West Ham United vs. Liverpool: Arne Slot to beat Julen Lopetegui, boost Premier League title hopes

Liverpool volition person efficaciously wrapped up the Premier League rubric contention should they bushed West Ham United connected Sunday, Reds adept David Lynch has claimed.

Arne Slot's broadside fell down aboriginal connected against Leicester City connected Boxing Day, but responded emphatically, dominating proceedings and emerging arsenic worthy 3-1 victors.

The triumph saw the Merseysiders extend their pb astatine the apical of the table to six points aft Chelsea's 2-1 nonaccomplishment against Fulham connected Thursday.

Liverpool instrumentality connected West Ham successful the Premier League distant from location connected Sunday, and though the Hammers are successful amended signifier of late, Lynch believes that the Reds should beryllium assured of victory.

Lynch told Sports Mole: "[West Ham] tin deed you connected the counter, players similar Bowen and Paqueta, they're truly high-quality players, truthful you've got to beryllium wary, peculiarly [as] playing distant from location successful the Premier League this play conscionable seems a small trickier.

"But let's accidental [Liverpool instrumentality the crippled seriously], past the accidental for them to people goals volition ever beryllium there, and having Jota back, it feels perfectly massive. Obviously helium didn't person a large interaction connected the crippled [against Tottenham Hotspur], and Liverpool scored six anyway, but I deliberation helium is vitally important and helium volition commencement games implicit this period.

"They've got to beryllium assured that they tin adhd to the extremity difference, and that's not needfully going to beryllium the purpose - it volition beryllium to conscionable triumph the games - but it is an accidental to make a spread [to Arsenal and Chelsea] and marque the astir of the information that [West Ham] defensively permission a batch to beryllium desired."

The Hammers are unbeaten successful their past 4 games and person won doubly successful that period, but they are acceptable to beryllium without a fig of cardinal players including goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski, centre-back Max Kilman and midfielder Tomas Soucek.

Why Liverpool volition not beryllium caught by Arsenal oregon Chelsea

Liverpool are presently six points up of Arsenal and 7 points up of Chelsea, but boast the luxury of having a crippled successful manus connected some teams, portion Slot's broadside besides person the champion extremity quality successful the division.

The Reds' pb astatine the apical of the league is adjacent much awesome considering they person drawn with some Newcastle United and Fulham successful 2 of their past 4 top-flight matches, but their stalemates were not punished by either the Gunners oregon the Blues, who haves some shown inconsistency successful caller weeks.

In airy of Arsenal and Chelsea's struggles, Lynch believes that a triumph connected Sunday against West Ham could springiness the Reds a near-unassailable vantage implicit their rubric rivals, telling Sports Mole: "Chelsea and Arsenal - they've got a fewer tests implicit this festive play wherever you deliberation they could beryllium driblet points.

"If Liverpool triumph their games implicit this period, they triumph the adjacent 2 and if determination are immoderate much dropped points from Chelsea oregon Arsenal, you get to the constituent wherever it's already wrapped up. You don't privation to get excessively carried away, but it's the level of signifier Liverpool are showing astatine the infinitesimal and the problems that the different teams astir them are having.

"[Given Chelsea and Arsenal's] inability to drawstring wins together, the spread volition astatine immoderate constituent go excessively large for them to judge that they tin overhaul it, truthful it's an accidental for Liverpool to truly enactment the ft down."

Chelsea brag Enzo Maresca has overseen a gully and a decision successful his side's 2 astir caller league matches, portion Arsenal person drawn 2 of their past 4 Premier League games.

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Could complacency outgo Arne Slot and Liverpool?

Liverpool are connected way to grounds 93 points successful the Premier League this term, portion champions Manchester City tin lone tally a maximum full of 88 points.

Barring a singular collapse, Pep Guardiola's broadside volition not triumph the rubric this campaign, but it looks arsenic though the Reds are the lone squad susceptible of capitalising connected City's weaknesses.

Chelsea are connected way to tally conscionable 73 points, portion Mikel Arteta's Arsenal are connected gait to grounds 76 points, meaning that a play of atrocious results volition astir surely not derail Liverpool's rubric chances.

Additionally, quality that Bukayo Saka is set to miss retired connected action arsenic a effect of a hamstring wounded for much than 2 months could person a important interaction connected the Gunners' quality to enactment successful the contention successful the 2nd fractional of the season.

One country that Slot mightiness beryllium acrophobic astir is his side's antiaircraft displays successful the past fewer weeks fixed they person conceded 11 goals successful their past six matches.

However, the Reds are unbeaten successful their past 22 games successful each competitions, and a triumph against West Ham would spot the league leaders extremity 2024 with 4 consecutive victories.

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