It would be a stretch to suggest West Ham United go into this weekend’s clash against Premier League champions Liverpool as favourites, but what an opportunity this is to put a four-year hoodoo behind them at the London Stadium.
Pablo Fornals and Kurt Zouma were on the scoresheet the last time the Hammers beat the Reds in a league fixture. That came in back in December 2021, alongside an extremely rare Alisson Becker own goal.
Individual blunders like the one Alisson made that afternoon in East London – flapping at a corner and sending it spinning into his own net – have become a fixture of Liverpool’s recent outings under the increasingly-maligned Arne Slot.
West Ham United have even picked up more points in their last three Premier League matches than Liverpool have in their last six. Seven points out of nine for Nuno Espirito Santo’s men, compared to six out of 24 for Slot’s flailing outfit.
And while West Ham will have Lucas Paqueta back from suspension, Liverpool lost yet another body this week. If Slot had any plans to remove Ibrahima Konate from the firing line, those ideas will have been scotched by yet another blow for Joe Gomez.
Florian Wirtz, Jeremie Frimpong and Conor Bradley are unavailable too.
Crysencio Summerville, provided he is fit enough to return after a minor knock kept him out against Bournemouth, may fancy his chances up against utility man Dominik Szoboszlai at right-back.
Florian Wirtz during Liverpool FC v Atletico de Madrid - UEFA Champions League 2025/26 League Phase MD1
Photo by Ryan Pierse/Getty Images
Arne Slot shone a light on Liverpool vulnerabilities ahead of West Ham United clash
Despite splurging just shy of £200 million on Hugo Ekitike and Alexander Isak alone, meanwhile, the goals have dried up at one end while flying in with remarkable regularity at the other.
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As hopeless as Slot’s lethargic Liverpool have looked over the last two months, expect West Ham to defend deep, crowd the penalty box, and use the pace of Summerville and Jarrod Bowen in transition.
Such an approach worked to a tee as Nuno Espirito Santo masterminded Nottingham Forest’s 1-0 victory at Anfield a year ago. The only home defeat Liverpool suffered en route to the Premier League title.
Watch the highlights from West Ham’s last Premier League win over Liverpool!
And West Ham should be particularly enthused by the sight of Liverpool approaching low-blocks with blunt force rather than a lock-pick. Prising open tightly-locked backlines has become something of an Achilles heel of late.
Now, Nuno’s low-block left West Ham penned in with nowhere to go in a 2-0 defeat by Arsenal. Against a vulnerable Liverpool side struggling to break down low blocks and with a real weakness in transition, there should be far more joy to be uncovered.
“I saw a team that was trying a lot, so I even showed them yesterday or the day before how many times we arrived in their box and how many crosses we gave,” Slot said on Tuesday, reflecting on Saturday’s calamitous 3-0 home defeat by Nottingham Forest.
“I think [we crossed the ball] six or seven times the amount Forest gave a cross. But they defended much better in their box than we defended in and around our box and that is what everyone keeps reminding us of.
“The amount of goals we concede is of course the big difference between this and last season.”
Liverpool’s struggles could play straight into Nuno Espirito Santo’s hands
Of the six Premier League games Liverpool have lost this term, they have had more of the possession five times. In fact, they have averaged over 65 per cent of the possession in half of those six defeats, including that Forest reverse at a stunned Anfield.
Both Crystal Palace and Brentford – in 2-1 and 3-2 victories – defended deep, attacked fast, and brutally exposed another new-found Liverpool weakness.
What do West Ham have to do to beat Liverpool this weekend?
“It just becomes a mess for Liverpool, and they’ve got a huge problem defending set-pieces. Everyone now is going to play on that fact.”
– Jamie Carragher
“I would describe [our form] as ridiculous, almost. Something I did not expect. That is unbelievable. Unexpected for the club, for me and everyone”
– Arne Slot
“This season, we don’t have any consistency. We concede far too many goals, we are losing battles, and everyone is responsible for it”
– Virgil van Dijk
While much has been made of West Ham’s own set-piece issues – Nuno highlighted the ‘big problem’ which plagued Graham Potter following his appointment in September – Liverpool now join this weekend’s opponents at the top of the charts.
Nine dead ball concessions apiece.
Arguably no game summed up Liverpool’s staggering decline more than the 3-2 defeat by Brentford in October. Arguably no game offers West Ham a greater blueprint of what is required to deepen Slot’s woes.
“It is definitely that teams have a certain playing style against us. It is a very good strategy to play,” Slot said after Brentford scored from a long throw, a counter-attack and penalty kick against his beleaguered charges. We have not found an answer yet.
“I don’t think we did the basics right. Too many duels were lost, too many second balls weren’t won.”
Such a description could be copied and pasted straight into Slot’s mouth after Nottingham Forest made mincemeat of Liverpool only four days ago. Defend deep, transition quickly, and make the most of any set-piece opportunities.
That is probably West Ham’s best route to a victory over the Reds. And probably also what Nuno had planned for this weekend’s clash anyway.
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