Three games and three clean sheets would have been an unimaginable start to this season if you asked any Liverpool fan back in May. The newly mean back-line has now been handed another boost in their search for a fourth consecutive clean sheet to start the season, which the Reds have never managed in the Premier League era.
Opponents West Ham are currently having the mother of all striker crises. Andy Carroll, Enner Valencia and Mauro Zarate are all injured for the trip to Anfield.
However, the biggest blow is that last season’s top scorer Diafra Sakho may miss the game through injury or not be at full fitness; he is also currently embroiled in some serious off the pitch problems. Oddly, they have sold a striker who scored for them just last weekend in Modibo Maiga, who has joined Saudi side Al Nassr.
Slaven Bilic will no doubt be after a forward before the transfer window slams shut, they are heavily linked with a loan move for Juventus’s Simone Zaza.
This won’t happen before Saturday which means unless West Ham play a midfielder up front, they will have to play 20-year-old striker Elliot Lee who has had very little Premier League game time.
This may well change the Hammers’ approach from the compact counter-attacking one employed in their Emirates victory to one that will purely focus on defending and trying to spoil their way to a goalless draw.
Psychologically, if the West Ham players go out there knowing they will have very little outlet to counter attack with, could mean they have lost the game in the tunnel. Given the defensive performances of Liverpool, particular against a star studded Arsenal side on Monday, you would expect them to be able to keep whatever the Hammers can throw at them under wraps.
This is a massive boost for the Reds in what can be a difficult fixture against the Londoners. You feel that as long as Christian Benteke, Philippe Coutinho and Roberto Firmino can weave some magic at the other end it is likely to be another Liverpool win.
Nagging in the back of their mind is the fact that for all their dominance in the first half at Arsenal, they didn’t get the goal. They can rectify that here. Hitting the 10 point mark, in the process matching the start of 2013-14, is crucial especially given West Ham’s issues which should be taken advantage of.
Going into the international break and before a trip to Old Trafford, it would be a real boost to have those points already on the board and increase the confidence that has been built in the team recently.
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