Key Points
- Entertaining game expected at the London Stadium
- Liverpool just keep getting the job done, back the trend to continue
- Our man Bowen to add to the festive period profits
Top-of-the-table Liverpool travel to the capital for Sunday evening’s clash at the London Stadium to face West Ham. Arne Slot’s side are 6 points clear of 2nd place Arsenal at the summit with a game in hand after Boxing Day’s 3-1 victory at home to Leicester.
West Ham moved up to 13th in the table after securing a 1-0 away win at lowly Southampton. Julen Lopetegui’s side are currently unbeaten in 4 heading into the fixture at the London Stadium.
Exactly half of the 32 sides who have been top at Christmas Day have gone on to win the title, with Liverpool only managing to do it once despite being top six times during the festivities. So, the Reds will be looking to break their habit and get over the line come May.
Top scorers and top-of-the-tree
Slot’s Liverpool are not only comfortably clear at the top of the PL but they are also the top scorers with 40 goals from their 17 matches so far.
The Reds have scored in a staggering 22 consecutive matches in all competitions and have only failed to score once all campaign. Moreover, they have found the net in all 8 of their matches on the road, scoring 22 times as they look to stretch their unbeaten run on their travels to a 9th game.
West Ham capable of causing problems
Meanwhile, The Hammers have only failed to score 3 times in 18 matches this term and have scored at least one goal in 5 of their last 6 on home soil and 7 in a row both at home and away from East London.
With Kudus, Bowen, and a now-fit-again Fullkrug, they are certainly capable of causing some problems for the league leaders backline.
The best player on the planet
All the stats and records will show just how vital Mo Salah is to Liverpool and the way they play. The Egyptian has 16 goals and 11 assists in the league already this term from 17 appearances, just two goals short of his total goals for the whole of last season.
The 32-year-old added yet another goal to his highly impressive Liverpool tally when he clinched the 3rd and final strike in the Boxing Day win at Anfield and has netted 12 times in the last 10 PL games.
In that stretch, he’s also made 7 assists. This makes him a standout Reds’ top scorer and assist maker.
Salah is Liverpool’s 4th all time top scorer
Salah is the 4th top scorer of all time for Liverpool with an incredible 230 goals in 373 matches in all competitions, with 161 of these coming in the Premier League.
The Liverpool marksman also bagged a goal when these two sides met in the Carabao Cup at Anfield earlier in the season, a match The Reds won 5-1.
Will Liverpool raid the London Stadium and bag the points?
In my opinion, it looks difficult to argue against Liverpool continuing their brilliant run of form when they travel to the home of the Hammers. Despite a slow first half, which is something of a pattern for Liverpool, they came home strongly in the second half on Boxing Day.
With 20 points already achieved from a possible 24 available away from Anfield and 4 wins in their last 6 on the road, the signs all point towards another away triumph for Slot’s outfit.
As the 2nd-highest away scorers in the league and against a West Ham side with the joint 3rd-worst defence at home, with just the 1 clean sheet in front of their own fans, I’m expecting Liverpool to manage at least 2 goals.
Reds unsurprisingly short-priced
Liverpool are predictably short and I’m looking for a slightly different angle in the game when it comes to identifying a value bet.
Seeing as Lopetegui’s team have shipped the first goal in 5 of their 9 home games and Liverpool have netted the opening goal in 6 of their 8 away fixtures, the likelihood of The Reds landing the opening blow is high.
However, the best-priced odds of 2/5 generally for this to happen again do not make it particularly appealing for a punt.
Salah to score twice is tempting
With the form that the aforementioned Salah is currently in, you’d back him to score in any game played. I am particularly interested in the Egyptian scoring 2 or more goals, a feat he has managed in each of the last 3 consecutive away games.
Betfair Sportsbook
are offering the best odds of 4/1 for the Liverpool hot-shot to bag another brace and it is a tempting offer.
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Bowen to have over 0.5 shots on target at 3/4 with Ladbrokes
There is another player market I will be betting and that’s Jarrod Bowen to have a shot on target. He’s been good to us over recent weeks and he’s managed a shot on target in 9 of his last 10 starts including all of his last 5.
At odds of 3/4 with
Ladbrokes, I’m happy to get on board again with Danny Dyer’s son-in-law.
Top tip: Liverpool win + BTTS at 6/4 with bet365
However, my primary tip for this Sunday showdown is for The Reds to win and both teams to score, best priced at 6/4 with
bet365.
The London Stadium has seen the 4th-highest number of goals out of all matches so far, with a combined 30 scored in the 9 games and I expect this tally to rise again come the full-time whistle.
Furthermore, the last 4 PL away games involving Liverpool have produced a staggering 24 goals, with 15 of these in the last 2 alone. West Ham have lost 4 of their 9 home games, with Liverpool winning 6 of their 8 on the road, so it looks like another home defeat could be on the cards in this one.
More stats to baxck up this pick
Seeing as 7 of West Ham’s 9 home games (78%) and 5 of Liverpool’s 8 away games (63%) has seen both sides find the net, this further supports the play.
The Hammers’ lack of clean sheets, just 1 in 9 at home, yet the capability of breaching opposition defences (scoring in 6 of their 9 home games), says to me there could be yet more goals involving a Liverpool match to mirror recent weeks.
Moreover, Slot’s men have kept only 1 clean sheet in 6 games on their travels and haven’t kept any in their last 4 on the road, which does show they are susceptible to conceding. I still feel they have more than enough at the top end of the pitch to pick The Hammers off and maintain their lead at the summit of the table in the final game of the calendar year.
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West Ham vs Liverpool Best Bet
- Market:
Match result and BTTS
- Selection:
Liverpool and Yes
- Odds:
6/4
- Stake:
1pt
- Bookie:
bet365
- Market:
Player Shots On Target
- Selection:
Jarrod Bowen Over 0.5
- Odds:
3/4
- Stake:
1pt
- Bookie:
Ladbrokes
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