FULL TIME: Liverpool 0-0 West Ham United
And that’s that! Klopp isn’t smiling now, as Liverpool now have another game to fit into an already crowded calendar. Woeful finishing by Benteke and Teixeira in the second half cost them, though in truth West Ham deserved at least a draw, and indeed could easily have snatched it towards the end. There’s also that penalty shout for handball off Caulker to consider. Bilic very much the happier of the two managers, as the teams go back to the Boleyn Ground for the replay. Liverpool’s kids have done a bit better against West Ham than their first-teamers, you’ll note.
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90 min +1: West Ham hit the post! Cresswell makes ground down the left, and loops to the far post. Antonio rises, and crashes a header across Mignolet and off the inside of the left-hand post! But it wouldn’t have counted anyway, as Antonio had hands on the back of Lovren, while Cresswell’s cross might have curled out of play and back in.
90 min: Farcical scenes as Enrique’s weak free kick fails to beat the first man and West Ham flood upfield on the break. That move peters out easily enough. On the touchline, Klopp and Bilic share a joke. There will be three added minutes.
89 min: Smith nicks the ball off Obiang down the Liverpool left, and is bundled over by the same player. A free kick. Before that can be taken, Enrique comes on for Teixeira. In fact, Enrique’s first involvement will be to take the free kick.
88 min: And the replay’s nearly avoided, though not in the way Klopp would like. O’Brien makes good down the right, and finds Antonio in the box, 12 yards out, level with the right-hand post. Antonio shifts his feet and gets a shot away, but Caulker has closed him down well. The ball balloons out for a corner, which comes to nothing.
86 min: Reid bowls Teixeira to the ground, 35 yards from goal on the right. Free kick. The ball’s sent towards Stewart on the left-hand corner of the box. The young man flashes a harmless shot deep into the Kop. And then Klopp swaps Brannagan for Sinclair. He really doesn’t want a replay, I’ll be bound.
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85 min: A clever Payet pass down the right releases O’Brien into space. He should advance on the Liverpool area, but attempts one from Gerrard Country. Nope! It finds the top-right corner of the stand behind the goal.
84 min: Antonio flings a long throw into the Liverpool box from the right. Bedlam, bedlam, bedlam. Mignolet flaps. Caulker fails to clear. Valencia goes down, but that’s never a penalty, no contact. He smiles as he gets up while Allen clears.
82 min: Valencia loses possession as he dribbles down the left. Teixeira breaks upfield with West Ham light at the back. He’s got Benteke on his left, Ojo in space down the right. He plays a nothing pass straight ahead of him, allowing Randolph to mop up quietly. A suggestion Teixeira was taken out by Song as he played the ball forward - Klopp is enjoying some hot chat with the fourth official - but in truth there looked little wrong with the challenge.
80 min: A couple of minutes’ worth of sterile Liverpool possession, and Klopp’s patience snaps. He swaps Ibe for Ojo, who scored a fine goal in the third-round replay win over Exeter City.
77 min: Liverpool are dominating the game, but it all goes wrong whenever they get near to West Ham’s box. Allen busies himself down the left. He lays off to Benteke, who has Smith bombing into space on the overlap. His pass down the flank is way too heavy, and batters the hoardings running along the front of the Kop.
75 min: Ibe slides a lovely pass down the inside-right channel to release Benteke into the area. Benteke looks for the bottom left. Randolph parries. Allen tries to latch onto the rebound but the ball breaks to Benteke. The striker should slide the ball left to Teixeira, totally free, but lumps a weak shot straight at Randolph. Another huge chance spurned. Will Liverpool regret these big misses?
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74 min: Clyne romps into acres down the right. He crosses. Allen attempts a bicycle kick, and swishes fresh air. But no matter, because the ball ends up at the feet of Teixeira, ten yards out and level with the left-hand post. He must score, but batters his shot straight at Randolph, who nevertheless should win praise for his parry. That’s a huge chance passed up.
72 min: Ibe tries to bomb down the middle but runs straight into Song. O’Brien plays a simple pass out of play on the right. Caulker slices a basic hoof upfield into the main stand. It’s gone scrappy again.
70 min: Moses is replaced by Antonio. West Ham have used all of their subs. Liverpool are yet to make a change.
68 min: Stewart turns on the jets to burst down the left, and is upended by Song. A free kick and a chance for Liverpool to pack the West Ham area. Teixeira pitching-wedges it into the mixer. West Ham half clear. Stewart pearls it goalwards from outside the box. It’s going wide left, but falls to the feet of Benteke, who is onside, on the edge of the six-yard box. His attempt to control is a shank off towards the right wing. This £32.5m price-tag is weighing heavy.
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66 min: Teixeira slips a lovely diagonal pass wide right to Clyne, who hits a first-time low cross towards Benteke in the centre. But before the big striker can sidefoot home from close range, Reid slides in to hook clear brilliantly. Liverpool recycle the ball, allowing Smith to dispatch it into Row Z of the Kop.
64 min: The resulting corner’s hit deep and high, and Lovren’s got no chance of keeping his header down, or getting it on target.
63 min: Smith busies himself down the left, chasing after a Benteke pass, and cuts back for Teixeira, who from the left of the D sends a rising scorcher towards the top left. Randolph gets his hands warm, tipping the smart shot round the post well.
61 min: Payet gives the ball away to Allen, to the right of the Liverpool box. Allen slips the ball inside to Benteke, who should be shooting from ten yards, but BREAKING NEWS he’s totally bereft of confidence and lays it back to Allen, who can only win a corner from his tight angle. The set piece is wasted.
60 min: Clyne drifts in from the right, and slides a pass across the face of the West Ham box. It’s perfectly weighted for Allen to stride onto, with the Hammers defence all over the place. But Allen leans back and welts a dismal effort high into the Kop. That was a magnificent opportunity to make Randolph do some serious work.
59 min: There were 24 goals in Liverpool’s last six matches. That one-in-four average looks in severe danger right now.
57 min: A free kick for Liverpool now, out on the left. Brannagan curls one into the box for Caulker, but Reid gets in first to ensure the ball’s guided away from the danger zone, and Randolph eventually snaffles.
55 min: From the free kick out towards the left, Payet sends the ball looping towards the top right from 35 yards. It doesn’t Konchesky its way into the net. Mignolet claims.
54 min: Moses goes on a determined skitter down the middle of the park. He one-twos with Jelavic, and prepares to break into a little space down the inside left. Lovren, knowing full well there’s plenty of cover, he’s not the last man, and he’s not risking a red card, takes Moses out with an almighty clatter. He’s booked, and can have no complaints whatsoever.
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52 min: They’ve shown that West Ham penalty shout again. Caulker touches the ball twice. It’s hardly Thierry Henry basketball cheek - it was all very quick, and in a tight space - but it was a penalty kick nevertheless. Liverpool got away with that.
50 min: Clyne, gliding in from the right, unleashes a rising rasper which only just flies wide of the top-left corner. A fine attempt.
49 min: Stewart goes clattering into Jelavic down the West Ham left. Free kick, and yet another chance for Payet to deliver something special. Which he does, and there’s an almighty scramble in the six-yard box. A proper old-school scramble, a dust cloud with feet and fists sticking out of it. Jelavic flicks on, Caulker chests down and hacks. Suggestion of a handball, and you’ve certainly seen them given. Goodness knows how Liverpool keep it out, but that’s exactly what they achieve. Hearts in mouths around Anfield for a second there. West Ham might have a legitimate complaint about that non-penalty.
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48 min: And so, having said that, the next couple of minutes are beyond scrappy.
46 min: Lovren heads up the left wing from deep. Allen heads on to ... himself, then slides a first-time ball down the channel in the hope of releasing Benteke. Nearly. Then Moses makes good down the West Ham right, whipping a cross to the near post where there’s nobody other than Mignolet. A bright start to the second half, by a couple of teams who clearly fancy their chances after an open first 45.
And we're off again!
West Ham get the ball rolling for the second half. No changes. “Watching Allen challenge the West Ham goalie while Benteke looks on sums up my growing love for one player over the other,” comments Ian Copestake, who may or may not be speaking for many.
Half-time omen: The last season West Ham did the league double over Liverpool was 1963-64. This happened at the end of it ...
HALF TIME: Liverpool 0-0 West Ham United
And that’s that for the opening 45. A lively and interesting first half, with the scoreline about right, Brannagan and Obiang both going close with magnificent long-range efforts. It’s nicely poised for the second half. No flipping!
45 min +1: From the free kick, the ball finds the feet of Obiang, 25 yards from goal in a central position. Obiang threads a brilliant shot through a thicket and towards the bottom left. Deliberate excellence. Mignolet is beaten all ends up, but the ball whistles an inch or two wide left of the post. So close to the opening goal!
45 min: Smith, on the edge of his own area, plays a fairly obvious cushioned back pass to Mignolet, who gathers. That should be an indirect free kick. What were the pair thinking? But it’s not. West Ham are rightfully furious. Then Smith’s in the thick of it again, taking down O’Brien on the right, a cynical charge. He should go in the book but doesn’t. Then again, see Reid a few minutes earlier on Teixeira, so fair’s fair.
44 min: Allen, a bit too bright in the tackle, concedes one down the right now in a duel with Obiang. West Ham load the box. Payet hits it deep, allowing Clyne to eyebrow it away from danger.
43 min: Brannagan slams a witless one into the wall. He picks up the rebound and hoicks it into the mixer. West Ham clear. Liverpool send it back in. Allen, a goal machine these days, goes up for a high one with Randolph. He clatters into the keeper, and that’s a free kick. Pressure off.
42 min: Teixeira cuts across the front of the West Ham box from the left. He’s hauled down, unceremoniously so, by the collar, by Reid. A free kick in a very dangerous position. Brannagan, who has been Liverpool’s most potent attacking force so far, fancies this.
39 min: O’Brien purchases a pretty cheap free kick off a clumsy Stewart as the pair battle down the West Ham right. Another chance for the visitors to load the box. Payet curls a dangerous one to the near post, where Smith clears. Liverpool try to break quickly down the left, only to give the ball away. West Ham attempt to launch a counter to the counter, and that fizzles out quickly enough as well. It’s a fast and engaging game, but a little short on quality. To be expected, I guess, with both teams having made so many changes, and West Ham forced into another couple thanks to injury.
37 min: Kouyate appears to have taken a knock. He disappears off down the tunnel as former Evertonian Jelavic comes on to replace him. A couple of blows for West Ham in quick succession there, as they’re forced to burn two substitutions before the first half is out.
35 min: Nope. O’Brien comes on in his stead. Meanwhile Brannagan, from Steven Gerrard Country, unleashes a rising rasper towards the top right. It’s a stunning effort, and met by a stunning save from Randolph, who was unsighted for a second there. Wonderful football all round. The corner comes to nothing.
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34 min: Tomkins has gone off down the tunnel to receive treatment, a stitch or two perhaps. Will he come back?
33 min: Liverpool are beginning to re-emerge as an attacking force. Teixeira and Ibe take turns to dribble around down the left, but neither can work the space for a shot. The ball’s fed to Benteke on the edge of the area, and he’s got Clyne in acres to the right, but he’s incredibly ponderous and the move breaks down.
32 min: Tomkins looks a bit groggy at the moment. West Ham are hoping he’ll be able to continue, but he’s off the pitch right now as the game restarts, and frowning quite a lot.
31 min: Allen and Tomkins go up for a high ball in the midfield. A complete accident, both players with their eyes shut, but Tomkins plants his nut on the back of Allen’s head. Allen walks away rubbing his noggin. Poor Tomkins has taken that full in the face, though, and is down in some pain. The physio’s on, and he’s mopping up a fair bit of blood.
29 min: Allen slides a pass down the inside-right channel to find Benteke in the West Ham box. Reid nips across to belt the ball out for a corner. Allen drops the set piece on the penalty spot. Caulker, who has caused more than his fair share of bedlam in attack for Liverpool since his arrival, tries to volley home. He succeeds only in clattering Kouyate. Free kick.
26 min: Payet swings a ball into the Liverpool box from the left. It’s deep, and dropping towards Kouyate to the right of goal, 12 yards out. Kouyate heads back into the centre, the ball hitting Smith’s arm. But Smith had his back to goal, and was mid jump; it didn’t appear to be a deliberate motion. In fairness to West Ham, Kouyate’s appeal is only half-arsed.
25 min: Stewart and Teixeira combine down the middle of the park, the latter shuttling the ball forward for Benteke, who romps after it through a big hole in the West Ham defence. But Randolph is out quickly to claim on the edge of his area. Fine anticipation from the keeper there.
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23 min: A free kick for Liverpool, out deep on the left. Brannagan curls deep for Benteke, who hangs out a leg and misses the dipping ball from six yards. Randolph gathers. That’s a fine chance spurned.
22 min: From the corner, Brannagan swings long. Benteke glances a header towards the bottom right. Cresswell, on the line, boots clear. That was probably going wide anyway.
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21 min: Ibe injects a little pace into Liverpool’s game, bursting through a challenge in the centre circle and driving forward with great intent. He exchanges passes with Teixeira on the left-hand corner of the area and makes his way into the box. His low cross is hacked behind by Tomkins.
19 min: A bit of space for Teixeira out on the left. He’s only got Benteke to aim for in the box, and the big striker’s movement isn’t up to much. Teixeira fires a ball in his general direction, but his cross is easily blocked.
18 min: Liverpool are having serious trouble holding onto the ball. Possession a pipe dream right now. West Ham are looking very comfortable at the moment, having worked their way into their groove.
16 min: Cresswell, out wide on the left, loops a cross towards Valencia on the penalty spot. Lovren looks to head clear, but gets under it and misses it altogether, losing the flight totally. Valencia, surprised that the ball’s got to him, sends an absurd diving header straight out to the left wing again, when it was surely easier to score. What a chance!
15 min: Allen and Benteke confuse each other in the midfield. Space for Moses down the right. His low ball into the Liverpool area is trapped by Valencia on the penalty spot, though the striker’s back is to goal. He tries to spin and get a shot away; he just about manages a half turn and sends the ball dribbling towards Mignolet, who gathers. Lovren did well to stay tight there.
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12 min: After their brisk start, Liverpool aren’t seeing much of the ball now. West Ham are beginning to impose themselves, winning the majority of 50-50 challenges in the middle. Anfield getting a bit tense as a result, the constant noise from the away corner apart.
10 min: Stewart upends Obiang out on the right. A free kick, and a chance for West Ham to load the box. Everyone’s to the left of the D. Payet, from 35 yards, tries to send a McAllister-versus-Everton-style surprise effort into the right-hand side of the net, unguarded by Mignolet as it is. But it’s just wide right of goal, and the keeper was over to cover anyway. Clever effort by a quick thinker, though.
9 min: Valencia and Moses exchange sweetly down the middle, and nearly set Obiang free in the box. Caulker is on hand to hook clear, just as it looked like the West Ham midfielder would find room for a shot.
7 min: Moses nearly skips his way past Smith down the right, but has to make do with a corner. The ever-excellent Payet takes. It’s flicked clear by Allen at the near post. Suddenly, on the break, Teixeira is putting serious pressure on Ogbonna, the only Hammer tracking back. Ogbonna keeps up the pace and sees off the danger. West Ham hoick upfield. Liverpool come again, Ibe cutting in from the left and setting up Brannagan, who converts for some rugby-union points. A wild effort.
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5 min: Liverpool are seeing most of the ball early doors. They’re snapping into tackles. Stewart robs Song to set up an attack. Benteke’s loose control ensures the move breaks down. Brannagan tries to keep the momentum up, but he slides in unfairly on Song this time, and the pressure’s relieved.
3 min: Smith rolls a ball down the left to win a corner off Tomkins. From the set piece, Smith swings a cross in from the left. West Ham half clear. Then Brannagan has a go from the same flank. His vicious dipping cross nearly finds Benteke at the far post, but Reid gets his head on the ball first to guide the ball back to Randolph. Cool, collected defending.
2 min: Cresswell makes a couple of runs down the left. He presses Liverpool back towards their own box, but he eventually lets the ball run out for a throw. The home side clear. A fast-paced end-to-end start to this match.
And we're off!
Liverpool get the ball rolling. They’ll be defending the Kop end in the first half, attacking it in the second, which is just how they like it. Teixeira bursts down the right but is chased off the ball early enough. Then a bit of space for Allen down the same wing, but his cross into the Hammers box in the direction of Benteke is way too strong. A brisk start, with plenty of bedlam the soundtrack.
The teams are out! Liverpool are in their traditional red clobber, while West Ham must ditch their famous claret-and-blue combo for the sake of clarity. They’re in third-choice dark blue. A cracking atmosphere at Anfield, a rousing singalong to Gerry and the Pacemakers with the away fans blowing plenty of Bubbles in return.
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Slaven Bilic speaks! “We deserved to win both of our league games, but the matches were very difficult and we had to be at our best. Based on that we are confident and optimistic, but we also know that only one team can be a favourite at Anfield, and that is Liverpool. Adrian’s wife is giving birth in Spain, but Randolph would have been in goal for the cup anyway. Mark Noble has flu. We had bad injuries in November and December, which obviously we did not want, but the good thing about that is we played more players, and now we have 15 or 16 regulars.”
Jurgen Klopp speaks! “The selection is risky, yes, but we are without an alternative as we have played the highest number of games in the last few weeks, nine in 20-odd days. And the last one was very intense! We cannot ignore this. But we cannot ignore the quality of our opponents too. We are for sure not the favourites because West Ham are in a really good moment, but we will try to challenge. If you think I am being disrespectful against the FA Cup I cannot change that, but we are full of respect for the FA Cup and have a responsibility to our fans too. At the end there are some people who will say well done [puts thumbs up and wears cheesy grin, Paul McCartney style] and some will criticise it. But we have a few good players and some young talent. I like this!”
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Liverpool are much changed, as expected, for their ninth game in January. Simon Mignolet is the only player who started the League Cup semi-final second-leg against Stoke City to retain his place. It’s arguably a stronger side than some expected: Nathaniel Clyne and Dejan Lovren return, Steven Caulker finally gets a go as a defender, Joe Allen captains the side, and first-team regulars Jordon Ibe and Christian Benteke will be on the attack. But the bench is packed with kids. And Jose Enrique.
West Ham ring the changes too, for their sixth game of the month. They make five to the side that started the 2-2 draw with Manchester City last Saturday. Adrian, Carl Jenkinson, Mark Noble, James Collins and Michail Antonio make way for Darren Randolph, James Tomkins, Angelo Ogbonna, Pedro Obiang and former Liverpool winger Victor Moses.
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The teams
Liverpool: Mignolet, Clyne, Lovren, Caulker, Smith, Allen, Brannagan, Stewart, Ibe, Teixeira, Benteke.
Subs: Ward, Enrique, Ilori, Chrivella, Ojo, Sinclair, Randall.
West Ham United: Randolph, Tomkins, Reid, Ogbonna, Cresswell, Obiang, Song, Kouyate, Moses, Payet, Valencia.
Subs: Howes, O’Brien, Collins, Oxford, Cullen, Antonio, Jelavic.
Referee: Martin Atkinson (West Yorkshire).
Good evening!
Liverpool have won their six previous FA Cup ties with West Ham United, most recently the Gerrard Final of 2006. Sounds promising for the seven-time cup winners. But that’s where their good news ends.
Until this season, West Ham hadn’t won at Anfield since 1963. That was quite the barren spell, but Slaven Bilic’s side slaked their thirst in stunning fashion back in August, thrashing a side then managed by Brendan Rodgers 3-0. That set up the possibility of West Ham’s first league double over Liverpool in 52 years, something secured earlier this month when the Hammers easily dispatched a team now led by Jurgen Klopp 2-0 at Upton Park. So they’ve won three of their last four matches against Liverpool. The aggregate score’s 8-3.
Head-to-heads aside, West Ham also look in better general nick. They’ve won four of their last six games, and were sparkling in attack when drawing with Manchester City last weekend. Liverpool by contrast are spluttering a little bit: just two wins in their last six, and one of those was against Exeter City while the other was that wild 5-4 win at Norwich, an erratic performance which raised more questions than it answered.
Yet the mood music around Liverpool remains positive. Not least because they’ve just made it to next month’s League Cup final, their first showpiece occasion for four years. They’ll be hoping to ride the buzz of Tuesday night’s penalty shoot-out win over Stoke City, and pay West Ham back for that league double. The high-pressing Hammers, by contrast, will be confident of continuing their excellent form against defensively shaky opponents, as they go in search of their fourth FA Cup. It’s beautifully balanced. It promises to be a cracker. It’s on!
Kick off: 5.30pm GMT.
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