Liverpool could earn a bittersweet slice of Premier League history when they take on West Ham United on Sunday in their final game of 2024.
Whatever transpires at the London Stadium on December 29, Arne Slot's men will enter the New Year top of the Premier League standings, where they hold a six-point lead over second-placed Arsenal with a game in hand.
Leicester City did not make life easy for the Reds on Boxing Day, but a Cody Gakpo, Curtis Jones and Mohamed Salah-inspired comeback propelled the league leaders to a 3-1 win, one that moved them onto a magnificent 42 points for the season.
Liverpool's defensive nous has suffered slightly in the absence of the injured Ibrahima Konate, though, as Jordan Ayew's opener on Boxing Day made it four games without a clean sheet for the Reds across all competitions.
Slot's men have also been carved open on the road over the past two months, conceding 10 goals in their last four Premier League away games but managing to avoid defeat in each of them.
Leaky Liverpool could make Premier League history at West Ham
© Imago
In that time, Liverpool have played out a 2-2 draw with Arsenal and a 3-3 stalemate with Newcastle United, while seeing off Southampton 3-2 and trouncing Tottenham Hotspur 6-3 on the road.
If the Reds concede at least twice on Sunday but take home at least a point, they will become the first team in Premier League history to ship multiple goals in five successive away games but go unbeaten in all of them.
Ex-Feyenoord boss Slot is yet to oversee his first loss on rival territory since taking the reins, with the one blot on his notebook coming at home to Nottingham Forest in the middle of September.
The Reds have won 11 and drawn two of their 13 away matches under the Dutchman's tutelage in all competitions this season, and not since April's 2-0 Merseyside derby loss to Everton at Goodison Park have they been beaten on enemy turf.
Liverpool's attacking powers rarely wane on West Ham's ground either, as they have scored at least twice in their last five Premier League visits to the Irons, whom they thrashed 5-1 in September's EFL Cup third-round contest.
Will Liverpool have any players back for West Ham clash?
© Imago
Slot's side will head to the London Stadium without the services of Dominik Szoboszlai due to suspension, and Slot conceded in his pre-game press conference that Konate (knee) and Conor Bradley (hamstring) would not be ready either.
However, Slot refused to rule either man out of the home clash with Manchester United on January 5 when conducting his pre-game press conference, saying: "They will not be back for West Ham United, but then there is a week in between [before the game against Manchester United] so let's see how close they are then.
"It's difficult for me to tell you at this moment because they don't train with the group yet, but hopefully in the upcoming days they come closer to that situation. And then again, Ibou has been out then for five or six weeks maybe, Conor just as long I think, the same amount.
"And also for them, they are in competition with players that are completely fit and doing really well, so I have to make the right judgement the moment they are back with the team."
While Liverpool remain unblemished on the road, West Ham have been building up a head of steam recently and are looking to go five Premier League games without defeat for the first time since February.
Ben Knapton
