West Ham United v Liverpool Preview - Reds Strength Will Be Too Much For Injury Dampened Hammers
West Ham have seen a resurgence in form since they played Wolverhampton and are currently on an unbeaten streak of four games. They will be looking to carry on their unbeaten streak, but they have an incredibly strong opponent standing in their way.
Liverpool are the team to beat this season, and only one team has achieved this feat: Nottingham Forest in September. Liverpool are off the back of some very impressive performances and they will be looking to extend their gap at the top of the Premier League to nine points with Arsenal and Chelsea both set to play.
Arne Slot’s Reds will be looking to take a commanding approach as they have done all season as they currently sit at the top of the table on 42 points. Whereas, the Irons are fighting down the opposite end of the table with 23 points, level with Tottenham Hotspurs and one point above Manchester United.
Previous Meetings
It does not bode well, and Hammers fans might want to look away at previous encounters, with only one win against Liverpool in their last 6 Premier League games:
Nov 2021 – West Ham 3-2 Liverpool
Mar 2022 – Liverpool 1-0 West Ham
Oct 2022- Liverpool 1-0 West Ham
Apr 2023- West Ham 1-2 Liverpool
Sept 2023- Liverpool 3-1 West Ham
Apr 2024- West Ham 2-2 Liverpool
Within and after these fixtures West Ham have also been on the end of two 5-1 drubbings in the EFL Cup at Anfield.
Team News
The hosts will be without several players through injuries and suspensions as well have a few doubts coming into this fixture.
West Ham will be without almost their whole midfield as both Tomas Soucek and Guido Rodriguez are suspended after both subsequently picking up yellow cards in the Hammers 1-0 Boxing Day victory over Southampton.
Carlos Soler and Max Kilman are also doubts, as they were both subbed off following an injury in the same match.
However, there will be a very much welcomed face back to the starting XI, with Lucas Paqueta being back from suspension after he missed the gams vs. Southampton.
Jarrod Bowen will be the player to watch for West Ham as he looks to continue his fine form over the Christmas period
The visitors are without three players for their trip to the capital as both Conor Bradley and Ibrahima Konate miss out on the clash through injury and they will also be without midfielder Dominik Szoboszlai through suspension after he picked up a booking in Liverpool’s 3-1 win over Leicester.
It is difficult to not mention Mohamed Salah, currently the best player in the league and maybe even the world, with 16 goals and 11 assists in the league this season. If West Ham want to achieve the slightest bit of success and have a chance at causing an upset, their first mission will be to stop and nullify Mohamed Salah.
Possible Lineups
West Ham (4-2-3-1): Areola, Wan-Bissaka, Mavropanos, Todibo, Emerson, Alvarez, Soler, Paqueta, Bowen, Kudus, Fullkrug
Liverpool (4-3-3): Alisson, Alexander-Arnold, Gomez, Van Dijk, Robertson, Gravenberch, Mac Allister, Jones, Salah, Diaz, Gakpo