Liverpool will be looking to make it five Premier League wins on the bounce on Sunday when they welcome West Ham to Anfield.
The Reds sit third in the table with 13 points from five games, having defeated Bournemouth, Newcastle United, Aston Villa and Wolves so far. After a strong start to the 2023/24 Premier League season, they produced a fine display in their first Europa League fixture in midweek, beating LASK Linz 3-1 in the process.
However, Jurgen Klopp and Co must prepare for a strong home assignment against West Ham, who are sixth in the Premier League standings and head to Merseyside off the back of a 3-1 win over Backa Topola in the Europa League.
Liverpool Team News
Summer signing Ryan Gravenberch was withdrawn with an injury scare on his full debut against LASK, but Jurgen Klopp is hopeful that the central midfielder was only suffering from cramp.
Trent Alexander-Arnold and Thiago Alcantara are still sidelined for Liverpool. Alexander-Arnold is yet to return to training with the first-team squad but is underdoing his own personalised programme so a return seems close.
Predicted Liverpool lineup vs West Ham (4-3-3)
Goalkeeper
After shuffling his pack for the Europa League game against LASK, Klopp will be expected to name a very strong starting XI against West Ham in the Premier League. Starting with the goalkeeper, Alisson Becker should come in for Caoimhin Kelleher, who started in Austria and made a few top saves to help the Reds win 3-1.
Defence
In the injury absence of Trent Alexander-Arnold, Stefan Bajcetic started at right-back against LASK. He did a good job but Klopp is likely to pick Joe Gomez at right-back on Sunday, with Andy Robertson replacing Kostas Tsimikas at left-back from the LASK game.
Virgil van Dijk has served his two-game suspension and will walk straight back into Liverpool’s starting XI against West Ham, having played the whole Europa League game in Austria. Ibrahima Konate should partner Van Dijk in central defence, as the duo look to keep Michail Antonio quiet at Anfield.
Midfield
In midfield, Klopp is likely to make changes against West Ham. The likes of Wataru Endo, Ryan Gravenberch and Harvey Elliot started in Austria but all three are expected to drop to the bench, with Alexis Mac Allister, Dominik Szoboszlai and Curtis Jones forming the engine room.
Mac Allister, who was hooked off at half-time against Wolves last weekend, should hold the fort in the centre of the park with Szoboszlai and Jones providing energy and creativity as two No.8s. The troika must function smoothly if Liverpool are to dominate West Ham.
Attack
Changes are expected in attack as well, with Luis Diaz and Darwin Nunez—who claimed a goal and assist apiece against LASK on Thursday—making way for Diogo Jota and Cody Gakpo. Mohamed Salah came off the bench and scored his 42nd goal in Europe but he is expected to start against West Ham at Anfield.
Diaz, Nunez and Elliot will wait for their opportunities to make an impact in the second half.
