Coming off possibly their biggest win of the year, a 1-0 victory over Manchester City, the Reds look to build momentum when the homestand continues versus West Ham United Wednesday evening. That victory came at a high price, however as Diogo Jota suffered a severe stoppage-time calf injury that will keep the striker sidelined until at least after the international break for the World Cup.
“It's really not good news about Diogo,” Jürgen Klopp said in his pre-match press conference. “He will miss the World Cup. It is very sad news for the boy, for us and for Portugal.”
Moving Forward
Liverpool will have to adjust quickly to life without Jota on the pitch and rely even more heavily on the scoring prowess of Roberto Firmino and Mohamed Salah. The good news is both players have been in top form as of late and both are more than capable of carrying the scoring load for Liverpool.
West Side Story
Supporters may be tempted to overlook this match, especially coming off the big win over Manchester City and considering the fact that West Ham United sits 13th on the EPL table. But Klopp warns that the Hammers are a quality side, as they are unbeaten in their last five matches. They are not a prolific scoring team in world football, only averaging 0.90 goals per game, but they are tactically sound. And David Moyes' team will prove a challenge.
Talking Points Week 10
How will the Reds respond? It seems that as soon as Liverpool recovers from one blow another one falls. The Jota injury is just the latest in a string of unfortunate events to befall Liverpool and it's only Week 10 of League play. Some teams go through the whole season without this many injuries. To their credit, neither Klopp or his team have used these circumstances as an excuse. Instead, they continue to make their way back up the table. Let's hope that trend continues.
LFC Globe Verdict
Keep the train moving. The Reds showed that they can compete with top teams in the EPL with the win versus Manchester United. Now they need to back it up with a strong performance against the teams further down the table.
It won't be easy though. West Ham is a well-organized defensive side and only surrendered more than a single goal 4 times in 16 matches (across all competitions) so far this season.
I expect that trend to hold true in this match While I think Liverpool will be victorious. It will be a tight, hard-fought 1-0 result for the Reds.
Where To Watch
Kickoff is set for 19:30 BST from Anfield. This is one of the few Liverpool fixtures throughout the season that will not be available on traditional television as audiences in the UK can stream on Amazon Prime and U.S. supporters can catch the action on Peacock or fuboTV, Canadien viewers can watch through fuboTV.