Liverpool face West Ham United in the Premier League on Sunday afternoon in a huge clash as Arne Slot looks to change the Reds' poor form
Darren England will take charge of the Premier League clash between West Ham United and Liverpool
Darren England will take charge of the Premier League clash between West Ham United and Liverpool
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Darren England has been selected as the referee for Liverpool's Premier League clash against West Ham on Sunday afternoon. The 39-year-old has previously angered Liverpool supporters for wrongly disallowing a Luis Diaz goal in their 2-1 defeat to Tottenham back in 2023.
Diaz thought he had put Liverpool in front at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, but his strike was ruled as offside by the linesman. VAR, which was led by England, checked the call and agreed with the on-field decision, but those at Stockley Park believed the goal was given as replays clearly showed he was not behind Spurs' last defender, with the instruction sent back to referee Simon Hooper to stick with his decision.
Spurs went on to win the game 2-1 with England and assistant VAR Daniel Cook stood down for the following weekend's games. England has since taken charge of three Liverpool games and will have the whistle for their huge clash at London Stadium.
The Premier League have also confirmed that Scott Ledger and Akil Howson will be the linesmen with Andrew Kitchen as the fourth official. Paul Tierney has been named as head VAR with Nick Hopton as his assistant.
Though West Ham find themselves just outside of the relegation zone, it is a much bigger game for Liverpool fresh off a humiliating 4-1 defeat to PSV in the Champions League. Just a few days earlier, Nottingham Forest won 3-0 at Anfield.
Slot insisted he has the support of Liverpool's hierarchy but more poor results, especially with Leeds United and Sunderland on their schedule following the trip to London Stadium, could see that change. With nine defeats from their last 12 outings, it is no surprise that Slot is feeling some pressure as he revealed in his pre-West ham press conference.
He said: "A lot of pressure if you work at a top club, even more so if you losing more than this club is used. There is always pressure, last year it was to win the league but now it is a different pressure.
"Maybe my job is easier because I don't have to play. It's hard for every player, when we go down after 5 minutes and play welll first half and then we concede second half, so we get knock after knock after knock. So we keep fighting. It is what we did so well last year and it is the minimum we expect over 90 minutes."
Arne Slot is under increasing pressure as Liverpool manager
Arne Slot is under increasing pressure as Liverpool manager(Image: (Photo by Robbie Jay Barratt - AMA/Getty Images))
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On discussions behind-the-scenes, he added: "We've had the same conversations as we've had since I've been here. We fight on. And we try to improve, that is what we all try. The conversations have been the same as the last 18 months.
No, not at all . Although I do agree that our standards, the team, have not been at the standard we're used to. We think we can play better than we do. The focus is on the team not the individuals. If the opposite is happening, we look at the team not the individuals.
"If you win, lose or draw you reflect on decisions you do in the week, maybe you do it more if you lose. We try to find the answer we need to win a game. In the end it's about doing what this club is about - keep fighting, we have to fight together.
"It would also be nice if we reward ourselves in the moments we play well, because there are large parts when we do. Every small mistake or error leads to us conceding a goal."
Slot will be hoping to have Florian Wirtz and Alisson back available alongside Hugo Ekitike, after he was subbed off earlier this week because of a back issue.