
Liverpool suffered only their second league defeat of the season last time out at Fulham, and will look to get back on track against another London side on Sunday afternoon.
The disappointment of defeat at Craven Cottage was put behind Liverpool on Friday, as it was announced that Mohamed Salah had signed a contract that will keep him at the club beyond this season.
It’s a big boost off the pitch, but the Reds have dropped off slightly on the field. They struggled to deal with Fulham’s intensity in the first half on Sunday, and by the time they clicked into gear in the second period, they had too big a mountain to climb.
Alisson Becker will return to the fold, having missed the last two league fixtures with a concussion.
West Ham have won three of their 12 games under Graham Potter in all competitions, with each of those successes coming in London. Two of them were in derbies, including a 1-0 triumph away at Arsenal, which essentially ended the Gunners’ title hopes.
Two points from four matches in March have left the Irons in 16th place. While there is no threat of relegation, the season is in danger of petering out.
Niclas Fullkrug coming on and scoring against Bournemouth was one of the main positives to take from that 2-2 draw. Jarrod Bowen also netted for the first time since February.
Anfield has been a difficult destination for West Ham in recent times. They have lost eight on the bounce away at Liverpool, including two back-to-back 5-1 scorelines in the Carabao Cup this season and last.
Four of the last five league head-to-heads on Merseyside have been decided by a one-goal margin. Pablo Fornals, no longer with West Ham, gave them the lead in two of those fixtures.
Liverpool were comfortable winners when the sides last met in December. Goals from Luis Diaz, Cody Gakpo, Salah, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Diogo Jota secured a 5-0 victory in Julen Lopetegui’s final home game in the West Ham dugout.
The attention will be on Salah on Sunday, but it’s another Liverpool forward who boasts a superb record against the Hammers.
West Ham’s Anfield record is poor, but they should take encouragement from other sides towards the bottom breaching the Reds’ defence.
The best bet for this fixture is a bet builder featuring over 2.5 shots in the first half for West Ham and Lucas Paqueta to register a shot.
Arne Slot has not rotated much this season, and it is starting to show. The Reds don’t have a great deal of depth in certain areas, and they look leggy all over the pitch.
This has allowed Newcastle and Fulham to get all over them in the first half of recent games, helping them get their noses in front and ultimately secure victory.
Southampton also managed to get in front at Anfield last month, while Everton were very close to doing the same in the derby last week.
The Reds have conceded an average of 7.5 shots per first half over the last six games. Two of those fixtures were against Paris Saint-Germain, but the Saints and Toffees registered four apiece, and West Ham should look to start fast and do the same.
Under Potter, the Hammers have had at least four shots in the first period of every away fixture, including tough games at Aston Villa (twice), Chelsea, and Arsenal.
Paqueta is on a streak of 17 consecutive starts with a shot to his name. By pairing that up with three or more first-half efforts for West Ham, we get an attractive price.
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