Preview: West Ham United vs. Liverpool - prediction, team news, lineups

Aiming to deed the 45-point people earlier the extremity of the calendar year, relentless Premier League leaders Liverpool caput to West Ham United connected Sunday evening for their last lucifer of 2024.

Both teams came up trumps successful their Boxing Day battles, arsenic the Reds fought backmost to descend Leicester City 3-1 aft the Irons subjected Ivan Juric to a 1-0 beating connected his Southampton managerial debut.

Match preview

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While Chelsea and Arsenal person sometimes failed to capitalise connected the misfortunes of their chap Premier League rubric rivals this season, the aforesaid was not said for Liverpool connected Thursday evening, arsenic Arne Slot's juggernaut made the astir of the Blues' daze nonaccomplishment to Fulham earlier successful the day.

Liverpool's mettle was tested much truthful than accustomed courtesy of a Jordan Ayew opener, but the Reds came streaming guardant successful the heavy Merseyside fog and drew themselves level connected the changeable of fractional clip via a Cody Gakpo beauty, earlier Curtis Jones and Mohamed Salah completed the turnaround.

Still hitting caller vocation zeniths good into his 30s, Salah's customary curler saw the Egyptian go the eighth antheral to people 100 Premier League location goals - and the fourth-fastest - arsenic his broadside extended their unassailable pb astatine the acme of the top-flight table.

Slot's winning instrumentality - who person present prevailed successful 11 of their past 13 matches successful each tournaments - volition crucially inactive person different crippled successful manus connected the also-rans heading into 2025, and the erstwhile Feyenoord brag inactive has not a azygous blot connected his roadworthy notebook since touching down astatine Anfield.

Indeed, Liverpool person avoided decision successful each of their archetypal 13 distant matches successful the 2024-25 run - scoring successful each azygous 1 of those games - though the hosts tin beryllium encouraged by the league leaders' caller antiaircraft vulnerabilities connected rival soil.

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Liverpool's engrossing 6-3 triumph implicit Tottenham Hotspur earlier Christmas marked the 4th Premier League distant crippled successful a enactment wherever they person conceded astatine slightest twice, having besides failed to support their rearguard attraction astatine Arsenal, Southampton and Newcastle United.

Julen Lopetegui's West Ham volition nary uncertainty instrumentality immoderate glimmer of anticipation that they tin get earlier the irrepressible Reds travel to visit, but the Irons are ending the twelvemonth arsenic they mean to commencement the caller one, arsenic Thursday's occurrence astatine Southampton made it 4 Premier League games without defeat.

A praiseworthy full of 8 points from the past 12 connected connection successful the apical formation has lifted the Hammers supra Manchester United and into 13th spot successful the standings, mathematically person to the apical 5 than the relegation places arsenic the Lopetegui sack speech quietens down.

Establishing a accordant streak successful the last third, Sunday's hosts person recovered the backmost of the nett successful each of their past 7 Premier League matches and person lone been bested successful 1 of their past six top-flight games astatine the London Stadium, which was the determination of Jurgen Klopp and Salah's memorable touchline spat past term.

West Ham held Liverpool to a 2-2 gully successful that affair, but the Reds person triumphed successful six of the different 7 astir caller meetings betwixt the 2 clubs, including a 5-1 annihilation successful September's EFL Cup opener aft pummelling David Moyes's squad by the aforesaid scoreline en way to Wembley glory past year.

West Ham United Premier League form:

Liverpool Premier League form:

Liverpool signifier (all competitions):

Team News

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It is arsenic you were connected the fittingness beforehand for Liverpool, arsenic Slot confirmed successful his pre-match property league that neither Ibrahima Konate (knee) nor Conor Bradley (hamstring) are available, but the antiaircraft duo could instrumentality against Manchester United successful the Reds' archetypal crippled of 2025.

Konate and Bradley are 2 of 3 definite absentees for the visitors, who person besides mislaid Dominik Szoboszlai to suspension aft the Hungary planetary picked up his 5th Premier League yellowish paper of the play successful the Leicester victory.

Szoboszlai was lone a precocious substitute connected Boxing Day anyhow - Jones is definite to reprise his relation with his teammate unavailable - but some Diogo Jota and Luis Diaz volition endeavour to instrumentality to the attacking enactment astatine the disbursal of the misfiring Darwin Nunez.

Liverpool's squad whitethorn beryllium successful comparatively bully nick, but the aforesaid cannot beryllium said for West Ham, who person been dealt nary less than 5 caller blows pursuing their triumph implicit Southampton.

The Irons' triumph was overshadowed by a serious-looking wounded to Lukasz Fabianski, who was stretchered disconnected aft a bang to the caput and is present pursuing concussion protocol, and Max Kilman came disconnected with a enarthrosis occupation earlier successful the archetypal half.

Lopetegui besides confirmed that Carlos Soler's astonishing half-time withdrawal astatine St Mary's was injury-related - the Spaniard is nursing a genu occupation - and the hosts' midfield has been further ravaged by Guido Rodriguez and Tomas Soucek's suspensions.

However, Lucas Paqueta is backmost from a prohibition of his ain and tin regenerate 1 of the duo, and a callback for Edson Alvarez besides beckons. Michail Antonio, meanwhile, is inactive recovering from his roadworthy mishap injuries.

West Ham United imaginable starting lineup:
Areola; Wan-Bissaka, Mavropanos, Todibo, Emerson; Alvarez; Bowen, Paqueta, Kudus, Summerville; Fullkrug

We say: West Ham United 1-3 Liverpool

West Ham's midfield situation whitethorn unit Lopetegui into fielding much attack-minded players than helium would person liked, which volition surely payment the Irons' hopes of prolonging Liverpool's antiaircraft misery and extending their stellar scoring sequence.

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