FA Cup: Liverpool v Wolves preview – Nathan Collins putting family allegiances aside for cup clash

The Wolves defender comes from a footballing family that have close ties with the Merseyside club, as both his father David and cousin Mikey were on the books at Liverpool in their careers.

But the Irishman is firmly focused on guiding Julen Lopetegui’s Wolves to third-round glory over Jurgen Klopp’s big-hitting Reds.

“My cousin and dad played for them, but that was their time and that’s gone,” Collins said.

“Now it’s my time and I’ll enjoy the occasion, playing against a big team with big players.

“With the history of the FA Cup it’s a massive tournament in England.

“To go on a run would be really good for the club and the fans, and as a team it would give us confidence.

“We’ll go there with full belief that we can go there and get through to the next round.”

When asked if his father will be supporting Liverpool tonight, Collins added: “No, he’s supporting Wolves now!”

Head coach Lopetegui has called out the scheduling after Liverpool had two extra days to prepare for the game.

With fixtures coming thick and fast, Collins is relishing the busy timetable.

He added: “That’s football, I enjoy it. All I want to do is play football against the big teams and in the big stadiums, as a kid it was what I dreamed about.

“I’m not complaining, the more games the merrier.”

With Premier League survival the top priority, and next week’s Carabao Cup quarter-final also catching the eye, progression in the FA Cup is one of the less pressing points on Wolves’ agenda.

However Collins, who will be hoping to keep his place in the team, is determined to take the game seriously and pull off a famous victory.

He said: “I don’t think it makes a difference. Personally for me, I go into every game the same way. Every game is a must win.

“That’s my way of going into it, so it doesn’t really change for me.

“We want to win every game and get as far as we can in the tournament. We have to go into every game with the right attitude.

“We’ve had other games to concentrate on, but now we need to do our job and recover and get ready.

“He’ll (Lopetegui) be up for it and ready for it. I think it’s his first time in the FA Cup, so it’ll be a good one.”

Wolves will likely make several changes tonight, with fringe players being given a chance to impress.

Toti Gomes, Rayan Ait-Nouri, Jonny Castro Otto, Joe Hodge and Goncalo Guedes will all hope to come into the side, while Matheus Cunha could be in-line to make his first start for Wolves.

However, due to the size of the squad and the number of injuries, key players such as Collins, Max Kilman and Ruben Neves could keep their place.

Opposition view

Cody Gakpo could make his Liverpool debut tonight as they welcome Wolves to Anfield.

The forward has arrived for £35million from PSV Eindhoven, but was unable to play against Brentford on Monday as the paperwork was being finalised.

As a result, the Dutchman could be in line to make his debut for the Reds tonight when Wolves arrive for the FA Cup third round tie.

“I only trained with him (on Thursday) and he’s comfortable, he’s happy to be here,” said defender Ibrahima Konate.

“We are also happy to be with him in this season and we know he did a very great World Cup. I hope he will help us a lot.”

Liverpool’s injury list has grown with the loss of Virgil van Dijk to a hamstring problem, while Luis Diaz, Diogo Jota and Arthur Melo are also out and Roberto Firmino is a doubt. However, they do hope to welcome back James Milner from a thigh injury and Jordan Henderson after a concussion.

Konate will hope to keep his place, despite his difficult evening against Brentford.

Joe Gomez and Joel Matip will also be in contention at centre-back, however, meaning Konate may be rested.

“Of course we know Wolves, we play against them a lot of times,” he added. “I didn’t play against them but I saw the games last season and I know we will play against great players – especially one who I played with in Germany, (Matheus) Cunha.

“It will be a good game.

“We know we lost the game against Brentford – this was very hard for us.

“Now I think it’s a good time to respond and to change the way against Wolves. I hope we will win against them.”