Arne Slot’s first season at Liverpool seems destined to finish with a Premier League winners’ medal, however the Dutchman can’t be happy with how issues have gone currently.
A penalty shoot-out defeat to Paris Saint-Germain within the Champions League represented a actuality test, however a meek EFL Cup closing loss to Newcastle United was the low level of their season.
And after weeks of hypothesis concerning Trent Alexander-Arnold’s doubtless transfer to Actual Madrid, they suffered simply their second league defeat beneath Slot final Sunday, happening 3-2 to Fulham at Craven Cottage.
A most of 11 extra factors are required for Liverpool to clinch the title, however Slot is not going to need their triumphant marketing campaign to finish on a flat notice.
The Reds return to Anfield on Sunday, with out-of-form West Ham the guests. Forward of the sport, we take a look at the perfect Opta information surrounding each groups.
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What’s anticipated?
The Opta supercomputer makes Liverpool enormous favourites for this one, with a 67.5% win chance.
Throughout our 10,000 pre-match simulations, West Ham solely triumphed in 14.7% of eventualities, with 17.8% ending stage.
The Hammers haven’t had a lot pleasure when visiting the Purple aspect of Merseyside currently. Liverpool have misplaced simply considered one of their final 57 video games in opposition to West Ham at Anfield in all competitions. They’ve received 42 these matches (14 attracts), together with the final 9 in a row.
Since doing the double over Liverpool again in 2015-16, West Ham have solely received considered one of their final 17 Premier League matches in opposition to the Reds (three attracts, 13 defeats) – a 3-2 triumph on the London Stadium in November 2021.
In addition to taking a step in the direction of the title, Slot’s aspect have the prospect to create a bit of historical past.
Liverpool have already crushed West Ham 5-1 within the EFL Cup and 5-0 within the Premier League this season. No English top-flight workforce has ever scored 5 or extra targets in opposition to one other on three events throughout the similar marketing campaign.
Salah in a stoop
Very like Liverpool as a workforce, Mohamed Salah is at risk of seeing a spectacular marketing campaign tail off considerably.
Salah has certainly received the Premier League’s Participant of the Season award within the bag, having registered 44 objective involvements in 2024-25 (27 targets and 17 assists) – the joint-most by any participant in a 38-game marketing campaign, alongside Thierry Henry in 2002-03 and Erling Haaland in 2022-23.
With seven video games remaining, it seems virtually sure the Egyptian will overhaul the single-season document of 47, held collectively by Andy Cole (for Newcastle United in 1993-94) and Alan Shearer (for Blackburn Rovers in 1994-95).
Salah matched the 38-game mark by scoring two penalties in a 3-1 win over Southampton on March 8, however since that match, he has not supplied a single objective or help in 4 outings throughout all competitions.
It’s his longest run and not using a objective involvement for the membership since March 2021 (additionally 4). Solely in March 2019 has he gone 5 appearances and not using a objective or help for the Reds.
His ongoing drought consists of the defeats to PSG and Newcastle that derailed Liverpool’s hopes of a treble, in addition to a slim derby win over Everton and final week’s loss to Fulham.
Salah has averaged 1.39 photographs, 0.46 photographs on track and 0.25 anticipated targets (xG) per 90 minutes on this spell, having managed 3.62 photographs, 1.81 photographs on track and 0.72 xG per recreation between the beginning of the season and the primary recreation on this run.
And it’s not as if Salah has been offering for his team-mates, both, solely averaging 0.93 possibilities created and 0.09 anticipated assists (xA) in his final 4 video games, having beforehand averaged 2.2 possibilities created and 0.25 xA this season.
Maybe the absence of normal right-back Alexander-Arnold has starved Salah of service.
Curtis Jones began behind Salah at Craven Cottage final week earlier than transferring into midfield, however he solely accomplished three passes to the Egyptian, a tally crushed by Conor Bradley after he was launched within the 67th minute (4).
With Alexander-Arnold nonetheless battling an ankle situation, Bradley may very well be handed a begin on Sunday.
Potter in want of some magic
Graham Potter’s January arrival on the London Stadium was speculated to herald a brand new daybreak for West Ham’s pissed off fanbase.
Whereas David Moyes introduced success however – within the eyes of many followers – boredom, Julen Lopetegui’s temporary spell in cost solely introduced the latter.
Potter arrived with a fame for teaching a free-flowing, trendy model of soccer, constructed over three joyful years with Brighton. However since he joined West Ham, they’ve dropped off additional in most attacking metrics.
They’ve averaged a slightly larger possession share of their 12 league video games beneath Potter (48.9%) than they did in 22 beneath Lopetegui (46.4%), however they’ve finished treasured little with that further time on the ball.
Per Premier League recreation, Potter’s West Ham are averaging fewer targets (one to 1.18), xG (0.94 to 1.39), photographs (9.5 to 14.5) and photographs on track (2.67 to 4.27) than Lopetegui’s Hammers did.
Final week’s dwelling conflict with Bournemouth introduced a rise within the leisure stakes as targets from Jarrod Bowen and Niclas Fullkrug put West Ham 2-1 up the second half, however they had been unable to carry on for the victory and drew 2-2.
And in away video games, solely Everton (11), Southampton (12) and Leicester Metropolis (14) have scored fewer targets than the Hammers’ 15 this season.
That is regardless of them solely failing to internet on two of their 15 street journeys within the Premier League this season – it has not been a case of feast or famine, however of minor morsels of leisure.
Whereas accidents to Michail Antonio and Crysencio Summerville have restricted Potter’s attacking choices, an enchancment is unquestionably required.
Mohammed Kudus was recalled final week, however is at present enduring his longest Premier League objective drought (13 matches), whereas Brighton loanee Evan Ferguson has gone 14 video games within the competitors with out netting, six of them for West Ham.
Nonetheless, Potter has fond reminiscences of visiting Anfield, going unbeaten by means of his three Premier League journeys there (one win, two attracts), two with Brighton and one with Chelsea.
The final visiting supervisor to go unbeaten in 4 straight journeys to Liverpool was Sam Allardyce, between 2016 and 2020.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Liverpool – Luis Diaz
Diaz has scored (as soon as) or assisted (thrice) a objective on every of his final 4 Premier League appearances for Liverpool, the longest ever run of objective involvements by a Colombian within the competitors.
His 4 objective involvements on this span are as many as in his earlier 17 league appearances, and his three assists as many as he had supplied in his earlier 34 video games.
West Ham – Jarrod Bowen
Bowen has been straight concerned in six of West Ham’s final seven targets in opposition to Liverpool in all competitions (three targets, three assists).
Certainly, for the reason that begin of final season, no participant has extra targets (three, stage with Alexander Isak) or objective involvements (4, stage with Isak and Dominic Solanke) in opposition to the Reds than Bowen.
