Premier League: Liverpool’s East End Quest Could Be Tasty

West Ham United vs Liverpool

Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool continue their 2024 Premier League title push on Saturday when they head to the borough of Stratford in East London to take on David Moyes’ West Ham United in the lunchtime top-flight opener. 

After taking a shellacking away to Crystal Palace last Saturday, the Hammers dropped to eighth in the Premier League table, two points behind Manchester United in seventh and having played two games more. While Moyes’ team had a week to lick their wounds and prepare for the next challenge the Mersey Derby on Wednesday meant the games continue to come thick and fast for Klopp’s title chasers.

Liverpool desperately need to keep winning to maintain their challenge in the most exciting title race in years, but ex-Everton boss has no love for the Reds, and his current team owes him and the West Ham fans a big performance. 

Talking Points

Moyes demands more 

West Ham’s trip away to Crystal Palace showed us the worst of the enigmatic Hammers this season. They started the game with a chance to go sixth, but they ended up two places lower after conceding four or more goals for the fifth time during this league campaign.

That’s not a good look for the European regulars, and it was particularly annoying for their manager, who, in his 693^rd game as a Premier League boss, saw his team go four goals down inside 32 minutes for the first time in his managerial career.

Moyes didn’t hold back in his after-match interview, saying, “The first half was as bad as I’ve seen us play. We’ve had three or four of these incidents this season that I couldn’t believe. In three seasons here I don’t think the players had gone to the depths that we’ve gone to in two or three games. 

“We need a response from the players. We’ve lost a bit of the tough culture we had.”

It’s a far cry from the pride Moyes had in his side after they walloped SC Freiburg 5-0 in the Europa League just six weeks ago. But even one week is a long time in Premier League football, and Moyes will hope his Jeckyll and Hyde team can come good again.

The return of 15-goal forward Jarrod Bowen is a huge boost. The England man has missed the last two league games with a back strain, but he played the full match when West Ham lost to Bayer Leverkusen in the Europa League, and Moyes is hopeful he’ll be available for the Liverpool game. And the news that centre half Nayef Aguerd and keeper Alphonse Areola are both nearing a return will give the Hammers’ defence a much-needed lift. 

Liverpool’s attack back to full strength

West Ham will certainly need to be tighter in defence now that the Reds are back to full strength in attack, with the returned Diogo Jota in goal action during Liverpool’s hard-earned 3-1 win against Fulham on Sunday.

With a front line that also boasts Mo Salah, Darwin Nunez, and Luis Diaz, with Cody Gakpo waiting in the wings, it is something of a curiosity that Liverpool only scored once in the previous three games.

The extra competition and squad strength can only help, because before Liverpool’s clash with Everton on Wednesday, the latest Premier League 2024 betting odds pushed Klopp’s Reds out to third favourites to win the league in the manager’s last season at Anfield. 

Both Arsenal and Liverpool fans will be watching the Premier League 2024 updates on Thursday, when favourites Manchester City face Brighton and Hove Albion. If Pep Guardiola’s Sky Blues win their remaining games, they are champions, but should City and the Gunners both slip up, then Klopp’s final season could still be spectacular. 

History

With 37 victories to 11, in all competitions over the last three decades, the Reds have had much the better of this relationship, and Klopp’s team has won each of the last five encounters, including a 5-1 hammering in the quarterfinal of this season’s Carabao Cup.

West Ham are without a win in four, while Liverpool went into the Everton game with back-to-back wins and are working hard to stay in the title race. 

Betting Tip

Liverpool are at SBOTOP odds of 1.48 to win this game with the Hammers at 4.97, and while the Reds have the firepower to win any match, I can see the hosts responding to their manager’s call, so I’m going for a high-scoring game, and a 2-2 draw is a long-shot option at odds of 14.00. 

 

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