Liverpool VS West Ham United Match Prediction
2018-02-24
15:00:00
Liverpool
VS
West Ham United
Our Prediction Tip
Liverpool will win this match.
2018-02-2415:00:00 Liverpool will win this match.
Liverpool have been dominant in this fixture in the past, with West Ham winning just 28 of the 136 previous meetings between the two teams. Twice at the London Stadium in 2017, Liverpool scored four - Mo Salah netting two of them as the Reds won the reverse fixture 4-1. Last time out at Anfield, however, the two teams drew 2-2. Here are the results of the last five matches:
Nov 04, 2017: West Ham United 1-4 Liverpool
May 14, 2017: West Ham United 0-4 Liverpool
Dec 11, 2016: Liverpool 2-2 West Ham United
Feb 09, 2016: West Ham United 2-1 Liverpool
Jan 30, 2016: Liverpool 0-0 West Ham United
Liverpool’s free-scoring front three continued their hugely impressive season at Porto, where it was Sadio Mane grabbing the headlines for the first time, ahead of Mo Salah and Roberto Firmino.
All three have been in stunning form, and while questions remain over Liverpool’s defence they have kept three clean sheets in their last four matches too.
Ten days off between fixtures have given them time to regroup and with a fully-fit squad to choose from, this could be the start of a big run-in for the Reds.
West Ham have also had time off, but David Moyes has several injuries to contend with and a poor record at Anfield despite managing two of Liverpool’s most fierce rivals during his career.
While West Ham have improved under his stewardship from the team which lost 4-1 at home to Liverpool earlier in the season, they remain inconsistent at best and Liverpool will hope to carve open the Hammers' defence again.
Salah now has 30 goals for the season, while Firmino is on 21 - Liverpool have not enjoyed such a fruitful year from their attacking players since Luis Suarez and Danny Sturridge fired them to second place in 2013/14.
Second is the target again now this season, and a comfortable win at home to West Ham will be another step on the way to achieving it.
Liverpool are huge odds-on favourites to beat West Ham on Saturday - William Hill are offering a best price of just 1/4 on the Reds winning.
Despite critics - mostly deserved - pointing out Liverpool’s poor defensive record, they have kept clean sheets in three of their last four games, and are 23/20 with William Hill to win to nil on Saturday.
A Liverpool win and over 2.5 goals will return just 3/5 with Ladbrokes, however.
It is hard to look past Mohamed Salah scoring, and that is reflected in the odds on the Egyptian scoring at any time - 4/6 with Bet365.
Sadio Mane, after his hat-trick at Porto, is 13/10 with Betfair, however, and could be a more profitable pick.
Liverpool's attacking record, mixed with West Ham's indifferent form and key injuries, makes it hard to look beyond the hosts recording another big win in this fixture.
With ten days between their Champions League win in Porto and Saturday's fixture, Liverpool have been able to enjoy a warm-weather training camp and have a fully-fit squad to choose from for the first time this season. Nathaniel Clyne is unlikely to be rushed back, however, with Trent Alexander-Arnold in good form. The main selection questions for Jurgen Klopp will be whether to play Joel Matip or Dejan Lovren alongside Virgil van Dijk. Lovren played in Porto, but it was Matip preferred for the Premier League win at Southampton.
Mohamed Salah's goal against Porto was his 30th of the season, while Roberto Firmino grabbed his 21st goal of the campaign. Sadio Mane's hat-trick, meanwhile, takes him to 12, with all three enjoying a stunning campaign in attack.
Liverpool have bounced back from their surprise FA Cup exit at home to West Brom by winning three of their last four games. They have not played since their 5-0 thrashing of Porto in the Champions League, when Sadio Mane scored a hat-trick and Mo Salah and Roberto Firmino continued their fine seasons with one apiece. That followed a 2-0 win at Southampton and 3-0 thrashing of Huddersfield, either side of their last-minute 2-2 draw with Tottenham in their most recent game at Anfield.
If David Moyes is to break his Anfield duck, he will have to do so without several key players - Winston Reid is doubtful with a throat infection, and Andy Carroll and Pedro Obiang are definitely out injured. Arthur Masuaku is serving a six-match ban for spitting, but playmaker Manuel Lanzini could return after missing the last three games.
Their goals against Watford in West Ham's most recent game took both Chicharito and Marko Arnautovic to seven goals for the season following their arrivals in the summer. They are level at the top of West Ham's goalscoring charts, but Arnautovic has also contributed five assists.
West Ham won 2-0 at home to Watford a fortnight ago to end a four-match winless streak in all competitions. They were dumped out of the FA Cup by League One Wigan and have since drawn 1-1 with Crystal Palace and lost 3-1 at Brighton before Javier Hernandez and Marko Arnautovic inspired them to victory against the Hornets.
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