Liverpool Match Preview
West Ham United are currently on a six-game unbeaten run in all competitions and whilst they will be looking to extend that record by ending January unbeaten, they may face a severe test this afternoon, as current Premier League Champions Liverpool visit Stratford.
David Moyes’ side climbed into the top four after Tuesday’s 3-2 win at Crystal Palace but thanks to the Reds winning 3-1 at Tottenham Hotspur on Thursday, the East Londoners have dropped a place with the Reds replacing them. Having said that, both teams could still slip, depending on the results of Saturday’s games.
The hosts go into this game having only lost twice since they last met Jürgen Klopp’s men back on 31 October and will be the fresher of the two sides for this encounter.
The victory on Thursday remarkably was the first for the Merseysiders this year and the even more staggering fact is that before then, they had not won, or indeed scored in a league game since 19 December. All of which means this may be a tough contest to call, given that both teams have momentum behind them after their results last time out.
Saïd Benrahma will hope to retain his place in the side and make his first start as a permanent West Ham player after completing his move from Sky Bet Championship side Brentford earlier in the week, meaning Moyes may stick with the side that collected maximum points from Selhurst Park five days ago.
The Hammers confirmed on Friday night that Jesse Lingard had signed a loan deal from Manchester United until the end of the current campaign but it remains to be seen whether he will be involved here.
Youngster Gonçalo Cardoso will not be involved, as the defender has joined FC Basel on loan for the remainder of the campaign.
The match is a 4:30pm kick-off with live coverage being screened by Sky Sports from 4pm. The referee is Jonathan Moss.