Two teams separated by just one place and two points in the Premier League table will go head to head on Sunday when West Ham United welcome Liverpool to the London Stadium.
The in-form Hammers sit fifth following a fine run of form, while champions Liverpool go into the match in fourth place following their much-needed 3-1 victory at Tottenham Hotspur on Thursday night.
Match preview
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It took longer than they would have expected, but Liverpool finally got their first goals and first league win of 2021 on Thursday night with a convincing return to form at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
A 3-1 triumph in North London, courtesy of goals from Roberto Firmino, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Sadio Mane, lifted Jurgen Klopp's side back into the top four, after they had been displaced by Sunday's opponents earlier in the week.
It was a timely return to winning ways at the beginning of a run which sees Liverpool face five of the current top seven in the space of six league games, in addition to a Champions League tie with RB Leipzig, but the effect of their recent five-match winless streak can still be seen in the league table.
Liverpool head into the weekend sitting four points adrift of in-form leaders Manchester City having played a game more than Pep Guardiola's side, and any more dropped points on Sunday will likely further dent their hopes of successfully defending their title.
With a run of 482 minutes and 93 shots without a Premier League goal now behind them, though, the division's leading scorers will be confident of stringing together back-to-back top-flight wins for only the second time since October.
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The Reds' away form has been distinctly average so far this season - no fewer than nine teams have picked up more points on the road - but they have particularly enjoyed their trips to London.
Indeed, all three of Liverpool's Premier League away wins this season have come in the capital, and all three have been among their most convincing performances of the campaign too - a 2-0 triumph at Chelsea, a 7-0 thrashing of Crystal Palace and Thursday's win at Spurs.
It is almost a year since Liverpool won back-to-back away league games within the same season, though, and they will travel to the Hammers expecting a tougher game than any of those other Londoners have provided so far.
David Moyes's side sit above every other capital club in the league table as things stand, thanks largely to a run of four consecutive top-flight victories for the first time since December 2018.
In all competitions West Ham still boast a 100% record in 2021, winning the first six games of a calendar year for the first time in their history. Another triumph on Sunday would see them record seven successive victories for only the third time ever at any stage of the year.
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Moyes has been keen to temper expectations and continues to insist that his side have a long way to go before they can start to think of a European challenge, but they have certainly put themselves in the conversation and the fact that they have the opportunity to leapfrog Liverpool in the table heading into February speaks volumes about the progress they have made.
On the flip side, Moyes will be fully aware of how quickly things can change too; his side are only six points above 11th place, and four of the six teams directly below them in the table have at least one game in hand.
The Hammers' recent form has been by relatively fine margins too; just two of their last 16 league games have been decided by more than one goal, while each of their last eight victories has come by a solitary strike.
Those narrow wins also showcase a steeliness and level of character which has perhaps been missing from West Ham in the past, though, and they will welcome the champions full of belief that they can come away with another three points.
If they are to do that then they will have to end a nine-match winless run against Liverpool in the league, while Moyes has not got the better of the Reds in the top flight from his last 13 attempts - a run which now stretches back more than a decade.
West Ham United Premier League form: WWWWWW
West Ham United form (all competitions): DDWWWW
Liverpool Premier League form: DDLDLW
Liverpool form (all competitions): LWDLLW
Team News
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Liverpool's defensive injury crisis somehow continues to deepen, with Fabinho and Joel Matip joining the seemingly never-ending list of problems they have endured at the back this season.
Fabinho missed out against Tottenham due to a minor muscle problem and has again been ruled out of this match, while Matip is almost certain to be unavailable too after being taken off at half time on Thursday.
Klopp revealed after that match that Matip had suffered suspected ankle ligament damage, but the severity of the injury is as yet unclear with Matip set for scans.
With long-term absentees Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez still out too, Klopp will likely be forced to field Rhys Williams or Nat Phillips, the latter of whom impressed off the bench against Spurs, alongside captain Jordan Henderson at the back.
Diogo Jota and Naby Keita also remain out, but Curtis Jones, Xherdan Shaqiri and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain will all be pushing for a start in midfield should Klopp look to make changes.
Mane, Firmino and Mohamed Salah should all start again, with the latter having scored seven goals in his last seven league games against the Hammers.
West Ham have their own specialist in this fixture, with Michail Antonio netting four times in six appearances against Liverpool, and he should lead the line once again this weekend.
Tomas Soucek has also been a goal threat of late, with his seven top-flight strikes this term being worth 10 points to the Hammers - without them, West Ham would sit 12th.
Moyes will still be without Arthur Masuaku and Darren Randolph, but his options have been bolstered by the arrival of Jesse Lingard on loan from Manchester United.
Lingard is unlikely to be involved from the start, but Said Benrahma is expected to start again having now made his loan move permanent.
Indeed, Moyes could name an unchanged side to the one which beat Crystal Palace in midweek, having had two days more rest than their opponents.
West Ham United possible starting lineup:
Fabianski; Coufal, Dawson, Ogbonna, Cresswell; Rice, Soucek; Bowen, Benrahma, Fornals; Antonio
Liverpool possible starting lineup:
Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Phillips, Henderson, Robertson; Jones, Thiago, Wijnaldum; Salah, Firmino, Mane
We say: West Ham United 1-2 Liverpool
West Ham come into this match in fine form, but their record against the traditional 'big six' this season is less impressive - two points from the 18 on offer.
Liverpool's victory over Tottenham on Thursday eases some of the pressure which was starting to build, and we expect them to follow that up with another triumph in the capital on Sunday.
Top betting tip
Video prediction
Watch the Sports Mole Football Shorts prediction for this game below:
Barney Corkhill
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 Liverpool win with a probability of 54.21%. A win for West Ham United had a probability of 23.33% and a draw had a probability of 22.5%.
The most likely scoreline for a Liverpool win was 1-2 with a probability of 9.81%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 0-1 (8.96%) and 0-2 (8.44%). The likeliest West Ham United win was 2-1 (6.05%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (10.41%). The actual scoreline of 1-3 was predicted with a 6.2% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted that Liverpool would win this match.
