West Ham (a) build up

[captainfog]

If the bib theory is still relevant then from those photos it's a back 4 with Agger and Skittles as the preferred centre backs and coutinho will be on the bench. Maybe Allen?

[Gazzla]

I hope Flanagan or Johnson kicks Downing in the first minute as that will kill the spineless ******* off and also because he is a massive salary thieving **** that bled us dry with his pathetic displays and I hope he suffers immense pain. It's no coincidence that since this ****house ****ed off we're ****ting goals in from all angles.

I ****ing hate Downing, on what drug did we ingest when we offered £20M for this inept ****bag?

[Shaggy]

If the bib theory is still relevant then from those photos it's a back 4 with Agger and Skittles as the preferred centre backs and coutinho will be on the bench. Maybe Allen?

Bib theory hasn't worked for a long time. Think Brendan cottoned on.

[BigChief]

Oh bugger, been calm all week. Even before and during the Spurs game. But a pang of nerves just kicked in this morning.

City at 12.45 tomorrow, followed by Chelsea at 5.30pm. Then Arsenal v Everton and obviously us. I will be swearing all weekend long. Its ironic Everton could play a huge part in our first league win since the middle ages.

[Yozza]

West Ham manager Sam Allardyce tells his media conference that morale is high ahead of the visit of Premier League leaders Liverpool on Sunday after six wins out of their last nine games.

"We're on a top-six run of form at the moment," Boss Nass says. "Hopefully that will give us the chance to challenge Liverpool on Sunday.

"The rest of the team has grown in quality and confidence too. We've got a big job on our hands but we're really looking forward to it."

Allardyce says the Hammers will give a late fitness test to defender George McCartney who is recovering from a hamstring injury picked up in their 2-1 win over Sunderland on Monday.

[Yozza]

West Ham United's Sam Allardyce: 'Luis Suarez is among the world's best'

West Ham United manager Sam Allardyce has praised the form of Liverpool striker Luis Suarez as his side prepare to face the Reds at Upton Park on Sunday.

The Merseyside outfit are currently at the top of the Premier League table with a two-point lead over Chelsea.

For the Hammers, they have all but secured their top-flight safety due to being 11th in the standings on 37 points.

"At the moment, the form of the Liverpool team is at 100%," Allardyce said in Friday's press conference. "The results match that too. They've taken full advantage of other teams slipping up with the goals and results.

"When you have two quality strikers the rest of the team know they'll score if they provide. Suarez finds himself in the top two or three in the world at the moment.

"The commitment he's showed to Liverpool and that Liverpool has shown to him has given him the impetus to improve even from last year."

[Yozza]

West Ham United vs Liverpool from a West Ham POV

http://westhamunitedstats.blogspot.co.uk/

Analysis

I used to know a lot, but now I only really know one Liverpool fan. I saw him on Wednesday night, and, for some reason unbeknownst to me, he is really worried about this game, and genuinely thinks West Ham are going to win.

I don't know of many West Ham fans who share that viewpoint, but if we are to get something out of Sunday afternoon's game, there are few things we need to take into consideration.

Key Player

Liverpool have been so good recently, that I could easily have picked Steven Gerrard, Philippe Coutinho, Jordan Henderson, Raheem Sterling or Daniel Sturridge to talk about here. So many of their players have been in excellent form, that they have won their last eight league games on the trot, and haven't lost in the league in 2014.

But they do have one undoubted star player.

Despite all the biting, spitting and swearing, despite all the theatrics and suspensions, despite the racist comments, Luis Suarez is just about as good as it gets in football at the moment, certainly in the Premier League.

Since the start of last season, the Uruguayan has scored a quite remarkable 52 goals in 60 league appearances for Liverpool. After scoring 23 in 33 last season, it seemed that Suarez was as good as it got. But, somehow, he's gotten better.

Last year, he scored at a rate of one goal every 1.4 games. This year, 0.9. Last year, he managed 5 assists. This year, 11. That's about as unstoppable as it gets.

If West Ham want anything from the game, we need to do what almost everyone has failed to do, and keep Suarez quiet.

How do you stop them?

The easy answer to this question is that you don't, really.

8 wins out of 8. 11 wins out of 13. Undefeated in 13. The only teams outside of the top 4 to have beaten Liverpool this season were Hull and Southampton, but both happened months ago.

For me, the best example to play against this Liverpool side, in this form, is the approach taken by West Bromwich Albion back at the start of February - the last time Liverpool failed to win in the league.

The key to Liverpool's game under Brendan Rodgers, is the ability to keep possession. When they have possession, they have players with the ability to either beat their marker (Suarez, Sterling, Sturridge) or to play a killer pass (Gerrard, Coutinho).

West Brom managed to combat this by refusing to give the Liverpool players any time on the ball. In total, the Baggies put in 50 attempted tackles, all over the park (see first image below). The majority were unsuccessful, but the constant pressure on the ball meant Liverpool were unable to hurt them as they have hurt other teams this season. On top of this, West Brom committed 13 fouls, again, all over the park - particularly in the midfield

Weakest Link

For all their excellence this year, Liverpool have one obvious Achilles Heel: their defence.

The Liverpool backline have shipped goals regularly this season, and always give the opposition a chance to score. But worse than this, almost the whole side have been guilty of concentration lapses gifting the opposition goals and chances.

Of the 20 regular players to feature for the Reds this campaign, only Philippe Coutinho, Iago Aspas, Aly Cissokho, Jon Flanagan and Raheem Sterling have yet to concede an error leading to an attempt on goal.

No player in the division has made more errors leading directly to a goal than Simon Mignolet this season (equal with John Ruddy, on 4), and between Liverpool's centre back collection of Kolo Touré, Martin Skrtel, Daniel Agger and Mamadou Sakho, there have been a combined 11 errors, three of which have led to goals being conceded.

[Yozza]

Paul Merson's Premier League predictions



West Ham v Liverpool (3.30pm, Sun, Sky Sports 1)

Liverpool are not my favourites for the title, but it would be a phenomenal feat if they do it.

At the start of the season they needed to pull up trees just to get into the top four, so they’ve done brilliantly to get to this position, but I think the winning run could end here because this is a very hard game. People think they’ve just got to turn up to win games, but it won’t be like that. West Ham will get the ball forward quickly, Andy Carroll will cause problems and they will be very disciplined; it won’t be like Tottenham who just laid down and made it easy for them! The longer this game goes on the more nervous they might get and I think it will be a draw. I’ve seen this so many times – a team is rolling along and it just takes one bad result. The pressure will be on them because they are playing last of the three teams and that’s not nice.

PAUL PREDICTS: 1-1

[BigChief]

Merson

The desperation in his voice. The unheard "pleasepleaseplease let it happen" after every negative point he makes. Love the beer can picture.

As for the West Ham fan 'praising' Suarez? When did Luis spit at someone in the premier league? The errors that led to conceded goals (I think) ALL contained Toure. He won't be playing.

Our defence is a 'weakness' come and give it a go matey. I suggest you push your fullbacks right up to Support Carroll. That should kill us off.

[Fosterbloke]

I'm going to watch the City match. It kicks off at 9:45pm which is great for me.

I hope Southampton get a bloody result. I think I'll wake the baby if they do!

[Pablo]

Fear not, 'cos Lawro's here!

Pessimistic Liverpool fans might look at this game and think that ex-Reds Stewart Downing and Andy Carroll will be lying in wait, and so will West Ham boss Sam Allardyce.

The Hammers got booed off against Hull then went and won at Sunderland and now they are targeting three wins in just over a week.
The pressure is off Allardyce's men because they have got 37 points and they are absolutely safe.
For this game, I can see Allardyce denying Liverpool space to play and looking to hit Carroll early with the ball, then trying to get bits and pieces around him from his knockdowns.
At the moment against Liverpool, route one might be the way to go. Aston Villa did it at Anfield in January and could have had that game sewn up by half-time.
This will be a much tougher task for Liverpool than last week's walk in the park against Tottenham.
Even so, good teams find a way to win games and the way the Reds are at the moment, I am backing them to win this one.

Lawro's prediction: 1-2

Safe

[Sarb]

No doubt Sam will have his players fired up against us. Not like the bending over effort against utd

My mate who is a Hammer is confident they will beat us. Quite the opposite of what he thinks every other season. Says they do well against teams who play football

[Tee]

I reckon we are going to batter them good and proper. We are on a f*****g roll!

[Yozza]

I reckon we are going to batter them good and proper. We are on a f*****g roll!

[fah-q]

David Sullivan has said we are the best team in the world at the moment.