on Friday, attention first turns to a Premier League fixture against a team that, whilst rooted to the foot of the table with slim survival prospects, have displayed encouraging signs of recapturing their intensity in recent weeks.A dramatic 2-2 stalemate with Arsenal and last Friday's 2-0 victory over local rivals Aston Villa provided further proof of the resurgence under Rob Edwards that has seen Wolves suffer just four defeats in their last 13 matches, having previously endured 12 consecutive losses across all competitions.READ MORE: Liverpool facing Champions League rematch after VAR controversyREAD MORE: Liverpool's next 5 games compared to Man Utd, Chelsea and Aston VillaLiverpool, naturally, have been on their own path to recovery following a torrid autumn, with the weekend's 5-2 home triumph over West Ham United extending their run to just two defeats in 21 outings and bringing them within touching distance of the top four.Wolves were narrowly edged out 2-1 at Anfield over Christmas when Florian Wirtz's maiden Liverpool goal shortly before the interval ultimately proved decisive.Whilst Wirtz remains sidelined with a back complaint that is expected to keep him out of both this week's fixtures, the Reds were boosted on Saturday by the return of Jeremie Frimpong as a late substitute following a month out with a groin injury. Frimpong demonstrated his threat down the right flank once more, with his cross forcing West Ham's Alex Disasi into putting the ball into his own net for Liverpool's fifth.During the Wolves fixture in December, the Dutch international was making only his second Premier League start when he set up Ryan Gravenberch for the opening goal.Slot has acknowledged that Frimpong's mere 20 appearances this season has proved a significant blow to Liverpool's attacking overhaul, which last summer was centred around injecting pace into the forward line.Jeremie Frimpong has returned to fitness"Jeremie has shown every time he comes in that when you face low blocks, how important pace is," said Slot.
Not that I needed it because I knew it, but Paris Saint-Germain were a great example (last season) of pace when it comes to the forwards - to win the Champions League from open play and be creative."We thought, I thought, that was something we could add to this team and what we've tried to do. But unfortunately we've only been able to use one player (we signed) who has a lot of pace in our front three and that is Hugo (Ekitike)."Alex (Isak) has been mainly injured, and Jeremie hasn't played a lot of minutes in the Premier League.
This club is in a very good place because we signed so many good players in the summer."Liverpool could climb temporarily into third place with a three-goal win this evening, whilst fellow top-four contenders Aston Villa and Chelsea meet at Villa Park and third-placed Manchester United travel to Newcastle United.Get LFC's 2025/26 season home and away kitsThis article contains affiliate links, we will receive a commission on any sales we generate from it. Learn moreFrom $100LFC.comSee the dealLiverpool's home and away strips for the 2025/26 season are the first in their new partnership with adidas.Fans can order jerseys in the US at Fanatics.com or via the LFC Online Store in both the US and across the world.Slot believes his squad merit recognition for turning their season around given the difficulties experienced earlier in the campaign."Maybe it is something we didn't want when we started the season, but to play for the position we have to play for now I think it's maybe a compliment to the players," said the Reds manager."Taking into account all the things that have happened, I have to compliment them for the fact that they stayed fit."Most of them constantly stay fit, because I've said a few times already that when things go against you or things don't go that well and you are losing, usually you see teams building up their injury record a lot because that's how the mental part plays a part in football, in staying fit."That is a compliment to our performance staff and to our players, that we could have kept them, apart from the long-term injuries, fit and able to perform, which we did not with the best consistency we could, but still in a way that we can now compete for the things we want to compete for."