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Liverpool return to Premier League duty under real pressure.
The club is coming off three heavy defeats, and confidence around Anfield has taken another hit.
This trip to West Ham is not just another league fixture.
It is a test of character, a test of belief, and a test of Arne Slot’s ability to steady a group that has lost nine of its last 12 matches in all competitions.
The context is simple.
Liverpool are stuck in 12th, while West Ham have found new life under Nuno Espírito Santo.
The London Stadium has not been a friendly venue for away teams recently.
Liverpool know that one early mistake can flip the whole mood.
Yet the one thing working in their favour is history.
The Reds have dominated this fixture for years.
They have scored freely against West Ham and have lost only one of the last 20 meetings.
All of that makes today’s team selection crucial, but not surprising.
Slot cannot afford experiments.
He needs stability.
He needs aggression. And he needs leaders who can respond.
Now the team news is confirmed.
Alisson returns to the XI after missing the midweek defeat to PSV through illness.
Hugo Ekitike has not made the starting group due to the back issue that forced him off on Wednesday.
Slot had described his status as “touch-and-go for the weekend trip to the capital,” and that has proved accurate.
Florian Wirtz is back in the squad after his minor setback on international duty, but he starts on the bench.
Joe Gomez starts at right-back after being left out of recent games due to fitness concerns.
Slot said earlier this week that the defender was “close” to returning, and he now gets the nod with Conor Bradley and Jeremie Frimpong still out.
Liverpool line up in a 4-2-3-1: Alisson; Gomez, Konate, Van Dijk, Kerkez; Gravenberch, Mac Allister; Szoboslai, Wirtz, Gakpo; Isak.
It is a strong group on paper.
But paper does not win matches.
Liverpool now need performances.
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