Liverpool vs West Ham

Fresh from Europa League victories on Thursday, Liverpool host West Ham United this Sunday in the Premier League as both clubs look to continue their impressive league records this season.

Liverpool managed a 3-1 victory over Austrian outfit LASK on Thursday to maintain their unbeaten record despite falling behind early on, while West Ham also recorded a comeback win over Serbian side Backa Topola by the same scoreline as Mohammed Kudus grabbed his first Irons goal.

Both sides must now turn their attention back to the Premier League this weekend. Liverpool currently sit in third having won four and drawn one of their opening five matches, while the Hammers sit three places below them in sixth thanks to impressive wins over Chelsea and Brighton & Hove Albion.

Sunday’s clash is likely to be a close affair, so here is everything you need to know ahead of West Ham’s trip to Liverpool.

Liverpool vs West Ham H2H record (last five games)

Current form (all competitions)

Liverpool will hope Ryan Gravenberch is fit enough to feature after he was substituted against LASK on his full debut for the club. The Netherlands international put in an impressive performance and grabbed an assist on his first start, with Jurgen Klopp downplaying injury concerns by suggesting it was merely cramp that forced him off.

Elsewhere, Trent Alexander-Arnold‘s hamstring injury should keep him out of the West Ham encounter despite the defender nearing a return, while Thiago is also expected to miss out having not played yet this season.

Klopp made 11 changes for the trip to Austria on Thursday and will likely make a fair few more for West Ham’s visit. The only players likely to keep their place are Ibrahima Konate, Virgil van Dijk, Luis Diaz and perhaps Darwin Nunez.

Liverpool predicted lineup vs West Ham (4-3-3): Alisson; Gomez, Konate, Van Dijk, Robertson; Szoboszlai, Mac Allister, Jones; Salah, Gakpo, Diaz.

West Ham have a fairly clean bill of health with only two concerns ahead of the trip to Merseyside on Sunday. Jarrod Bowen is a doubt for the journey after missing the Europa League clash with Backa Topola due to illness, being kept away from his teammates to stop the spread of infection.

Aaron Cresswell is also an injury concern having been substituted at half-time of Thursday’s European match with a hamstring injury.

Edson Alvarez should return to the starting lineup having missed the Backa Topola game through suspension.

West Ham predicted lineup vs Liverpool (4-2-3-1): Areola; Coufal, Zouma, Aguerd, Emerson; Alvarez, Soucek; Kudus, Ward-Prowse, Paqueta; Antonio.

West Ham have already developed a blueprint of how to play some of the bigger and more offence-minded teams this season. That largely involves sitting in a deep, compact shape and using the pace and quality of Michail Antonio, Jarrod Bowen and Lucas Paqueta on the counter-attack, while also taking advantage of James Ward-Prowse’s excellent set-piece delivery.

It was a tactic that worked well against Brighton, but one that ultimately proved fruitless against champions Manchester City last time out. A trip to Anfield could prove similarly unsuccessful for the Irons.

Liverpool are in dynamic form, especially in attacking areas, but have struggled defensively this season. They have also conceded the first goal in four of their last five games, however, they have still gone on to win all four.

This will be a difficult test for the Reds, who managed the double over West Ham last season, but their superior quality and home advantage should see them over the line.

Score prediction: Liverpool 2-1 West Ham

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