Liverpool gained another point on Manchester City in the league title race this past week, upping the margin to five, but they could see that deficit reduced to two by the time they kick off on Monday night. The defending champions host Arsenal Sunday in what is no doubt the weekend’s headline match-up.
Monday night brings another northwest of England vs. London club match-up as the Reds tangle with West Ham United.
Hammers boss Manuel Pellegrini believes his team can upset the current table toppers.
“Of course we can beat Liverpool on Monday because every team can win every match in the Premier League,” Pellegrini said. “I don’t know if they are nervous because I was not there in midweek. It will depend on their performance rather than the nerves.
“We want to beat Liverpool. We cannot play on nerves because they have top players who can change the game at any time.
“We need to play at high pace like we did at home to Arsenal and Manchester United and other clubs.”
The Bank Liverpool FC Starting XI Prediction at West Ham United (4-3-3)
Forwards: Sadio Mane, Roberto Firmino, Mohamed Salah
Midfielders: Wijnaldum, Fabinho, Jordan Henderson
Back line: Andrew Robertson, Virgil van Dijk, Dejan Lovren, James Milner
Goalkeeper: Alisson
Liverpool at West Ham United FYIs
Kickoff: Monday, February 4, 8pm, London Stadium
Google Result Probability: Liverpool win 70%, Draw 19%, West Ham win 26%
Odds via Betfair: Liverpool 4/11, Draw 4/1, West Ham 7/1
Injury Report for both sides: go to this link
Prediction: Liverpool 2, West Ham United 0
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, a former writer for NBC Chicago.com and Chicago Tribune.com, regularly appears as a guest pundit on WGN CLTV and co-hosts the “Let’s Get Weird, Sports” podcast on SB Nation.
He also contributes sociopolitical essays to Chicago Now. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram. The content of his cat’s Instagram account is unquestionably superior to his.