:Headline: Preview: West Ham United vs. Liverpool - prediction, team news, lineups:
Sports Mole previews Saturday's Premier League clash between West Ham United and Liverpool, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.
Reeling from their gut-wrenching derby defeat in midweek, Liverpool will endeavour to reignite their Premier League title hopes when they travel to the London Stadium to face West Ham United on Saturday afternoon.
The Hammers are also seeking to return to winning ways having lost their last two top-flight fixtures in disappointing fashion against Fulham and Crystal Palace.
Match preview
Following Arsenal's thumping 5-0 victory over Chelsea on Tuesday, the pressure was on Liverpool to respond with a positive result against Merseyside rivals Everton to ensure they remain within touching distance of the Premier League leaders.
However, Jurgen Klopp's men were deservedly beaten 2-0 at Goodison Park on Wednesday, with Jarrad Branthwaite and Dominic Calvert-Lewin netting either side of half time to condemn the Reds to their second league defeat in three matches, denting their title hopes in the process.
While captain Virgil van Dijk has surprisingly questioned the desire of his teammates, Klopp acknowledged after the match that his side were simply "not good enough" and has apologised for their abject performance. The German has also admitted that Liverpool "need a crisis at Man City and Arsenal" to remain in the three-way title race.
With four matches left to play, Liverpool sit second in the Premier League table and three points behind leaders Arsenal, but reigning champions Man City in third crucially have two games in hand, including a trip to Brighton & Hove Albion on Thursday.
Amid reports that Feyenoord boss Arne Slot is in the frame to succeed Klopp at Anfield in the summer, Liverpool will welcome an encounter with West Ham on Saturday as they have already beaten the Hammers twice this season in all competitions by an aggregate score of 8-2, following up a 3-1 league win in September with a convincing 5-1 victory in the EFL Cup three months later.
Liverpool have only won more Premier League games against Crystal Palace (13) than they have against West Ham (12) under the tutelage of Klopp. However, this is the 11th different campaign in which the Reds have faced the Hammers on three or more occasions and they have never beaten them three times in any of their previous 10.
Like Liverpool, West Ham find themselves down in the dumps following a poor run of form that has derailed their season, winning just one of their last seven Premier League games.
Since coming from behind to beat Wolverhampton Wanderers 2-1 at Molineux, the Hammers have suffered back-to-back defeats at the hands of Fulham and Crystal Palace, the latter put them to the sword 5-2 at Selhurst Park last weekend.
West Ham were three goals down inside the opening 20 minutes and then conceded a fourth in the 31st minute against a clinical Eagles outfit, who added a fifth through Jean-Philippe Mateta just after the hour mark to condemn the Hammers to their 12th league defeat of the season.
David Moyes was left "embarrassed and disappointed" after West Ham's "atrocious" defeat, which leaves them sitting eighth in the table and two points behind seventh-placed Newcastle United, who have a game in hand, while they have slipped five points behind sixth-placed Manchester United following their 4-2 win over Sheffield United.
The Hammers head into Saturday's contest having won only one of their last eight league games on home soil, beating Brentford 4-2 in February, and after losing 2-0 to Fulham in their most recent match at the London Stadium, they will be seeking to avoid suffering consecutive home losses for the first time since a run of three in November/December 2022.
However, success against Liverpool could prove challenging as West Ham have been beaten 12 times in their last 14 Premier League meetings with the Reds, losing each of their last five since a 3-2 home victory in November 2021.
West Ham United Premier League form:
- D
- L
- D
- W
- L
- L
West Ham United form (all competitions):
Liverpool Premier League form:
- W
- W
- D
- L
- W
- L
Liverpool form (all competitions):
- D
- L
- L
- W
- W
- L
Team News
West Ham will hope to have star attacker Jarrod Bowen available for selection after he was forced to miss last weekend's loss at Palace with a back problem. Nayef Aguerd and Konstantinos Mavropanos (both ankle) will also be assessed ahead of kickoff.
Alphonse Areola was fit to make the substitutes' bench last time out after recovering from a groin injury and he is expected to take the place of Lukasz Fabianski between the sticks on Saturday, while changes further up the pitch, particularly in defence and midfield, will also be considered by Moyes.
Both Ben Johnson and Aaron Cresswell will be hoping to force their way into the first XI, as will midfielder Kalvin Phillips, although Tomas Soucek and Edson Alvarez will likely keep their places just behind James Ward-Prowse, while Lucas Paqueta and Mohammed Kudus are set to provide support for Michail Antonio up front.
As for Liverpool, Diogo Jota (hip), Conor Bradley (foot), Thiago Alcantara (muscle), Joel Matip and Ben Doak (both knee) all remain sidelined as they continue to recover from injury.
Cody Gakpo missed the midweek defeat at Everton as his partner is expecting to give birth, and it remains to be seen whether the Dutchman will be available to feature on Saturday.
Mohamed Salah and Darwin Nunez have been off the boil in recent weeks, but they both scored in the reverse league fixture against West Ham at Anfield and are expected to retain their places in attack alongside Luis Diaz.
West Ham United possible starting lineup:
Areola; Coufal, Zouma, Aguerd, Emerson; Alvarez, Soucek; Kudus, Ward-Prowse, Paqueta; Antonio
Liverpool possible starting lineup:
Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Quansah, Van Dijk, Robertson; Szoboszlai, Endo, Mac Allister; Salah, Nunez, Diaz
We say: West Ham United 1-2 Liverpool
Victory is of the essence for both of these out-of-form clubs as they attempt to enhance their hopes of achieving their respective targets this season, but it will be Liverpool who enter Saturday's contest as favourites considering their recent record over West Ham.
The Hammers have the credentials to cause problems for the Reds in the final third, especially if Bowen is fit to return, but we believe Klopp's side will find a way to bounce back and claim maximum points.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
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