Liverpool return to Premier League action this afternoon, with Jurgen Klopp's side making the trip to Molineux to face a Wolverhampton Wanderers side that will look to disrupt the Reds revival.
Last season, Liverpool were awful and failed to qualify for the Champions League for the first time in seven seasons, just a year on from having reached the final of the competition.
However, there is optimism anew for the Anfield side this year, with Klopp and stand-in sporting director Jorg Schmadtke comprehensively rebuilding a midfield past its sell-by date, with early signs promising indeed.
With ten points from 12, Liverpool will be looking to keep on the heels of pace-setters and domineering champions Manchester City, but to do so, a stubborn Wolves side must be dispatched, which will not be simple.
What is the Liverpool team news?
Liverpool will be without captain Virgil van Dijk – who is completing a two-match suspension for dissent – and his vice, Trent Alexander-Arnold who is sidelined with a hamstring injury.
However, £34m deadline day signing Ryan Gravenberch will likely make his debut, though the multi-functional midfielder will be unlikely to partner Thiago Alcantara in the centre, who is not quite fit after a lengthy layoff.
Ibrahima Konate is available after injury, as is striker Darwin Nunez, though the latter might not make the starting line-up due to travel back from South America following the international break; the same could be said for Alexis Mac Allister and Luis Diaz, though it is probable that they will be included.
How good is Diogo Jota?
Should Nunez – whom Uruguay coach Marcelo Bielsa said was suffering with "muscular difficulties" on Tuesday and was consequently hooked at half-time against Ecuador – fail to make the starting teamsheet despite Klopp's assurance that he is fit, Diogo Jota has to make the line-up against his former side.
Signing from Wolves for £41m in the summer of 2020, Jota arrived at Anfield with an impressive return of 44 goals and 19 assists from 131 displays for the Old Gold, with former teammate Conor Coady hailing him a "sensational footballer".
The 26-year-old has been a dynamic attacking component for Klopp's side and a typifier of the way the Reds look to play, with Pep Lijnders describing him as a "pressing monster".
As per FBref, the Portugal star – who scored twice and provided an assist against Luxembourg last week – ranks among the top 4% of positional peers across Europe's top five leagues over the past year for goals and the top 6% for assists per 90, with his cutting edge perhaps crucial against a Gary O'Neill-led Wolves outfit that will seek to stubbornly prevent the Reds from clicking into gear.
The £140k-per-week phenom has also tasted victory across all five of his outings against his former outfit, posting a goal and assist apiece.
This season, the 5 foot 10 gem scored against Bournemouth but has been used as a substitute across his past two appearances, though after finishing the 2022/23 season strong, scoring seven times and registering one assist from the final nine fixtures, he will be raring for an opportunity to prove his worth once again.
Klopp and co will be confident that a fourth successive victory can be achieved at Molineux, but with Jota deployed up front, the incisiveness necessary for success will be on the pitch, and Liverpool will continue their renaissance.