Prediction: Liverpool vs West Ham

Verdict: Home win

Best odds: 4/9

Bookmaker: 888sport

Liverpool will be welcoming West Ham to Anfield on Wednesday evening as the extremely condensed Premier League schedule goes on, leading, of course, up to the World Cup which starts next month.

The meetings between these two sides have mostly been very interesting in the last couple of years, despite the difference in their respective overall successes, not to mention trophy hauls. But the current point of the season finds them both in unwanted situations.

Liverpool

Having ran Premier League champions Manchester City close last time, to within a point eventually and ending the 2021/22 as runners-up, Liverpool were widely expected to mount a similar challenge again this term. However, a couple of early shocks and an injury crisis later, their chances of rejoining the race are extremely feeble.

The Merseysiders are currently in eighth place with 13 points, 14 less than Arsenal at the top (albeit with a game in hand), 10 less than Manchester City in second and Tottenham Hotspur in third, and six less than Chelsea in fourth.

Their last-six run consists of a 2-1 Champions League win at home over Ajax, a 3-3 home draw against Brighton and Hove Albion, a 2-0 win over Rangers at home, a 3-2 defeat away to Arsenal, a 1-7 thrashing of Rangers in Glasgow, and a huge 1-0 win over Manchester City on Sunday, with Mohamed Salah bagging the only goal of the game.

That game, however, was filled to the brim with controversy, reaching its culmination five minutes before the end when a livid Jurgen Klopp gave the officials close by an earful, which resulted in referee Anthony Taylor actually stopping the play in the middle of a City attack to send the Liverpool boss off. Klopp will, however, be on the touchline against the Hammers with the disciplinary proceedings against him yet to begin.

The German tactician has been heavily criticized by the English press since Sunday, but it seems his words before the match, which simply pointed out the wealth of Manchester City and Newcastle and the privileged position it brings to those clubs, stirred up quite a lot more than his antics on the Anfield touchline.

Team News

Just as it seemed the injuries were easing up on Liverpool, they’ve been hit with a fresh wave. Midfielder Curtis Jones was said to be on the verge of returning to contention and he was on the bench against City, but Klopp says it was only due to there being room on the substitutes list and Jones was never meant to actually play. The situation is apparently still the same, so for all intents and purposes, Jones is out.

Midfielder Naby Keita is also getting closer but is not ready yet. Defender Ibrahima Konate might be available for the next game but not for this one. Fellow centre-back Joel Matip will probably a bit longer than that.

But the biggest problems for Liverpool at the moment are attackers Luis Diaz and Diogo Jota. The Colombian picked up a knee injury in the Arsenal defeat and the Portuguese forward injured his ankle in the last minutes of the City victory, and both will be out quite a while.

The situation leaves Klopp with little choice, especially at the back. Joe Gomez will have to play alongside Virgil van Dijk in the heart of defence, with Trent Alexander-Arnold back to fill the right defensive flank. Andy Robertson only recently returned from injury and played the whole game against City, and the manager might choose to put Kostas Tsimikas on the left so as not to overload the Scotland captain straight away.

Fabinho and Thiago Alcantara are prime candidates to start in the middle of the park with young Harvey Elliott and captain Jordan Henderson to vie for the remaining spot. It stands to reason to expect Klopp to abandon the 4-2-3-1 system which he used in a couple of games recently due to both Diaz and Jota being out of action. Fabio Carvalho might be given a start on the left of the attacking line, but Darwin Nunez can also play there, while Roberto Firmino and Mohamed Salah appear nailed on to start.

West Ham

Speaking in his pre-match press conference, West Ham manager David Moyes was asked to comment on Klopp and his behaviour on the touchline against Manchester City. The journalist obviously expected him to add to the criticism, but Moyes calmly explained that passionate outbursts are quite normal for managers, especially in huge matches like that one. To add to the disappointment of those who expected him to attack Klopp, he also pointed out that his Liverpool colleague had been completely right in his protests concerning the specific call from the officials.

As is the case with Liverpool, West Ham’s form has improved of late. They weren’t beaten in any of their last five matches, either in the Premier League or the Europa Conference League, though the list begins with a 1-0 defeat to Everton. Since then, the Hammers beat Wolverhampton Wanderers at home by 2-0, Anderlecht in Belgium by 0-1, Fulham at home by 3-1, Anderlecht at home by 2-1, and eventually drew 1-1 away to Southampton on Sunday.

It was Declan Rice who scored their equalizer in the second half of that match, after Romain Peraud had given the Saints the lead in the first.

The Hammers are currently in 13th place with 11 points, still only three above Southampton in the relegation zone, and despite the good results recently, the pressure to continue the climb up the ladder is still there for Moyes.

Team News

Much like Klopp, Moyes has a few worries at the back, with Kurt Zouma ill recently and Craig Dawson still not quite at 100 per cent following a thigh injury. Both centre-backs are to be assessed before the game, but Nayef Aguerd, also a centre-back, is definitely out with an ankle problem. He isn’t expected back before the end of the month.

Winger Maxwell Cornett has only just started training after recovering from a calf injury, which means he’s unavailable for the Anfield trip too.

Michail Antonio is likely to start upfront. The trio of Lucas Paqueta, Jarrod Bowen and Pablo Fornals will likely be behind the experienced striker, though the likes of Manuel Lanzini and Said Benrahma will also be hoping to start.

Tomas Soucek and Declan Rice will surely pair up in the middle of the park, and at the back, much will depend on the availability of Zouma and Dawson, but Aaron Cresswell and Thilo Kehrer are expected to start in any case.

Conclusion

West Ham have rarely been an easy opponent for Liverpool, but even with all the pressure the Merseysiders have been put under lately, the huge victories over Rangers and Manchester City will surely be a boost ahead of this clash and they will fancy their chances again.

It won’t, however, be an easy game and there shouldn’t be too many goals in it.

Verdict: Home win

Best odds: 4/9

Bookmaker: 888sport