West Ham United vs Liverpool 05/02/19

05 February 2019

The out-of-balance West Ham United team welcome the Premier League’s second-best away side, Liverpool, (W9, D2, L1) to the London Stadium hoping to end a five-game PL winless streak against the Reds (D1, L4).

Currently sitting 12th in the standings, West Ham are dealing with a negative -7 goal difference, mainly thanks to poor defensive displays over the past few weeks. The hosts come up against the second-best attack in the Premier League having conceded over 1.5 goals per match five times in their last seven competitive outings. What’s more, the Irons have lost three successive meetings across all competitions, conceding nine goals while scoring just two in the sequence. The only encouragement Manuel Pellegrini can get is that his men won four of last six home clashes (W4, D1, L1), scoring over 1.5 goals per match four times in the process. But, the Hammers have lost all four of the previous PL H2H meetings with Liverpool, with the visitors scoring four goals per match in each.

Meanwhile, midweek’s 1-1 home draw with Leicester City has seen the Merseysiders wasting a capital opportunity to extend the gap between them and Manchester City. Four points clear of the runners-up, the Reds hope to secure back-to-back road triumphs after suffering two straight defeats away from home in all competitions. Jurgen Klopp’s men boast the best defensive road record in the Premier League having conceded just seven goals on 12 PL road trips so far. What’s more, six of Liverpool’s nine road victories have seen them beating their rivals to nil. The fact that they’ve scored one goal per match in their last three away games across all competitions could be a potential setback for Klopp’s players, especially considering Liverpool scored over 1.5 goals per match in only four of the previous 13 competitive road meetings.

Provisional line-up – West Ham United:

Gk: Adrian Defense: Zabaleta – Issa Diop – Declan Rice – Ogbonna – Masuaku Midfield: Noble – Antonio – Snodgrass Attack: Felipe Anderson – Chicharito

Provisional line-up – Liverpool:

Gk: Alisson Defense: Robertson – Virgil van Dijk – Matip – Fabinho Midfield: Naby Keita – Wijnaldum – Henderson Attack: Mane – Salah – Firmino