West Ham United will host Liverpool this Sunday in what promises to be an exciting game in the Premier League.
Venue: Olympic Stadium (London)
Key Statistics
Only reigning Premier League champions Manchester City (80) and reigning European champions Chelsea (66) have earned more Premier League points in 2021 than West Ham (62). This is already the most points West Ham have won in a single calendar year in the competition.
West Ham have made the fewest changes to their starting XI in Premier League games this season (4), while no side have used fewer different players than the Hammers (18).
However, only Chelsea (15) and Manchester City (11) have had more different goalscorers than David Moyes’ side this term (9).
Michail Antonio has been directly involved in 17 goals in his last 22 Premier League games at the London Stadium for West Ham (11 goals, 6 assists). He is also the top scorer (19) and assister (12) at the London Stadium.
Liverpool have scored 19 goals in their first five away Premier League games this season, with only two sides in the history of the top-flight ever scoring more at this stage – Manchester United in 1907-08 and Manchester City in 2011-12 (both 20).
Liverpool are unbeaten in their last 20 league games (W14 D6), scoring at least once in all 20 games (50 goals in total).
Liverpool have scored at least three goals in each of their last six away league games, netting 22 goals in total. In the entire history of the Football League, only one team has ever scored three or more times in seven consecutive away league games, with Birmingham City doing so between November 1892 and September 1893 in the second tier.
Mohamed Salah has scored nine goals in eight Premier League appearances against West Ham. He could become the seventh player to score 10+ goals against the Hammers in the competition, making them the side against which the most different players have reached double figures.
Mohamed Salah has scored in each of Liverpool’s first five away Premier League games this season, only the second player to score in his team’s first five games on the road in a season after Thierry Henry in 2001-02 for Arsenal, who failed to score in their sixth. The last player to score in six away top-flight games in a row was Sergio Agüero in August 2017 for Manchester City (seven in a row).
Head to head
Since doing the league double over Liverpool in 2015-16, West Ham are winless in their last 10 Premier League games against the Reds (D2 L8).
Liverpool have won four of their last five away league games against West Ham (D1) and are looking to win three in a row at the Hammers for the first time since doing so between 2003 and 2007.
Latest Performances in all competitions
West Ham: D-W-W-W-W
Liverpool: W-D-W-W-W
West Ham United
West Ham United will look to continue their impressive start to the season when they welcome Liverpool to London this Sunday.
The Hammers are flying in Europe and in the Premier League where they are currently in fourth place, after ten games, having won their opening six games (D2, L2).
They go into this tie on the back of a disappointing 2-2 draw with Genk in the Europa League but are nonetheless playing Liverpool on a six-game unbeaten run in all competitions.
David Moyes’ side have kept four clean sheets in their last five games and conceded just two goals in the period, making them one of the most in-form teams in the Premier League at the moment.
Their form and their impressive home record will give them confidence that they will be able to beat Liverpool.
Possible West Ham starting line-up
Lukasz Fabianski (GK); Aaron Cresswell, Kurt Zouma, Issa Diop, Ben Johnson; Declan Rice, Tomas Soucek; Andriy Yarmolenko, Nikola Vlasic, Said Benrahma; Michail Antonio.
Liverpool
Liverpool travel to London on the back of a 2-0 win over Atletico Madrid in the Champions League. The result would have given them a sense of redemption after the manner in which they threw away a two-goal lead in their 2-2 draw with Brighton last weekend. The result against Brighton was the third time they were squandering a two-goal lead this season and was also the fifth time they were conceding two or more goals in a game.
However, beating Atletico Madrid extended their unbeaten run in all competitive games to 25 and was the third time they were keeping a clean sheet in their last four games.
Meanwhile, the loss of Roberto Firmino in that game would hurt Klopp who has a few players out with injuries. But the return of Thiago Alcântara would give his side a boost.
Possible Liverpool starting line-up
Alisson Becker; Trent Arnold-Alexander, Joel Matip, Virgil van Dijk, Andrew Robertson, Jordan Henderson, Fabinho, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Diogo Jota, Sadio Mane, Mohamed Salah.
Prediction
West Ham 1-3 Liverpool
