David Moyes deserves a tremendous amount of credit for how well his West Ham side have been performing this season. On a points-per-game basis, 2020/21 is currently the Scot’s best campaign of his Premier League career.
When Liverpool last visited the London Stadium, in January 2020, they won 2-0 with minimal fuss to leave the Hammers fourth bottom of the Premier League, and level on points with the two teams directly below them. Their turnaround in the last 12 months has been stark as they go into this weekend one place and only two points behind the Reds.
West Ham have won their last four league games, are unbeaten in six, and have only lost two of their 13 games since they were beaten 2-1 at Anfield in October. This would’ve been a difficult assignment for Liverpool anyway, and having had to play away from home on Thursday evening won’t have made it any easier.
West Ham’s underlying data suggests their high position in the table is largely merited too, as expected goal data from FiveThirtyEight implies their performances have been worth 33 points in 2020/21. But while they clearly have genuine strengths, their powers are at least clear to spot which means Jurgen Klopp and his team of assistants can prepare plans to try to keep the Hammers at bay.
Where once Liverpool were the kings of set pieces in the Premier League, West Ham appear to have replaced them (though the long-term absence of Virgil van Dijk has hampered the Reds at both ends of the pitch on this front).
Moyes’ side are joint-top for goals scored from dead ball situations, alongside Southampton – who beat Liverpool thanks to a set piece goal – on 10, while their tally of two conceded is the joint-best with Arsenal and Manchester City.
Their prowess in this area has helped them to many of their wins this season, and it might see Nat Phillips retain his place from the second half on Thursday, thanks to his standing in the Premier League’s top 10 players for aerial duel win percentage in 2020/21 ( per FBRef ).
While there’s no question of who will play in goal for the Reds on Sunday, Alisson Becker will need to be at his proactive best. West Ham have taken 39 shots from inside the six yard box in the league this season, which is at least 15 more than any other team and almost twice as many as Liverpool have.
The Reds’ Brazilian goalkeeper will need to deal with any airborne deliveries which enter the area immediately surrounding his goal, and he has shown time and again that he is happy to do so.
Alisson can be certain to be tested in this way too. West Ham have played 111 accurate crosses so far this season, the most in the division, which is why they have 10 assists thanks to deliveries from wide areas, a total which also leads the way in the top flight.
And even when their crosses aren’t directly creating goals themselves, they can still cause havoc in opposition penalty boxes. The Hammers send in a lot of deliveries from their left flank which are then played back into the centre of the box by a man at the back post.
This was evident for both of their goals in their previous league match at home, when they beat West Bromwich Albion 2-1. It was different combinations of players too, with six men playing a part in the ‘cross, assist, shoot’ trios for the two goals.
However, no team has faced fewer crosses per game on the road than Liverpool this season ( per WhoScored ). Tottenham only had five on Thursday evening, and they didn’t complete any of them, while Southampton were unsuccessful with their four crosses in the away match prior to that.
West Ham may try to play through the visitors’ high line on Sunday, but the statistics suggest they won’t succeed. They have made the second most offside passes in the division, and the Reds have received the most at the defensive end of the pitch.
There may be some heart-stopping moments for Liverpool and their fans, but with the Premier League’s top sweeper keeper on hand – Alisson has the highest average distance from goal for defensive actions this season, per FBRef – they should be fine. And with their attack having scored five times against other top sides in their last two games, the Reds should be able to negate what West Ham do best and then prosper themselves at the other end of the pitch.
