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2022/23 English Premier League
Matchday 33
West Ham United v Liverpool
London Stadium
London, England
Wednesday, 26 April 2023
Kick-off is at 20h45
Liverpool will be chasing three successive wins in the
Premier League for only the second time this season when they face West Ham at the London Stadium on Wednesday, April 26.
The Reds had to dig deep to beat rock-bottom Southampton 3-2 at Anfield last Saturday, which came on the back of a comprehensive 6-1 victory over Leeds at Elland Road five days earlier.
Jurgen Klopp's side are now unbeaten in their last four matches and have closed within three points of the European places in seventh spot with a game in hand on both Tottenham (5th) and Aston Villa (6th).
Spurs suffered a humiliating 6-1 defeat at the hands of Newcastle last Sunday to further dent their hopes of a top-four finish, while the Villans were held to a 1-1 draw by Brentford in the English capital.
Brighton trail the Merseysiders by just one point in eighth spot, having played two matches less and they will be fully focused on the league in the final month of the campaign after bowing out on penalties to Manchester United in the FA Cup semi-finals over the weekend.
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The Hammers managed to put some more distance between themselves and the relegation zone with a resounding 4-0 win over Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium last Sunday.
It was a third triumph in five matches for David Moyes' team and extended their unbeaten run to three outings as they went six points clear of Everton (18th) in 13th place.
A top-half finish is likely a bridge too far for the East Londoners, who are 10 points behind the Bees (10th) but find themselves just three adrift of Crystal Palace (12th) and five shy of Chelsea (11th).
Michail Antonio has found first-team opportunities harder to come by this term following the acquisitions of Gianluca Scamacca, Maxwel Cornet and Danny Ings. The 33-year-old striker has made 28 appearances but just 16 of those have been starts, although he did manage to register his fourth goal of campaign in the win over the Cherries. However, that tally is some way off the 10 he scored in each of the previous three seasons at the London Stadium.
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Diogo Jota is starting to rediscover his form after an injury-ravished season which has limited him to just 15 appearances thus far in 2022-23. The Portuguese winger bagged another brace against the Saints, having opened his account for the campaign with two goals at Leeds.
In team news, Moyes has an almost fully-fit squad at his disposal, with just Scamacca (knee) unavailable, while Klopp continues to be without Calvin Ramsay (knee), Stefan Bajcetic (groin), Naby Keita and Roberto Firmino.
Moyes believes their recent upturn in form stems from the new arrivals having started to find their feet, while there has been a marked improvement in front of goal lately.
"We're trying to build some momentum and it's happening at a good time for us. Since the World Cup, we've picked up a bit and looked a bit better," the Scot said.
"Some of the boys we've brought in are settling in. We're also scoring a few more goals, which is what we struggled with earlier in the season."
Klopp believes Liverpool are starting to get back to playing the way that has made them one of the most feared teams in the game after expressing his delight at how they pressed Southampton so aggressively.
"Today I saw a lot of top, top, top counter-pressing moments - I loved that - and that's, for us, super-important," the German said. "I think we are much clearer again in that department.
"We have to prove in four days already again but it feels, for us at least, that it changed. If you are solid and not only solid but really good and aggressive and positive in defending then you can build on that."
Head-to-Head (Last Five Premier League Meetings)
Matches - 5
West Ham - 1
Liverpool - 4
Draws - 0
Matchday 33 fixtures:
Tuesday, April 25
20h30: Wolverhampton Wanderers v Crystal Palace
20h45: Aston Villa v Fulham
21h00: Leeds United v Leicester City
Wednesday, April 26
20h30: Nottingham Forest v Brighton & Hove Albion
20h45: West Ham United v Liverpool
20h45: Chelsea v Brentford
21h00: Manchester City v Arsenal
Thursday, April 27
20h45: Everton v Newcastle United
20h45: Southampton v Bournemouth
21h15: Tottenham Hotspur v Manchester United
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