West Ham United will head to Merseyside to face newly crowned League Cup champions Liverpool this weekend in match week 28 of Premier League action.
The two sides both had FA Cup ties to navigate this week. Liverpool chalked up their fourth victory against Norwich to book a spot in the quarterfinals, whereas West Ham’s FA Cup journey ended because of a 3-1 defeat at St. Mary’s to Southampton.
West Ham won the reverse fixture at the London Stadium this season. The Hammers were flying high back then, and the victory seemed to confirm them as a genuine threat for a Champions League place.
If they can manage a victory in this clash, it’ll just be the second league double the East Londoners have picked up over their Merseyside rivals in their history.
Liverpool vs West Ham FYIs
When is it? Saturday, 5 March 2022 5.30 PM
Where is it? Anfield, Liverpool
Starting XI Predictions: Liverpool West Ham
Who’s in form? Liverpool (WWWDW) West Ham (WDDWL)
What are the odds? Liverpool (-320) West Ham (+900) Draw (+475)
Premier League Podcast: Spotify Apple Podcasts
Let’s look at the team news for The Irons as they head into this clash.
Tomas Soucek had to be substituted off early in the second half of the FA Cup loss to Southampton. He suffered a fairly nasty cut to his eye and there is now a question mark over whether he will take his place against Liverpool. Hammers fans will be desperate for him to be fit to start at Anfield.
As mentioned in the FA Cup preview, Vladimir Coufal will miss a chunk of action after having surgery to treat a sports hernia he had been suffering from. The right-back will be hugely missed in the Irons’ defense.
Ryan Fredericks and Arthur Masuaku both have no official return date listed. Fredericks is missing with a groin complaint. It seems unlikely we will see the pacey right back at Anfield this weekend. Masuaku has missed more time with a knee injury. The Congolese has had a stop-start campaign this season, and it seems like it will remain in stop mode for the time being.
Finally, we have Ukrainian forward Andriy Yarmolenko who will probably miss out here. The club has granted the 32-year-old compassionate leave because of the ongoing conflict in his homeland.
David Moyes has insisted they will not rush him back in under any circumstances.
This will be a tricky match for the Hammers, made even trickier by the players who will be unavailable here. David Moyes will hope for more of the spirit that saw them shock the Reds in the first half of the season.
Stuart Kavanagh is an up-and-coming sports journalist from Melbourne, Australia. Along with being the owner of the sports and entertainment website thepyrrhic.com, he is also the co-host of the ‘After Extra Time’ podcast. Football mad, he is always down for debate and discussion at @stueyissickofit on Twitter.