Wolves Vs. Liverpool: No Steven Gerrard, No Joe Cole, No Problem

Liverpool have managed to build a 2-0 lead on the road against Wolves, and they’ve been the much better side in the process. Wolves are in a relegation battle and are hardly one of the Premier League’s top sides, but they have been decent at home this season, while Liverpool have been shocking on the road. Liverpool taking three points from this fixture won’t be a surprise, but it is slightly surprising how much better they have been than their opponents.

It would be difficult not to notice that this rare good road performance correlates with the absences of Steven Gerrard and Joe Cole. Liverpool have been a much better side without these two players in the lineup.

Now, this isn’t to say that Cole and Gerrard are bad players - they’re not. They’re both very good players. Stylistically, though, their exclusion from this lineup would make sense even if they were fully fit. The midfield trio of Christian Poulsen, Lucas, and Raul Meireles seems to be working together very well. Liverpool lack the current ideal deep lying playmaker and destroyer combination for the center of their midfield, but Poulsen and Lucas are a good substitute. Both are somewhere in between, with Poulsen leaning more towards destroyer and Lucas leaning more towards creator.

Meireles is playing in front of them, and he has just the right amount of creative flair and positional discipline for what Liverpool are trying to accomplish at the moment. His tendency to stay in his position much better than Steven Gerrard does allows Liverpool to both keep possession better and win the ball back better than they have in past road games.

Maxi Rodriguez hasn’t had a spectacular game by any standard, but he seems much more content in his role than Joe Cole usually does. Cole likes to drift towards the center much more often than Maxi does, and Liverpool usually doesn’t play with a left back with the skill, pace, and stamina to move up to occupy that space while still providing good defensive cover.

Liverpool can still find a place for Cole and Gerrard in a lot of their games, but it’s hard to ignore how much better this current team looks than any Liverpool team that has included both of those two players.