LIVERPOOL VS WEST HAM UNITED: PREVIEW

Following the exhilarating victory over Manchester City on Sunday, Liverpool now switch attention to West Ham United. David Moyes’ outfit visit Anfield tomorrow night for a 7:30pm (BST) kickoff. Here’s a preview of the game.

Where else to start than that performance and result on Sunday? The Reds looked back to their very best against the Citizens. From back to front every player played his part. It was a reminder of the levels this side can reach when everyone is on it.

It came off the back of the 7-1 battering of Rangers at Ibrox in the Champions League. It capped off a really good week for the Reds but the aim now is to build on it and make up ground on rivals. 14 games into the season thus far and Liverpool have yet to string three wins together.

It is a damning statistic that underlines just how inconsistent a start the Reds have made to this campaign. Tomorrow is as good a chance as any to keep the momentum going with another victory. Anfield was on good form on Sunday and the Kop will once again have to play their part.

Key to what we hope is a turnaround in fortunes has been the return to goalscoring form of Mohamed Salah. The Egyptian had been enduring a quiet season infront of goal as he took on a wider, more creative role with the introduction of Darwin Nunez.

The switch to 4-4-2 initially saw him remain wide on the right till that devastating cameo off the bench in Glasgow. He played down the middle with Diogo Jota buzzing behind him and they were both unstoppable as a strike duo.

The manager maintained Mo in the middle against City, this time with Firmino in behind him and once again he was electric. His pace in behind caused the City backline endless problems and he topped off the performance with a classy winner.

Keeping the best goalscorer in England for the past five years closer to goal and on form is crucial to the Reds hopes this season, especially with Darwin Nunez still adapting to life in the Premier League and Diogo Jota joining Luis Diaz on the sidelines.

Opponents West Ham have had a torrid time of it themselves this campaign, losing five of their opening seven league games. They are unbeaten in their last three however, beating Villa and Fulham before drawing at Southampton last time out.

They seem to have arrested their early season decline, and like Liverpool, are seeking to ascend the table. New signings have settled in well in recent weeks, with big money striker Gianluca Scamacca starting each of the last three and netting twice.

Lucas Paqueta has added something different to the attack whilst Thilo Kehrer has overcome a rocky start to life as a Hammer to become a mainstay in the backline. West Ham don’t actually concede a lot, but they don’t tend to score enough either.

The Hammers have conceded less goals (11) than the Reds this season (12). However, they’ve only managed to find the back of the net on 9 occasions, with only Wolves (5), Villa (7) and Everton (8) scoring less goals.

David Moyes’ men aren’t creating a lot (just 8 big chances, only Bournemouth have created less) but they will present a challenge. They are physically imposing and will battle for every ball, making it a hard graft.

In the corresponding fixture last season, the Reds edged a keenly contested encounter with a solitary Sadio Mané strike. This came months after the Hammers actually turned Liverpool over at the London stadium.

Jürgen Klopp is unbeaten in his six home league matches against the Hammers, overseeing five victories and a draw. The last three of those victories were by the odd goal so you get a sense of how competitive the Hammers always make it.

It should be another enthralling game as both sides attempt to string together a good run of results. They’re both better than their position in the table suggests. Liverpool have to find a way to put another three points on the board to back up the City result.

Team News

Diogo Jota was stretchered off late on against City and has been subsequently ruled out for months with a “serious calf muscle injury”. His World Cup dream is cruelly over. He joins Luis Diaz and Arthur Melo on the long term absentees list.

Konaté and Matip remain sidelined whilst Calvin Ramsay is set to feature for the U21s to help him get up to speed. Oxlade-Chamberlain took part in training, with Naby Keita also featuring for parts of it. The pair of them are stepping up their comeback but this game comes too soon.

Curtis Jones missed training however and is expected to miss out yet again. Alexander-Arnold meanwhile returned to action ahead of schedule and featured in the final minutes on Sunday. He should be fine to start.

For West Ham, Kurt Zouma (flu) and Craig Dawson (leg injury) are both doubts, whilst Maxwel Cornet (thigh) is confirmed to miss the match. Naif Aguerd (ankle) is a long term absentee.