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Injuries for Liverpool mean they are unable to call upon James Milner, Martin Skrtel and Divock Origi. It also looks as though the knock Jordan Henderson picked up against the Black Cats will keep him out of this fixture. Positively for the Reds though, Daniel Sturridge should be available for the clash.
For West Ham, the game comes too early for the likes of Jelavic, Moses and Reid who have returned to training but are unlikely to feature. Manager Slaven Bilic will be pleased however with the return of Payet who has been out for two months.
The last time the two sides met was in August last year when Brendan Rodgers' side fell to a 3-0 defeat. Philippe Coutinho and Mark Noble both saw red in that fixture too. Our last visit to Upton Park also ended in a loss when West Ham put three past Simon Mignolet, the Reds did get on the score sheet though with a goal from Raheem Sterling.
Stat Sandwich
- Liverpool have won only six games from 13 against sides below them in the table.
- West Ham have drew five of their last six games in the league.
- Simon Mignolet kept more clean sheets than any other keeper in the 2015 calendar year.
I'm quite excited for this fixture as it feels like we may be getting into a stride with Jurgen Klopp. It appears as though he's realised that in order to beat teams like Sunderland and West Ham, you need to slightly change your play and probably play an actual striker which is why I fully expect to see Christian Benteke start again on Saturday.
West Ham have hit a bit of bad form of late but they have been a quality side so far this season and you'd be an idiot to write them off in this game. I think it's going to be a close one but I'm hoping the Reds can nick it. If I pop some bets on tomorrow I might put a quid on a 2-2 or something to cover my back.
Betting
First goalscorer betting tomorrow sees the best price for Benteke with Bet365 who are offering odds of 5/1. If you fancy Daniel Sturridge to net first you can get the same odds with BoyleSports.
If like me you think this game may end in a 2-2 draw you can get odds of 17/1 with Bet Victor. A 2-1 Liverpool win is at 8/1 with Paddy Power.
Most bookies are offering 9/1 for Payet to score first in the game in his return for West Ham.
It was Christian Benteke who picked up man of the match against Sunderland via Sky Sports on Wednesday evening but many pundits were singing the praises of Emre Can who is at 12/1 with Paddy Power to get man of the match this time out.
Enjoy the match folks, wherever you are watching!