Liverpool to face West Ham at Upton Park for Saturday's evening EPL match. After midweek Champions League action, the Premier League returns and Liverpool will be hoping to improve after a poor defeat against Aston Villa at Anfield and a lacklustre victory versus Ludogorets in Europe. Ending this week on a high note will be crucial for the upcoming weeks where the Reds have a tight schedule, playing Middlesborough for the Capital One on Tuesday, having the derby clash versus Everton on the following Saturday and then travelling to Switzerland to play Basel in the Champions League.
The Hammers are yet to get a point playing at The Boleyn Ground and while their away form has been better (a win and a draw) their fans will be expecting, or hoping for, a first home win. With Sam Allardyce on a constant fight with the West Ham board the fans seem to be at a 50-50 point with the gaffer. Talking in his pre-match conference he recalled last season's match: "I remember last year we were sadly done by a refereeing decision. They complained that they had to park too far away, the dressing rooms were too hot, and the grass was too long, whatever."
Team News:
Liverpool: The new Red signings will have to start gelling together and fast for the fans to see some of the amazing displays from last season and Rodgers will be keen to have his creative players show their finesse. With Sturridge, Allen, Can, Flanagan and Johnson all out injured, the Liverpool Boss will probably be going for a similar team that walked out onto Anfield on Wednesday, with a couple of changes. Starting XI: Mignolet, Moreno, Skrtel, Lovren, Manquillo, Gerrard, Henderson, Lallana, Coutinho, Sterling, Balotelli.
West Ham: The Hammers made a couple of astute signings in the summer in the form of Enner Valencia and Mauro Zarate to boost their attack. The Argentine has experience playing in Argentina, Qatar, Italy and in England for Birmingham, scoring for all teams. He can be greedy at times but has a good eye for goal. Liverpool were linked with Alex Song for the whole summer but ended up moving to West Ham on a free transfer, he has played at the top level with Arsenal and Barcelona and is stalwart in the middle. Starting XI: Adrian, Jenkinson, Cresswell, Tomkins, Reid, Song, Noble, Zarate, Downing, Sakho, Valencia.
Match Preview:
Liverpool's defensive frailties seem to be a continuous problem, Mignolet making similar mistakes to last season and the centre-back pair not playing up to standards, especially defending set-pieces. Moreno and Manquillo have excelled, but lack of supplying Balotelli upfront and Coutinho's drop in form could pose a dilemma. Fortunately for the Reds, Super Mario found the back of the net versus Ludogorets opening his goal-scoring tally. Brendan Rodgers admitted afterwards:
“We are not at the standard we were last season, that’s for sure. There is a lot of adaptation going on as we have a lot of players who have come in and are still adapting. We are a work in progress. While we do that, it’s important we win games.” Sterling and Henderson have both stood out this season, the new vice-captain constantly commanding in midfield and young Raheem seeming unstoppable at times.
West Ham have had in Stewart Downing their best player this season, showing that his time at Anfield just didn't go his way. With Song in the middle of the field pulling the strings, it will be up to the front men to show their strengths. The Hammers back-line may have some trouble coping with the speed of Sterling and the strength of Balotelli.
Liverpool's defensive frailties seem to be a continuous problem, Mignolet making similar mistakes to last season and the centre-back pair not playing up to standards, especially defending set-pieces. Moreno and Manquillo have excelled, but lack of supplying Balotelli upfront and Coutinho's drop in form could pose a dilemma. Fortunately for the Reds, Super Mario found the back of the net versus Ludogorets opening his goal-scoring tally. Brendan Rodgers admitted afterwards:
“We are not at the standard we were last season, that’s for sure. There is a lot of adaptation going on as we have a lot of players who have come in and are still adapting. We are a work in progress. While we do that, it’s important we win games.” Sterling and Henderson have both stood out this season, the new vice-captain constantly commanding in midfield and young Raheem seeming unstoppable at times.
West Ham have had in Stewart Downing their best player this season, showing that his time at Anfield just didn't go his way. With Song in the middle of the field pulling the strings, it will be up to the front men to show their strengths. The Hammers back-line may have some trouble coping with the speed of Sterling and the strength of Balotelli.
Head to Head:
At Upton Park, Liverpool and West Ham have played a total of 57 matches, the Hammers winning 20, Liverpool 22 and the teams drawing on 15 occasions. Liverpool have had 4 wins out of the 5 last trips to Boleyn Ground, winning the corresponding fixture last season 2-1 with Steven Gerrard scoring twice from the penalty spot.
Liverpool are undefeated in 21 of their last 23 matches against West Ham in all competitions and have scored at least 2 goals in 8 of their last 9 away matches in the Premier League. West Ham have seen over 2.5 goals in 8 of their last 9 matches against Liverpool in all competitions.
Prediction:
West Ham 2 vs Liverpool 3
Liverpool are having trouble keeping a clean sheet and this probably won't be the exception. Balotelli to score a brace and Lallana to open his goal-scoring account for the Reds. Zarate and former-Red Downing to score for the Hammers.
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