Liverpool vs West Ham predictions: Reds can follow up City success

Liverpool have roared back to life in the past week but now must prove their consistency as the Reds prepare to host a dangerous West Ham.

Jurgen Klopp's side silenced their critics with victory over Manchester City at the weekend but the task now for Liverpool is to prove they can still do it week-in, week-out and not just raise themselves for the big matches.

There is no denying that City played into Liverpool’s hands by offering far too much space on the break at Anfield last Sunday — an offer that Mohamed Salah eventually accepted as he raced clear to score the only goal of the game.

But take nothing away from the Reds' defensive display against the champions.

With both Joel Matip and Ibrahima Konate injured, Joe Gomez moved to centre-back alongside Virgil van Dijk, while 36-year-old James Milner sat in at right-back.

The makeshift backline marshalled City magnificently, with goalkeeper Alisson making only a handful of regulation saves as Pep Guardiola’s side were restricted to their lowest Premier League expected goals tally since January.

The arrival of West Ham offers a different challenge altogether as the visitors will probably sit back to hit Klopp's men on the break, but the Reds look rejuvenated and could be hard to stop.

Team news

Klopp has a string of injury concerns, with Diogo Jota the latest to be ruled out after he was stretchered off with a calf injury late on against City.

He joins fellow attacker Luis Diaz — who is also out until after the World Cup — on the sidelines, while midfield trio Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Naby Keita and Arthur Melo are all expected to be absent until at least the end of October.

At centre-back, Matip will again miss out with a calf strain, while Konate will be touch-and-go as to whether he returns in time for Wednesday's match.

At least Trent Alexander-Arnold has recovered quickly from his ankle knock after he surprisingly made the bench at the weekend and he will now be pushing to start in midweek.

West Ham manager David Moyes continues to be plagued by problems at centre-back, but he will be hoping that one or two return this week.

Summer signing Nayef Aguerd has yet to play a minute for his new club, and while he is close to returning from ankle surgery he remains a couple of weeks away yet.

Kurt Zouma and Craig Dawson both missed last weekend's game against Southampton but Moyes is hopeful that Zouma will recover from illness to feature, while Dawson has an outside chance of recovering from a dead leg sustained against Anderlecht last Thursday.

Forward Maxwel Cornet is likely to miss out again with a calf strain but may be fit enough to make the bench.

The stats

West Ham have lost on each of their last five trips to Anfield and last season was the only one of those visits that featured fewer than three goals in total when they were narrowly beaten 1-0.

While the Hammers have failed to get a result at Anfield in recent seasons, they have been getting steadily more competitive, losing the last three visits by only a single goal.

And, despite a slow-starting season marked by defensive injuries, the Hammers have been increasingly watertight this term, only once conceding more than a single goal in their last seven Premier League outings.

Indeed, not a single one of West Ham's last seven opponents have managed more than 0.8 xG against them, with Moyes focusing on making his side hard to break down while looking for a bit of magic on the break from his three or four attacking players.

Prediction

The last seven days feel like a season changer for Liverpool, whose victory over City came hot on the heels of the Reds running riot in the Champions League with a 7-1 thrashing of Rangers.

However, that does not necessarily mean Klopp's side will cut loose against a well-organised West Ham side who have suffered a frustrating season but have shown up well against the top teams.

Since recovering from an injury-impacted slow start to 2022-23, Moyes' men have gone toe-to-toe with every opponent and arguably deserved more against both Tottenham and Chelsea.

Their 1-1 draw against Spurs should have been a win on the balance of play, while Moyes was justified in his anger at the refereeing decisions that handed Chelsea all three points.

This trip to Anfield will be an interesting tactical clash as Moyes will not send West Ham out to attack at the risk of leaving space in behind, as was the case when City came to town last weekend.

Instead, it is likely to prove a match of two teams setting up solidly and standing off one another to wait for mistakes on which to pounce.

Liverpool’s extra quality should see them edge the encounter but West Ham are likely to stay compact throughout, so a home win and under 2.5 goals at 10/3 via LiveScore Bet looks a sensible play.