Verdict: Away win
Best odds: 20/23
Bookmaker: Betfair
Round 33 of the Premier League season is being played from Tuesday to Thursday this week, and as its part, West Ham will welcome Liverpool to the London Stadium on Wednesday evening.
The two teams are fighting their respective battles to achieve different goals, which means every point won or dropped between now and the end of the season is likely to be of great consequence for both.
West Ham
The Hammers had a couple of excellent seasons, most notably the last two as they stood a decent chance of finishing inside the top four and eventually securing a place in Europe. Now, however, David Moyes’ team seems to have lost a big part of that drive and as the campaign approaches its finish, they haven’t done enough to feel safe about staying in the Premier League just yet.
On the other hand, West Ham have done very well in Europe this term, reaching the semifinals of the Europa Conference League where they’ll face AZ Alkmaar.
Going into this game, West Ham are in 13th place with 34 points, six above the relegation zone topped by Everton. Wolverhampton Wanderers (14th, 34 points), Bournemouth (15th, 33), Leeds United (16th, 29) and Leicester City (17th, 28) are positioned in between. The picture says the Hammers are more than likely to survive, but there’s still work to be done until they can breathe more easily.
The good news for West Ham is that they’ve been on very good form lately. The 1-5 home defeat to Newcastle, which starts their current last-six run, is actually their only defeat in the last 10 games in all competitions. The run also includes a 0-1 win away to Fulham, a 1-1 draw away to Gent in the first leg of the Europa Conference League quarterfinals, a 2-2 draw at home against league leaders Arsenal, a 4-1 win in the Gent rematch, and a 0-4 win away to Bournemouth.
Team News
Striker Gianluca Scamacca underwent knee surgery earlier this month and is set to remain out of action for another couple of weeks, but the rest of the squad should be available for Moyes to choose from. It will give the Scottish tactician food for thought as, on one hand, he probably wouldn’t want to disrupt a winning combination, and on the other, he will be aware of the dangers of overworking some of his players during a run where a game is played every three or four days.
Lukasz Fabianski will be in goal, with Kurt Zouma and Nayef Aguerd paired up at the back, Vladimir Coufal on their right, and Aaron Cresswell on the left. In-demand England international Declan Rice will cover the middle of the pitch alongside Tomas Soucek, while Lucas Paqueta roams a bit more freely and closer to the opposition goal. Upfront, Jarrod Bowen and Said Benrahma are expected to support striker Michail Antonio.
Liverpool
If West Ham are going through a weaker season after a couple of good ones, it’s nothing compared to a team that has gone from extremely serious contenders for the Premier League and the Champions League and winners of both the FA Cup and the Carabao Cup, to fighting desperately to qualify for any European competition for 2023/24.
Injuries have, of course, played their part in such a sharp decline, but the drop in performance levels of some of Liverpool’s main stars of previous years has truly been difficult to explain.
Consequently, Liverpool lost all chances of winning a trophy this season far too early, and all that remains for them is to try and finish the campaign as strongly as possible, and to invest heavily into the squad in the summer.
At the moment, Liverpool are in seventh place with 50 points, one more than Brighton and Hove Albion in eighth but the Seagulls have two games in hand on them. They’re nine points behind Manchester United in fourth, three behind Tottenham Hotspur in fifth, and one behind Aston Villa in sixth.
Like West Ham, the Merseysiders have shown some improvement over the last couple of games after a very rough patch, and their last-six run in all competitions starts with two defeats – 1-0 away to Real Madrid in the Champions League round of 16, and 4-1 away to Manchester City, followed by two draws – 0-0 away to Chelsea and 2-2 at home against Arsenal, ending with two victories – 1-6 away to Leeds United and 3-2 at home against Nottingham Forest.
Team News
Liverpool remain without forward Roberto Firmino, midfielders Naby Keita and Stefan Bajcetic, as well as defender Calvin Ramsay.
Defender Ibrahima Konate faces a late fitness test, but manager Jurgen Klopp is optimistic about the France international being ready in time.
Alisson Becker will be in goal, with Virgil van Dijk commanding the back line next to Joel Matip, if Konate isn’t ready. Kostas Tsimikas is an option on the left defensive flank to give Andy Robertson some rest, and the same applies to the possibility of Joe Gomez stepping in to relieve Trent Alexander-Arnold. However, Klopp probably won’t make quite as many changes. In the middle of the park, Harvey Elliott is due a start, and we may see Thiago Alcantara replace either Jordan Henderson or Fabinho. Mohamed Salah will likely remain on the right attacking flank, with Diogo Jota on the left and Cody Gakpo through the middle.
Conclusion
Liverpool appear to have woken up, and if they keep going the way they have in the last two games, West Ham will be no match for them.
Verdict: Away win
Best odds: 20/23
Bookmaker: Betfair
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