Liverpool vs West Ham United: Premier League Preview and Prediction

Jurgen Klopp’s Reds will take on David Moyes’ Hammers this weekend in what could turn out to be a really tricky fixture for the defending Premier League champions. Considering Liverpool will be at Anfield, the visitors will have to prove themselves completely deserving if they want a point out of it. 

Liverpool are under a crisis after suffering from back-to-back injuries to their centre backs. They are now without a recognized CB pair but as Jurgen Klopp said, ‘the show must go on’ and there could not be a better chance for Rhys Williams to provide what the Reds actually want. 

With Virgil Van Dijk, Joel Matip, and Fabinho sidelined, Klopp ensured that he has full faith in Rhys Williams who is most likely to feature against West Ham United. Liverpool are currently second to their Merseyside rivals only behind goal difference. David Moyes and Co. have had a surprising yet promising start to the season. 

They currently sit in the 12th position, seven points off the relegation zone, a place where they would never want to be. The Hammers were very easy on the eye against the Citizens and Pep Guardiola could not get more than a point out of the game.  

Team News 

Liverpool 
Apart from the above-mentioned injury concerns, there is only one positive for the Reds and that is Thiago Alcantara’s return to the squad. The ex-Bayern Munich midfielder has recovered from his knee injury and will be in contention to play on the weekend. 
 

West Ham United 
Michail Antonio is the only casualty for the Hammers heading into Saturday’s clash after he limped off in the 52nd minute against City last weekend due to a hamstring issue. Said Benrahma may make his debut for the side and will be eager to have a go at the struggling Liverpool backline. 

Liverpool Probable Line Up: (4-3-3) 

West Ham United Probable Line Up (5-4-1) 

Recent Form:

Head-to-Head: Last 6 games 

Liverpool are undefeated against the 8th placed Hammers in the last six games they have played. The only time the Reds have not managed to win is in February 2019’s fixture, when the game was drawn 1-1. Liverpool have scored in all their last five games while West Hame have managed to fir in their last eight. 
Liverpool: 5 wins 
West Ham United: 0 wins 
Draw: 1 

Key Battles: 

Mohamed Salah vs Aaron Cresswell

The Egyptian went goalless in the last game against the Blades despite having some clear chances. With six goals in six games, Salah would be hoping to fight hard for the Golden Boot race, being just two behind the South Korean. Aaron Cresswell has a job in hand and it will be interesting to see how they fare. 

Andrew Robertson vs Jarrod Bowen

Both the players have fared well so far in the tournament. However, it will be interesting to see if Robertson can cope with the fiery winger and his attacking responsibilities together. 

Prediction: 

Considering West Ham’s last two spectacular displays against Spurs and Manchester City respectively, West Ham would surely look to exploit the defensive instability of the Reds. 

The Reds on the other hand would try to score plenty of goals to finish the game as early as they can. Alisson Becker will be keeping the goal while it will be intriguing to see how the Williams-Gomez partnership goes.