In-depth Analysis
Liverpool always provides their fans with an emotional rollercoaster. Their most recent win came last weekend when Alexis Mac Allister scored in the 97th minute, giving Arne Slot’s side a 1-0 victory over Nottingham. A few minutes earlier, the Argentine’s goal had been disallowed by VAR in a match where the home team dominated for most of the time.
Compared to the same period last year, when Liverpool led the Premier League with 66 points and a 12-point gap over their rivals before winning the title, the team now competing for a Champions League spot is 21 points behind. After 27 games, Liverpool sits 6th, level on points with Chelsea in 5th and 3 points behind MU in 4th.
Liverpool has won their last 2 Premier League matches 1-0 against Nottingham and Sunderland, and they enter the West Ham game aiming for a third consecutive clean-sheet victory – something not achieved since the first 3 games Slot managed the team last season. Head-to-head stats also favor Liverpool, as they have lost only 1 of their last 19 league meetings with West Ham (15 wins, 3 draws).
For West Ham, their 14-year Premier League status is under threat, but the 11 points collected from their last 6 matches (3 wins, 2 draws, 1 loss) – equal to the points gained in the previous 18 games (2 wins, 5 draws, 11 losses) – give them a chance to stay up. Of these points, 5 came in February, including a 2-0 win at Burnley and consecutive draws with MU (1-1) and Bournemouth (0-0).
However, visiting Anfield remains a huge challenge for West Ham, as they have won just 1 of their last 52 Premier League trips to Liverpool (12 draws, 39 losses) – that sole win came 3-0 in August 2015 under manager Slaven Bilic. Additionally, West Ham have lost 26 of their 29 away games against the reigning champions.