Liverpool will be looking to take another step towards winning this season's Premier League title when they welcome West Ham United to Anfield on Monday night.
The Reds currently sit 19 points clear of second-placed Manchester City at the summit, while West Ham have dropped into the relegation zone following a disappointing run of form.
Match preview
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It is a case of when and not if Liverpool will win the title this season, although reigning champions Man City did manage to cut the gap to 19 points on Saturday evening courtesy of a 1-0 victory over Leicester City.
Another success for the Reds on Monday would see the gap become 22 points once again, though, and it is difficult to imagine West Ham preventing Jurgen Klopp's side from winning their 26th league game of the campaign.
Liverpool's record this season is just stunning - recording 25 wins from 26 matches, scoring 61 times and conceding just 15 in the process. They have been, by some distance, the division's outstanding team and will win their first ever Premier League title at some point over the next few months.
The Merseyside giants are also present in the fifth round of the FA Cup, where they will take on Chelsea on March 3. The double is very much on for the English giants this season, but it would be fair to say that there is work to do if they are to retain the European Cup.
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Indeed, Liverpool lost just their second match of the season last week as they suffered a 1-0 defeat to Atletico Madrid in the first leg of their last-16 Champions League clash. Saul Niguez's early effort proved to be the difference as Diego Simeone's side secured an advantage ahead of the return fixture next month.
The holders will still fancy their chances of turning things around on Merseyside, but it would be fair to say that the Reds have not exactly been playing free-flowing football over the last few weeks.
The victories have continued to arrive, though, and it is less than one month since they beat West Ham 2-0 in the reverse clash at the London Stadium. Their next match after this one is away to struggling Watford on February 29, before opening March with a trip to Stamford Bridge in the FA Cup.
The Merseyside giants will then welcome Bournemouth to Anfield on March 7 ahead of their second leg with Atletico, and Klopp will be wary of his team losing momentum ahead of the European tie, which should be a fascinating affair due to Atletico's undoubted defensive strength.
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In the grand scheme of things, Monday's fixture is not hugely important for Liverpool, but the same cannot be said for a West Ham side that are in desperate need of a positive result.
Indeed, the Hammers are without a victory in their last seven matches in all competitions, while they have not picked up all three points in a league game since New Year's Day at home to Bournemouth.
David Moyes's side have lost four of their last six in the Premier League, picking up just two points in the process, to slide down the table. As it stands, they are 18th in the division, one point behind 17th-placed Aston Villa, who have now played one game more than the London club.
Saturday's results were quite kind for West Ham considering that Villa and Bournemouth both lost, while Brighton & Hove Albion could only pick up a point against Sheffield United. Watford will have the chance to move out of the bottom three when they face Manchester United on Sunday, although it is a tough ask for the Hornets to triumph due to their poor record at Old Trafford.
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Relegation from the Premier League would be disastrous for a club of West Ham's size, particularly considering their presence at the London Stadium. There is still a lot of football to be played, but a trip to Liverpool is not what they would have wanted after losing 2-0 at Man City on Wednesday night.
The Hammers have actually not beaten Liverpool in the Premier League since January 2016, losing five of the last six meetings between the two sides. That said, the capital side did manage to hold the Reds to a 1-1 draw when they clashed at the London Stadium just over 12 months ago.
The omens are not exactly terrific, though, considering that Liverpool have won all 13 of their home Premier League matches this season while West Ham have recorded just three victories on their travels.
Whether Moyes's team stay in the top flight this season is not going to depend on their result at Anfield on Monday night, but they have a huge game at home to Southampton on February 29 and will then face Arsenal, Wolverhampton Wanderers, Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea in their next four.
Liverpool Premier League form: WWWWWW
Liverpool form (all competitions): DWWWWL
West Ham Premier League form: LDLLDL
West Ham form (all competitions): DLLLDL
Team News
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Liverpool will be without their captain Jordan Henderson due to a hamstring problem, while Nathaniel Clyne and Xherdan Shaqiri are still unavailable for selection.
Klopp otherwise has a fully-fit squad heading into the contest, though, and the German is unlikely to rotate his squad as their next match after this one is not until February 29.
As a result, 10 of the 11 that started against Atletico are expected to keep their spots, with the only major talking point concerning who replaces Henderson in the middle of the park.
Naby Keita is being tipped to edge out the likes of James Milner and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain to feature, with Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino again starting in attack.
As for West Ham, Ryan Fredericks will miss out due to a shoulder injury, while Andriy Yarmolenko and Jack Wilshere also remain on the sidelines for the Hammers.
Moyes could again select a five-man defence with Pablo Zabaleta earning a start due to Fredericks's absence, while Sebastian Haller could return to the side at the expense of Robert Snodgrass.
Felipe Anderson and Manuel Lanzini are also options in the final third, and January arrival from Hull City Jarrod Bowen will be hoping to make his first start having appeared off the bench at the Etihad Stadium.
All three could again be frustrated, though, with Moyes seemingly preparing to select another defensive formation in the hope of frustrating Liverpool.
Liverpool possible starting lineup:
Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Gomez, Van Dijk, Robertson; Wijnaldum, Fabinho, Keita; Salah, Firmino, Mane
West Ham possible starting lineup:
Fabianski; Zabaleta, Diop, Ogbonna, Cresswell, Masuaku; Rice, Soucek, Noble; Antonio, Haller
Head To Head
Liverpool lead the overall head-to-head 75 wins to West Ham's 28, while there have also been 37 draws between the two sides throughout history.
Liverpool have won five of their last six Premier League meetings, including a 2-0 success when they travelled to the London Stadium in December.
West Ham won four of the six meetings between the two teams between September 2014 and February 2016, though, which included a 3-0 success at Anfield in the Premier League during the 2015-16 season.
We say: Liverpool 2-0 West Ham
It is certainly not a forgone conclusion that Liverpool will triumph on Monday night, although it is difficult to imagine a scenario where West Ham avoid defeat. We are not expecting too many goals at Anfield but believe that Klopp's team will have too much over the course of the 90 minutes.
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a win with a probability of 85.57%. A draw had a probability of 10.8% and a win for had a probability of 3.59%.
The most likely scoreline for a win was 2-0 with a probability of 16.27%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 3-0 (14.7%) and 1-0 (12.01%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (4.89%), while for a win it was 0-1 (1.8%).
