EPL: Liverpool v West Ham preview

Liverpool v West Ham preview

Liverpool will be close to full strength when they host West Ham in the Premier League on Saturday as they look to put pressure on the teams around them.

The Reds are currently in third place - one point ahead of Chelsea and two behind Manchester United, who play each other live on Sunday and recorded a storming 5-0 win against Porto in their previous fixture.

A win could see them temporarily go into second place, but Jurgen Klopp is under no illusions about the difficulty of facing West Ham, saying: "We need to be ready for a difficult game tomorrow because they - I don't know exactly the results but - drew against Tottenham, lost with one goal at [Manchester] City, stuff like that. It shows you need to do it.

 

"They always have opportunities with counter-attacks and set-pieces to score by themselves. They will defend a little bit deeper, probably, and we need an atmosphere that is ready for that as well."

The Hammers are currently 12th, although they remain four points from the drop zone, and David Moyes knows how tough a trip to Anfield can be.

 

"It's tough for any club going to Liverpool," he said. "It always has been and I've never known it any different as a fan, player or manager, everybody finds it tough going to Anfield so it will be a tough game but we are looking forward to it.

 

"Over the years I have done my best to get wins there, which has been hard, but finishing above them was nice [as Everton manager]. We've got a bit of confidence, we're in a good run of form ourselves but it will be a big test."

 

Liverpool have no real injury worries. Jurgen Klopp reported a couple of players had minor issues but nothing that is likely to keep anyone out of the squad for the Anfield encounter.

Emre Can is available again after being suspended for last week's Champions League victory over Porto, while Joe Gomez could return to the starting line-up for the first time this month after overcoming a knee injury.

 

Manuel Lanzini will return to the West Ham squad after a month out with a hamstring injury. Winston Reid is also available after a throat infection kept him out of the win over Watford a fortnight ago.

But Andy Carroll, Pedro Obiang and Edimilson Fernandes are still injured, Arthur Masuaku is suspended and Jose Fonte has joined Chinese Premier League side Dalian Yifang.