Last four head-to-head:
4-0 Liverpool (a) 05.14.17
2-2 (h) 12.11.16
1-2 West Ham (a; FA Cup) 02.09.16
0-0 (h; FA Cup) 01.30.16
Last three matches:
Liverpool: 3-0 Maribor (h); 3-0 Huddersfield (h); 1-4 Tottenham (a)
West Ham: 2-2 Palace (a); 3-2 Tottenham (a); 0-3 Brighton (h)
Goalscorers (league):
Liverpool: Salah 5; Firmino, Mané 3; Coutinho, Sturridge 2; Henderson, WIjnaldum 1
West Ham: Chicharito 4; Ayew 2; Antonio, Kouyate, Obiang, Sakho 1
Referee: Neil Swarbrick (LFC History) (WhoScored)
Guess at a line-up:
Mignolet
Gomez Matip Klavan Moreno
Milner Henderson Can
Salah Sturridge Firmino
Coutinho's still out, while Lovren and Wijnaldum are close but also probably out. Amazingly, Sadio Mané might be able to get a 20-25 minute run-out as a substitute. I think we'd all enjoy that.
Mignolet will come back in for Karius, Gomez will probably come back in for Alexander-Arnold, Sturridge will probably come back in for Oxlade-Chamberlain. But it's gonna look a lot like the XIs which beat Huddersfield and Maribor 3-0.
It hasn't been Liverpool's strongest XI. We haven't seen Liverpool's best performances. But we've seen consistency. We've seen a lot more good than bad. We've seen wins.
It's been more than welcomed. But I can't help thinking that we've seen this good at Anfield, and we've rarely seen it away from Anfield this season.
Yes, sample size. Yes, quality of opposition: 5th, 20th, 7th, 2nd, and 13th at home versus 8th, 1st, 11th, 9th, 3rd away. But also this.
Eek.
So, yeah, if we're really seeing consistency and improvement, we could do with some better Liverpool performances away from Anfield. And it starts tomorrow.
Meanwhile, if you know which West Ham we'll get tomorrow, I'd love to know. Liverpool would love to know. We gonna see the West Ham that's won just one of its last six league games? Or we gonna see the West Ham that scored three goals in the second half to come back to win the League Cup tie at Tottenham last week? The West Ham which scored twice in the first half at Crystal Palace or the West Ham which conceded twice in the second half at Crystal Palace?
The West Ham that almost always raises its game against Liverpool, with a manager who loves beating Liverpool, or the West Ham that got smoked by Liverpool in the penultimate match last season?
Whichever West Ham it is, it'll be a West Ham missing at least four potential starters, if not six. Antonio, Collins, and Byram are definitely out injured, Zabaleta's suspended, and both Fonte and Reid are doubtful. Five of those six players are defenders.
It sounds as if Fonte's more likely than Reid, so let's guess Hart; Fonte, Kouyate, Ogbonna; Fernandes, Obiang, Noble, Lanzini, Cresswell; Ayew, Carroll.
There are still good players in that XI. West Ham will play three at the back, which will look like five at the back an awful lot. West Ham will try to frustrate, then West Ham will try to counter and set play. It's gonna be one of those games. We've seen a lot of those games. And we'll keep seeing them until Liverpool consistently do better in them, the last two matches notwithstanding.
And it will be one of those games with Andy Carroll likely to start up front. You remember Andy Carroll. He's good at winning headers on long balls from defense to set up counter-attacks. He's really good at heading crosses from both open play and set play. He hasn't yet scored a league goal this season, and I suspect he'd really enjoy scoring against Liverpool. Or maybe Chicarito plays instead, a player who presents an entirely different set of counter-attacking problems which Liverpool have been vulnerable against.
16th place and ostensibly struggling, but there are concerns about this West Ham side. Up front, in midfield, and at the back.
It'll be up to Liverpool to keep doing whatever they've been doing in the last two games. And, this time, to do it away from home.
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