Liverpool v Wolves: Who are Wolves' best centre-back pairing?

There have been four different pairings in the league this season, with another three partnerships in the cups - all with varying success.

Wolves face their biggest game of the season at Anfield on Saturday and Lambert's defensive selection will prove crucial.

Danny Batth / Kortney Hause

League appearances 10 - Won: 2 Drawn: 6 Lost: 2

Avg. goals conceded/game : 1.1 Avg. pts/game: 1.2

Rotherham 2 Wolves 2

Wolves 2 Reading 0

Wolves 0 Ipswich 0

Birmingham 1 Wolves 3

Aston Villa 1 Wolves 1

Brighton 1 Wolves 0

Wolves 0 Leeds 1

Blackburn 1 Wolves 1

Preston 0 Wolves 0

When Walter Zenga (remember him?) took charge of his first game at Rotherham, his decided to go with Batth and Hause as his tried and trusted.

Things didn't look too good with Wolves going 2-0 down inside 20 minutes before mounting a spirited comeback to take away a point.

Zenga had only be in the job a matter of days, but stuck with his initial selection for the first four games of the season with Wolves going unbeaten, while only conceding three goals in the process.

Hause was then replaced with Richard Stearman and Dominic Iorfa, but returned for the 1-1 draw with Aston Villa at Villa Park.

Another four match run saw the pair concede a goal a game, but more importantly, the team failed to pick up any victories, losing to both Brighton and Leeds.

The duo have appeared twice under Paul Lambert with their last game - a madcap 4-4 draw with Fulham - perhaps leaving a sour taste in the mouth.

Danny Batth / Dominic Iorfa

League appearances 6 - Won: 2 Drawn: 0 Lost: 4

Avg. goals conceded/game : 1.33 Avg. pts/game: 1

Huddersfield 1 Wolves 0

Newcastle 0 Wolves 2

Wolves 3 Brentford 1

Wigan 1 Wolves 2

Wolves 1 Norwich 2

The Batth/Iorfa combination could not have had a better start to their partnership.

With the odds stacked heavily against them at St James' Park, Wolves stood firm and produced arguably their best display of the season defeating Newcastle 2-0.

And the duo made it two wins from two with a comfortable win against Brentford a week later.

But back-to-back 2-1 defeats to Wigan and Norwich led Zenga to cut his losses and recall Kortney Hause to partner Batth.

The pairing did get one more outing, but it didn't end well - a 3-2 loss at home to Derby including one of the worst halves of football seen at Molineux for many years.

Danny Batth / Richard Stearman

League appearances 10 - Won: 4 Drawn: 2 Lost: 4

Avg. goals conceded/game: 1.5 Avg. pts/game: 1.4

Wolves 1 Burton 1

Wolves 0 Barnsley 4

QPR 1 Wolves 2

Cardiff 2 Wolves 1

Forest 0 Wolves 2

Wolves 3 Bristol City 2

Wolves 1 QPR 2

Sheffield Wednesday 0 Wolves 0

Wolves 1 Aston Villa 0

The return of Richard Stearman to Wolves was met with a fairly mixed reception at the time.

It was a shock move from Zenga following the flurry of overseas signings.

And the Batth/Stearman experiment did not last long, two games to be precise.

A 1-1 draw with Burton was followed up with a horrible 4-0 defeat to Barnsley - and that was the end of that for the Stears under Zenga,

Many expected a recall under 'interim' boss Rob Edwards, but it was not until Wolves travelled to QPR under Lambert (almost two months later) that Stearman was paired with his old partner Batth again.

The pairing - successful under Kenny Jackett - has now become a favourite under the Scotsman and have been the recent key to some much needed stability.

Kortney Hause / Richard Stearman

League appearances 1 - Won: 0 Drawn: 0 Lost: 1

Avg. goals conceded/game: 2 Avg. pts/game: 0

Just the one league game for this partnership and it wasn't a happy one,

A 2-0 defeat at the hands of Sheffield Wednesday in Lambert's first home game in charge saw Wolves regularly cut open by a rampant Owls attack.

The partnership was quickly broken up after the return of the suspended Danny Batth.

Cup pairings

There have been three different cup pairings fielded so far this season.

The Danny Batth/ Kortney Hause combo saw Wolves get past Crawley in the EFL Cup albeit with difficulty.

And it was Kortney Hause/ Dominic Iorfa presided over the the next two games, an unconvincing home win over Cambridge and a 2-0 EFL Cup loss at Newcastle.

But the most recent success was the Mike Williamson/Kortney Hause partnership that helped Wolves to a memorable 2-0 win at Stoke City in the FA Cup third round.

Williamson's first game in a Wolves shirt this season coincided with a remarkably assured all round defensive performance.

The former Newcastle man gained local and national plaudits and led Paul Lambert to publicly announce he was not looking for a centre-back in January.

Conclusion

As far as selection for Liverpool goes, the Danny Batth/ Richard Stearman combination appears the most likely to be selected.

Looking statistically, the duo earn and average of 1.4 points/game, the most successful combination in terms of Championship points won.

However, looking at it from a goals/game conceded viewpoint, the Danny Batth/Kortney Hause partnership may be the best option for Lambert in a Cup game.

Conceding a respectable average of 1.1 goals/game, the duo are easily the best pairing available.

The wildcard is Mike Williamson, arguably (when fit) the best Wolves defender in the squad.

But unfortunately, the 33-year-old misses the game through injury.

However, moving forward, he must surely be at the forefront of Lambert's plans for the remainder of the season.