Overview
In the most recent round of the Premier League, West Ham defeated the bottom team Southampton with a minimum score thanks to a goal by Jarrod Bowen. Thereby, the team of coach Julen Lopetegui had their 4th consecutive unbeaten match in the Premier League (2 wins, 2 draws). With Man United losing to Wolves, The Hammers climbed to 13th place.
However, West Ham's unbeaten run could be halted by their next opponents, Liverpool - the current Premier League leaders. The Kop are in excellent form with a 22-match unbeaten streak, most recently a 3-1 win over Leicester.
Arne Slot's side are six points clear at the top of the Premier League, top of the group with a perfect record in the Champions League and through to the Carabao Cup semi-finals.
Liverpool's attack has been on fire since the start of the season. In just the last 5 Premier League matches, the Anfield team has scored 16 goals. This is also the number of goals scored by Mohamed Salah this season, helping him lead the Premier League's top scorer list, ahead of Erling Haaland and Cole Palmer. Besides the Egyptian striker, Jota, Diaz and Gakpo have also performed impressively.
In terms of head-to-head record, Liverpool are unbeaten against West Ham in their last 7 meetings, winning 6 of them. The Kop have also scored 19 goals in that time. With so many advantages, it will not be difficult for Arne Slot's team to continue to defeat the London representative in the upcoming match.
Human resources situation
West Ham are without goalkeeper Lukas Fabianski after he was injured against Southampton. The Hammers welcome back Lucas Paqueta from suspension, but Tomas Soucek and Guido Rodriguez are unavailable. Michail Antonio, meanwhile, remains absent as he recovers from a car accident.
On the other side of the front line, Liverpool's injury problems have eased a little but defenders Ibrahima Konate and Connor Bradley are still absent. Dominik Szoboszlai is also suspended.
Expected lineup:
West Ham: Areola, Wan-Bissaka, Emerson, Killman, Mavropanos, Paqueta, Alvarez, Irving, Kudus, Bowen, Fullkrug.
Liverpool: Alisson, Alexander-Arnold, Robertson, Van Dijk, Gomez, Mac Allister, Jones, Gravenberch, Salah, Gakpo, Jota.
The match between West Ham and Liverpool takes place at 00:15 on the morning of December 30 (Vietnam time).
