Liverpool v West Ham | Oppo Insight
Written by Zack Oaten
After brushing aside Norwich in the FA cup on Wednesday, Liverpool will now have to shift their focus to the Premier league where West Ham are looking to pay a visit to Anfield. The Hammers come into the game after just being knocked out of the FA cup by Southampton as well as having just 2 wins in their last 5 matches in the league which will raise Liverpool’s confidence immensely ahead of the game.
Despite their failure in English competitions West Ham are still competing in the Europa League, reaching the Round of 16 where they will face Sevilla after finishing top of Group H with ease. David Moyes’s side has certainly shown they have the quality to compete in European competition this season and honestly look like one of the teams that could go on and win it alongside the likes of Barcelona, RB Leipzig, and Rangers.
The Irons currently sit 5th in the league, lurking around the top four position just like they have done over recent years. However, with 3 games in hand over 6th place Arsenal and 2 games in hand over 7th place Tottenham their top 4 hopes could be tarnished due to their lack of consistency in recent weeks, but that is only if their London neighbours are able to take advantage.
Be careful not to think back to Liverpool’s last meeting with West Ham, it might just give you nightmares. A corner dangerously whipped in by Pablo Fornals led to an Alisson own goal due to his glove slightly grazing the ball, a tidy finish from Fornals flew in as the ball escaped Alisson’s effort to block it and another corner, this time Jarrod Bowen’s effort met Kurt Zouma’s head at the back post where he slammed it past Alisson. Not even Lord Origi’s last minute goal could save us that day as West Ham took all 3 points, leaving Liverpool in tatters.
In terms of injuries, West Ham are still without Vladimir Coufal and Angelo Ogbonna whilst Andriy Yarmolenko looks unlikely to start due to the impact of the Ukraine situation. It is about the same story for Jurgen Klopp’s side, major players such as Roberto Firmino, Naby Keita and Joel Matip are still ruled out whilst Thiago Alcantara’s thigh injury in Sunday’s warmup means that he is not fit enough to play. Overall, both sides are still robust and have enough depth to field players with identical quality and experience so even with numerous injuries it should be an interesting affair.
Since joining in 2017, David Moyes has created a combative and aggressive team who are feared even amongst the Premier League elite when they are at their best. The London side have scored 46 goals in the league this season, the fourth most, just 3 behind Chelsea. However, despite an impressive attack, their defense is shaky. Having conceded 37 goals, West Ham have conceded the second most out of the current top 10 sides before the start of this match week, just 3 behind struggling Southampton.
Liverpool’s destructive front 3 (whatever the variation) has now been gifted even more support with the return of Diogo Jota and with every form of attacking rotation proving to be deadly you can expect goals from their talents up top. This is especially true when you delve into the minds of the players, after losing the first game against the London side revenge will be ever-present in the thoughts of the red men. Combine the aspect of revenge and the current title race and you have a side who will be relentless in every area of the pitch.
Six wins in six suggests this should be an easy 3 points for the Reds, but the Hammers love an upset with them already beating Chelsea and Tottenham earlier this season as underdogs. Either way, statistics imply this will be a goal fest and with the game being hosted under the watchful eye of the Kop, West Ham are probably going to suffer a major dent in their race for the top 4.
Predicted West Ham side: Fabianski; Johnson, Dawson, Zouma, Cresswell; Rice, Soucek; Bowen, Lanzini, Fornals, Antonio
Written by Zack Oaten
