Liverpool come into Saturday’s clash with West Ham United after a demolition job against Norwich City at Anfield on Wednesday night papered over the cracks of a disappointing 3-1 defeat to newly promoted Hull City the previous weekend.
Luis Suarez was back to his scintillating best once again, giving Norwich, Hughton & Ruddy all sorts of headaches for the third encounter in a row. Four goals to follow on from successive hat-tricks from Suarez against Norwich had Liverpool fans along with multiple gamblers and Fantasy Football managers over the globe beaming with joy.
A similar display against the claret and blue of The Hammers on Saturday afternoon would surely secure another three points for Brendan Rodgers’s side.
Although Luis Suarez grabbed all the headlines for the right reasons, the return of Liverpool’s mercurial Brazilian – Philippe Coutinho had a major positive influence on the result during midweek.
West Ham will be without their stand-out performer so far this season, as Ravel Morrison picked up his fifth yellow card in their 1-0 loss to Crystal Palace in their last league game.
Sam Allardyce will be looking for a positive reaction to what would have been a disappointing Tuesday night for himself and his squad. Ex-Liverpool players Stewart Downing and Joe Cole will make the journey from London to Merseyside, however former player, Andy Caroll will not be part of the squad as he has only just made his return from injury. West Ham will also be without Ricardo Vaz Te, Razvan Rat, George McCartney & Alou Diarra who all miss out through injury.
Brendan Rodgers has no fresh injury concerns to worry about with Jose Enrique & Daniel Sturridge both out for the foreseeable future. However the Liverpool manager’s main decision to make will be if he sticks with the same side that beat Norwich 5-1 in their last fixture.
Joe Allen, Danile Agger & the above-mentioned Philippe Coutinho all came into the side replacing Lucas, Vicor Moses and Kolo Toure respectively. Record defensive signing Mamadou Sakho once again found himself on the substitutes bench for the impressive midweek win and he must wonder when he will be reinstated into a defence that have only kept one clean sheet in their last 11 league matches.
If you take a look at the record books, you would back Liverpool to emerge triumphant from this fixture, as it has been over 50 years since West Ham last won in the league at Anfield, back in Septmeber1963. You would also back Simon Mingolet to keep a second clean sheet in 12 games as West Ham have failed to score in their last 5 visits to Anfield.
The current Premier League and Liverpool top goalscorer Luis Suarez has taken his total to 13 league goals in just nine games, after his four goal haul against Norwich, whereas West Ham have only managed to score 12 goals in four more matches; of which the suspended Ravel Morrison has scored 25%.
No doubt Stewart Downing and Joe Cole will come to Anfield with a point to prove after disappointing spells on Merseyside, however Luis Suarez aided by Philippe Coutinho should prove too powerful for a stubborn West Ham rear-guard.
Prediction: 3-0.
Predicted line-ups:
Liverpool: Mignolet; Johnson, Skrtel, Agger, Flanagan; Allen, Henderson, Gerrard; Coutinho, Suarez, Sterling.
West Ham: Jasskelainen; O’Brien, Collins, Tomkins, Downing; Diame, Noble, J.Cole, Nolan, Jarvis; C.Cole.
Betting tips:
1. After scoring four on Wednesday evening, Luis Suarez will certainly be looking to increase his goal-tally further and add the ten goals he has already scored at Anfield this season. Likely to be leading the front line again, Luis Suarez is 5/2 to score the first goal of the match. Agree with Chris? Put a bet on with BetVictor by clicking HERE
2. Liverpool are notoriously fast-starters so far this season, with the majority of goals coming in the first half. However, Liverpool managed to score twice in the second half against Norwich. Liverpool to win both halves is 29/20. Agree with Chris? Put a bet on with BetVictor by clicking HERE
3. Philippe Coutinho scored in the derby and after a positive display against Norwich, he is almost certain to retain his starting berth. Philippe Coutinho to score and Liverpool to win is priced at 17/10. Agree with Chris? Put a bet on with BetVictor by clicking HERE
4. With Liverpool starting games quickly, the first half to be the highest scoring half is a great shout and is reasonably priced at 21/10. Agree with Chris? Put a bet on with BetVictor by clicking HERE
5. Or, if you don’t think Liverpool will keep a clean sheet against the Hammers, both teams to score and Liverpool to win is currently priced at 9/5. Agree with Chris? Put a bet on with BetVictor by clicking HERE
