Liverpool vs. West Ham
Venue: Anfield Stadium
Kick off: 6:30pm
Liverpool turn their attention to the FA Cup on Saturday (today) as they host West Ham United in an all-Premier League fourth-round clash at Anfield.
The tie is a repeat of the classic 2006 final in which Steven Gerrard inspired Liverpool to a penalty shootout victory – both the last time that the Reds won the trophy and that West Ham reached the final.
This year will mark the 10-year anniversary of Liverpool’s last FA Cup triumph, when perhaps their greatest ever player had his greatest game for the club against the very same opponents that they will face today.
Gerrard’s final season at the club could have ended with the FA Cup final on his 35th birthday, but defeat to Aston Villa in the semis ended the dream of a fairytale finish.
The post-Gerrard era has not exactly been smooth sailing so far, with a change of management and inconsistent results making for a frustrating season for Liverpool. However, Jurgen Klopp could find himself winning silverware within four months of his arrival at the club following their victory in the semi-finals of the League Cup earlier this week, which would see him surpass Brendan Rodgers’s trophy cabinet already.
The performance was not great in the second leg at Anfield as they lost to Stoke City at home for the first time in 57 years, but the aggregate score took them all the way to penalties, which Liverpool won to book a Wembley showdown with Manchester City on February 28.
The FA Cup provides another chance for the club to return to Anfield South, as it was known during their heyday, but things were not as straightforward as they might have liked in the first hurdle of this year’s competition.
League Two Exeter City forced the Reds to a replay in the third round with a 2-2 draw at St James’ Park, before Liverpool eased to a 3-0 victory at Anfield to set up this weekend’s all-Premier League clash.
Those extra games added to an already-packed fixture schedule, with today’s match being their ninth in January alone, and victory would guarantee at least seven games next month too.
Klopp will, therefore, likely make a number of changes to his starting lineup, although perhaps not to the extent in which he did against Exeter, when he fielded a number of youngsters against lower league opposition.
Liverpool have only won one of their last four FA Cup games against fellow top-flight opposition, and are yet to beat a Premier League team at Anfield in 2016.
However, they have not lost any of their last eight FA Cup games in front of their own fans, are unbeaten inside 90 minutes here in this competition since 2008 and have not even conceded an FA Cup goal at Anfield since 2012 – the last time they reached the final.
The Hammers are just one point off the top five with only 15 matches left of the season, and sit above today’s opponents in the standings.
Slaven Bilic will also draw on his side’s two victories over Liverpool already this season, both of which were fairly comfortable as West Ham recorded their first league double over the Reds for 52 years.
The most recent of those is part of an ongoing run which has seen West Ham lose just once in their last 11 matches in all competitions, although that record does include six draws and dropped points against the likes of West Bromwich Albion, Swansea City and Aston Villa.
Their latest draw was more impressive, however, as they led twice against Manchester City at Upton Park, only to be pegged back on each occasion by Sergio Aguero after Enner Valencia had hit a brace of his own.
Liverpool possible starting lineup: Mignolet, Clyne, Lovren, Sakho, Moreno, Henderson, Allen, Can, Milner, Benteke, Ibe.
West Ham possible starting lineup: Adrian, Byram, Tomkins, Reid, Cresswell, Kouyate, Song, Noble, Moses, Valencia, Payet.