West Ham United head to Liverpool this weekend in search of points to ease their relegation candidacy. The Hammers are going north, missing just two players. Pablo Felipe remains out with a muscle injury, whilst Freddie Potts continues to serve his suspension from a red card in the win over Burton Albion in the FA Cup.
Liverpool are chasing the Champions League positions after a topsy turvy campaign so far. The Reds beat Nottingham Forest in their last game 1-0. The result, like a lot of Liverpool’s results, was dealt by a late goal by Alexis Mac Allister, minutes after VAR ruled his first strike out.
Arne Slot’s team may have got three points, but they had to do it without two key players. Florian Wirtz picked up an injury in the warm up, whilst Jeremie Frimpong was ruled out late, due to a muscle injury.
Arne Slot on his returning players
Speaking ahead of the game on Saturday, Slot has confirmed that there is a chance Wirtz could face the Hammers.
“He felt his back in the warm-up,” Slot explained after the Forest victory. “We don’t think it’s serious. He wasn’t able to be 100% or close enough to it to start.”
“We hope and expect that he will be able to be with us again next week, but yeah, you never know how things work out.”
There was also confirmation that Frimpong has returned to training, but will likely miss out on West Ham’s visit.
“Jeremie will not be involved this weekend yet. We hope he will be involved next week if things go as planned.”
Liverpool and West Ham’s hunt for points
Both West Ham and Liverpool are on the hunt for points, having 11 games left in the Premier League to achieve their goals.
Liverpool’s win over Nottingham Forest has left them in touching distance of the Champions League places. Slot’s side sit 6th, level on points with 5th placed Chelsea. In 4th sit Manchester United, who have turned their season around, the Reds know they need points to catch their rivals, with them having the advantage of only being in one competition.
Slot’s team have only had one win of more than a single goal in their last five games. With Wirtz status up in the air, they will have to take on West Ham’s stout defence regardless.
Both side’s will fight a hard game, with Liverpool offering bags of quality, that is yet to reach it’s true potential.
