Prediction: Liverpool vs West Ham

Verdict: Diogo Jota to score

Best odds: 11/10

Bookmaker: 888sport

The title race in the Premier League takes the next step on Saturday, when Liverpool welcome West Ham United to Anfield in the 28th round of the 2021-22 campaign, though for the hosts it’ll actually be match 27 after they missed the previous round due to playing in the Carabao Cup final.

Liverpool

And what a final it was. Many have referred to it as the best contest to have ended without goals ever. Whether you agree or not, Liverpool beat Chelsea on penalties and they’ve opened their trophy account for the season.

In fact, it was the only match in their last six that they didn’t win within 90 minutes. Before that, they beat Burnley away 0-1, Inter in Milan by 0-2, Norwich City at home by 3-1 and Leeds United at home by 6-0. This week, they beat Norwich again at home, by 2-1, this time in the fifth round of the FA Cup.

Now their attention returns to the Premier League. If they intend to stay in the title race, they simply must continue winning. At the moment, they are six points behind Manchester City, though with a game in hand on the defending champions who face Manchester United in the city derby on Sunday.

Jurgen Klopp in his pre-West Ham press conference.

“I enjoy the situation we are in, but I don’t always enjoy the questions about it. (You speak) like we won the games already. If we lose tomorrow, you all sit here and tell me the title race is over…”#LFC 🔴

— Neil Jones (@neiljonesgoal) March 4, 2022

Team News

Klopp won’t be able to count on defender Joel Matip (illness), midfielder Thiago Alcantara (hamstring) and forward Roberto Firmino (ankle). Midfielders Curtis Jones (thigh) and Naby Keita (minor knock) face late fitness tests ahead of the match.

Alisson Becker will start in goal, and Matip’s absence makes Klopp’s choice of starting centre-backs pretty straightforward – it’ll almost certainly be Ibrahima Konate alongside Virgil van Dijk. Given the issues in midfield, Jordan Henderson is a strong favourite to start with Fabinho as the anchor, and either Harvey Elliott or Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain further up. In attack, the trio of Luis Diaz, Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah has proven rather dangerous, but with Diogo Jota fully fit, one of them could drop to the bench.

West Ham

This is the second season in a row with West Ham seriously involved in the battle for Champions League places, and at the moment, their chances don’t look too bad. Manchester United hold that fourth place with 47 points, which is two more than David Moyes’s team have. But Arsenal in sixth with the same tally as the Hammers and no less than three games in hand are obviously the biggest threat.

Focused minds at Rush Green as the #LIVWHU prep continues 💪 pic.twitter.com/XKcuywUcNE

— West Ham United (@WestHam) March 4, 2022

Unlike Liverpool, West Ham have been eliminated from the FA Cup after losing 3-1 to Southampton this week. Before that, they beat Kidderminster away 1-2 in the fourth round, Watford at home by 1-0, drew 2-2 away to Leicester City and 1-1 at home against Newcastle, and eventually beat Wolves at home by 1-0.

West Ham face a great challenge in the round of 16 of the Europa League, where they will face six-time winners Sevilla twice in the next two weeks.

Team News

Forward Andriy Yarmolenko is currently on compassionate leave due to the horrible events unfolding in his homeland of Ukraine.

“He’s not in a really good place at the moment, so we’ve given him a few days off,” Moyes said last week. “We’ll certainly help him. It’s a really difficult time for him and his family and we respect that.”

Right-back Vladimir Coufal has undergone hernia surgery and is expected to be out of action at least for another month. Arthur Masuaku has suffered a knee injury and is out at the moment, but while the left-back could be back in the near future, centre-back Angelo Ogbonna (ACL) won’t be playing again this season. Right-back Ryan Fredericks is also out with a groin problem.

Midfielder Tomas Soucek picked up a ‘nasty’ head injury against Southampton, but he’s expected to be ready by Saturday. The same goes for left-back Aaron Cresswell, who had taken a knock.

With Lukasz Fabianski in goal, Moyes will likely name Cresswell on the left side of defence, Kurt Zouma in the middle and Craig Dawson on the right. Declan Rice will be holding the middle of the park with Soucek, flanked by Ben Johnson on the right and Pablo Fornals on the left. Manuel Lanzini and Jarrod Bowen will be supporting Michail Antonio upfront.

Conclusion

It should be said at this point that West Ham are one of only two teams to have beaten Liverpool this season, not only in the Premier League but in any competition. It was a highly controversial match at the London Stadium in early November, when Liverpool strongly complained about Alisson being fouled ahead of the opening goal and Cresswell not seeing red for an extremely reckless tackle on Henderson.

Now, however, they come to Anfield and the energy of the venue will be completely different. Make no mistake, Liverpool are strong favourites to win, and the time has probably come for Diogo Jota to make a contribution to the cause.

Verdict: Diogo Jota to score

Best odds: 11/10

Bookmaker: 888sport