Wolves defender Stephen Ward believes the game against Liverpool could prove to be just as important as Hull on Saturday for the club.

The acuteness of the team’s positions means many are already looking to the weekend collision at the KC Stadium as the more pivotal clash.

But Ward reckons the outcome of tonight’s visit of the Reds could help tip the scales in Wolves’ favour.

He said: “At this stage of the season every game becomes massive – we’ve got 17 games left and they’re probably the biggest of our career. Although it’s Liverpool tonight, three points will probably be as big as Saturday because it doesn’t matter where you get the points.

“We got beat by Birmingham and we gained three points at Tottenham. I suppose people will look to the Hull game as a six-pointer. But if we can get something out of tonight, it will help us going into Saturday because we’ll have more confidence.

“We don’t really want to go into that one on the back of a defeat, because that’s the game where we would look to have the better chance of getting three points out of.”

Portsmouth, Sunderland and Fulham have all enjoyed home wins over Liverpool this season and, although Wolves have been beaten by the other three of the ‘big four,’ Ward is convinced they shouldn’t be overawed.

He said: “Clubs around us would all see this as an opportunity to get something and we’re no different. Whether it’s three points or a point, it’s important we look at it that way.

“We have to respect them as a club and as players because they’re world class, even though we’ve earned the right to play at that level. But we won’t be overawed and we’ll give it our best shot with a big crowd behind us, so there’s no reason why we can’t get anything out of the game.

“We want to bounce back in the league. I’ve got a few relatives coming over for the game so I hope I get a chance to play.

“It’s important to take the lead in the Premier League because when you go behind, it’s very hard to get back in the game.”

A boyhood Manchester United fan even though most of his relatives follow Liverpool, Ward has unhappy memories of his only appearance at Anfield after being unluckily sent off for two bookable offences on Boxing Day, the latter for the tiniest of contact on Lucas.

But the left-back reckons that incident has mad him become ‘cuter and wiser.’

He said: “I was unfortunate with the sending off. I felt the decision was a little bit harsh, but I’ll know not to do what I did last time. You have to be a bit cuter and wiser – you can’t really make any contact but the players are becoming accustomed to it.

“I don’t think players are cheating – it’s just the way the game has gone. We’re all learning in every game.

“For example, we might not have experienced that in the Championship last season, but it’s a different ball game in the Premier League and I’ve definitely learned from the whole experience, the same as Richard Stearman – we’ve all learned from our so-called mistakes.

“That will make us stronger and better players.”

So what would happen if Ward was presented with the same situation at Molineux tonight?

He said: “We had a look at it and you learn from situations. I hope he doesn’t get that side of me, but there were a few things that led to it such as giving the ball away which let them in behind us.”

On a positive note, Wolves could approach this game with confidence because they know they can create chances against Liverpool, having forced four decent openings before Ward’s pivotal dismissal.

He said: “We acquitted ourselves well up there and I think we can do the same tonight. Hopefully we can impose our game on them, which we didn’t do as much up there but we were well in the game.”

But Ward warns Wolves shouldn’t rely on Liverpool being supposedly distracted by the Reds’ off-field turmoil caused by their massive debt – or the loss of Fernando Torres and probably Steven Gerrard for tonight’s game.

The defender said: “They had a slump but they bounced back with a big win against Tottenham last week, so we’re expecting them to come here full of confidence. We’ll have to be at our best.

“We want to test ourselves against the best players and they don’t come any better as a striker than Torres. But even without him, they’re just as dangerous.

“Dirk Kuyt played up front for them last week and was superb, scoring twice.”

Molineux will be packed to the rafters tonight and Ward believes the crowd can make big difference to their chances, after their patient backing in the defeats against Arsenal and Chelsea.

He said: “The crowd have been fantastic this season and particularly when we’ve played any of the top four, they’ve really got behind us. They know we’re not going to have the ball every minute and there are going to be spells when they’re on top.

“In a lot of the games against the so-called bigger sides, we’ve had periods when we’ve been dominant but we’ve maybe been unfortunate not to have gone ahead.”

Wolves’ two new signings, winger Geoffrey Mujangi Bia and all-action midfielder Adlene Guedioura, could be involved tonight and Ward believes both could have an impact in the Premier League.

He said: “I’ve trained with them both and technically, they’re very good. People might not know much about them yet, but they look really good players and I’m sure they’ll be good additions.

“Geoffrey has done really well in training after coming in last week. I haven’t seen too much of Adlene because he only trained with us for the first time yesterday, but he immediately fit in and didn’t look out of place, which is always a massive factor because you can tell a lot when you see them train.

“So hopefully they can contribute to us staying in the Premier League.”