Liverpool moved back into second in the Premier League table courtesy of a 4-1 win over West Ham United at Anfield this afternoon.
Guy Demel turned the ball into his own net to open the scoring just before the break, while it was 2-0 at the start of the second half after Mamadou Sakho turned the ball goalwards from a Steven Gerrard free kick.
A Martin Skrtel own goal gave the Hammers a glimmer of hope, but Luis Suarez restored their two-goal cushion before Kevin Nolan was shown a straight red card for a foul on Jordan Henderson.
Suarez then capped off the scoring with a shot from 25 yards that took a big deflection off Joey O'Brien.
You can read how an action-packed afternoon of football unfolded with Sports Mole's live commentary below.
Right, that's all we have time for this afternoon! Thank you very much for joining Sports Mole for what was another action-packed match at Anfield as Liverpool ran out 4-1 winners over 10-man West Ham. I will leave you with our match report, and be sure to stick around for reaction and analysis, which will both be on site shortly. If it's more live football you're after, then we have that covered too - you can follow Sunderland vs. Tottenham with us here. From me, though, it is goodbye!
So, five goals - four of which were potentially own goals - and a red card, you can't say that Anfield doesn't provide drama at the moment. The result, coupled with others today, lifts Liverpool up to second in the table, while West Ham are now level on points with Palace either side of the dreaded dotted line.
Guy Demel opened the scoring at the wrong end on the stroke of half time, inadvertently turning Jussi Jaaskelainen's save into his own net. There is some confusion over who got Liverpool's second just after the break, with Sakho, Skrtel and a James Collins own goal all laying claim to it. Skrtel's name is certainly on the scoresheet having turned the ball into his own net shortly afterwards, but Suarez soon restored Liverpool's two-goal lead. Kevin Nolan was then sent off before Suarez capped off the scoring with a deflected that may well go down as a Joey O'Brien own goal.
It is another celebratory atmosphere at Anfield as Liverpool continue their superb recent goalscoring form with a 4-1 win over West Ham. Things got a little uncomfortable for the Reds briefly in the second half when West Ham pulled it back to 2-1, but the result was ultimately a fair one after a dominant second 45 from the hosts.
FULL TIME: Liverpool 4-1 West Ham
Coutinho flashes a shot goalwards that Jaaskelainen does well to keep out. The veteran keeper may have conceded four goals this afternoon but without him it would be a lot worse.
YELLOW CARD! Collins picks up a yellow card for blocking Coutinho off after the Brazilian had found Suarez with a short pass.
There will be three minutes of added time at the end of this match.
It's Allen's turn to go for goal this time, flashing a 25-yard effort narrowly over the bar. Liverpool have been superb in this second half, West Ham simply haven't been able to cope with them.
CLOSE! Henderson slips the ball to Suarez, who is beginning to terrorise the West Ham defence now. He fakes a shot to buy some space, before drilling the ball across goal, almost causing another own goal. We may well have had three own goals already this afternoon, depending on how the dubious goal committee look at it.
Anfield is certainly the place to come for goals at the moment! This makes it 25 in the last five matches at this ground, keeping up the average of five per game, and we're not done yet.
CHANCE! Suarez should have another! He bears down on goal and hesitates until Jaaskelainen commits himself. The West Ham keeper does well to stay up until he absolutely has to go down, making it so Suarez runs the ball out of play when taking it past him. The Uruguayan is livid with himself for not making the most of that one!
It's another dubious goal, but I'm sure this one will go down as an own goal. Suarez twists and turns on the edge of the box to make space to shoot before finally firing an effort goalwards. It takes a huge deflection off O'Brien on the way through, beating a helpless Jaaskelainen.
GOAL! Liverpool 4-1 West Ham (Joey O'Brien og)
Things were looking promising for West Ham just five minutes ago, but now they are two goals behind and down to 10 men. He scrapes his boot right down the back of Henderson's leg, and can have no real complaints at the red card.
RED CARD! Kevin Nolan (West Ham)
YELLOW CARD! Guy Demel is the second man in the book for a clumsy challenge on Coutinho, who span away from the West Ham defender.
He was bound to score sooner or later, wasn't he?! Much of the praise has to go to Johnson, who delivers a brilliant cross to the back post for the Uruguayan, who plants a header from close range past Jaaskelainen. That is surely game over now.
GOAL! Liverpool 3-1 West Ham (Luis Suarez)
LIVERPOOL SUB: Brendan Rodgers makes his final change of the game as Flanagan makes way for Martin Kelly.
Diame find Jarvis on the left after the wide man had lost Johnson. Jarvis has a chance to go for goal first time, but instead chooses to play it back inside, only finding Skrtel, who clears it away.
Things are getting very scrappy here, and you feel that that could favour West Ham a bit. Liverpool just need to keep the ball now and calm the game down.
YELLOW CARD! The first card of the match goes to Joe Cole for a bad tackle on Allen. The West Ham man had just lost control of the ball and was trying to get it back, so there was no malice there, but it was certainly not a pretty challenge.
West Ham are certainly back in this one now, and their fans are responding to that. Diame fires a powerful long-range strike wide of the mark, but it still raises the volume in the away section even further. They are certainly louder now than they were 10 minutes ago!
LIVERPOOL SUB: Raheem Sterling has missed a couple of good chances today but, on the whole, has had a decent game. His afternoon is over, however, as he is replaced by Victor Moses.
CHANCE! Big chance for West Ham to level the scores! Once again Liverpool fail to deal with a corner and the ball pings around the box. Collins fires a effort towards the far post where Maiga is waiting, but he can't sort his feet out in time and the chances goes begging.
Liverpool have reassumed control of this one quickly. Coutinho, who has been pulling all of the strings in the match so far, thinks that he has won a corner off Joe Cole, but the referee points for a goal kick.
West Ham needed something like that to get them back into this match. Liverpool had been rampant since the start of the second half, but suddenly the likelihood of the Hammers getting something from the game has drastically increased.
If you ever want a textbook example of the commentator's curse, that would be it. West Ham get back into this match completely against the run of play, and it is a Skrtel own goal which has given them the lifeline. Jarvis peeled off his man at the back post to nod the ball back into the middle, and Skrtel, in an attempt to turn it behind before it reaches Maiga, puts it past Mignolet and into the back of his own net.
GOAL! Liverpool 2-1 West Ham (Martin Skrtel og)
Liverpool are just relentless at the moment, and they have been since the start of the second half. West Ham just can't get out, and Liverpool are peppering Jaaskelainen's goal with shots. It feels like it is only a matter of time before the hosts get their third.
SAVE! What a save that is! That may be one of the best you see all season. Liverpool pour forward yet again and Allen plays a square ball to Sterling inside the box. This time the youngster does everything right, keeping it low and aiming for the corner, but Jaaskelainen changes direction magnificently and makes a wonderful save.
MISS! Oh that is a poor miss from Sterling, it should be 3-0! Coutinho finds Henderson on the right and the England international feeds it back in to Sterling, who should have a relatively easy finish. He is under heavy pressure from the defence, however, and blazes his effort well over.
Skrtel wins the ball in the West Ham box and passes it to Sakho, whose shot is blocked. The ball goes out as far as Flanagan, but his powerful long-range effort was well blocked.
Suarez trades passes with Coutinho before advancing into the box. He looks like he has been forced out wide but a quick turn forces O'Brien to make a last-ditch sliding tackle, conceding a corner.
SAVE! Liverpool are really laying siege to the West Ham defence at the start of this second half. Coutinho is again involved as he fires a curling low effort towards goal that Jaaskelainen is forced to shovel away.
WEST HAM SUB: The visitors also make a change as Tomkins is replaced in the back four by Joey O'Brien.
LIVERPOOL SUB: Gerrard does indeed make way to be replaced by Lucas Leiva. The Liverpool skipper knew immediately that his game was over there.
Suarez finds Coutinho is a sweeping ball across field, but the Brazilian wastes it by flashing his shot from a tight angle well over the bar.
Superb from Suarez as he nips in to win the ball back before immediately feeding Gerrard. The skipper takes his time before deciding to shoot, eventually seeing his effort deflected wide by Collins. Gerrard walks away limping, and that could be the end of his afternoon.
At the other end, Sakho shows his more natural abilities with a vital interception to stop a West Ham attack. The visitors hasn't given up on this one but you must say that they are unlikely to score two away from goal in their current form.
It seems that the goal has been given to Sakho, who got the initial touch from Gerrard's free kick. It is very close, but I think that is just about the right decision. It still may be one for the dubious goals committee to review, however.
CHANCE! From the resulting corner, Suarez peels off his man and plants a header straight at Jaaskelainen. He made good contact with that and will be disappointed that he didn't do better.
SAVE! Sterling finds space on the right and drills a low shot towards the near post that Jaaskelainen does well to get down and turn round the post.
What a start to the second half for Liverpool, who pick up where they left off in the first. It is hard to see whose goal that actually is, with Sakho turning Gerrard's curling free kick towards goal. Collins and Skrtel were both in close attendance as the ball was poked over the line, but whether it is a Sakho goal, a Skrtel goal or a Collins own goal, Liverpool have doubled their lead!
GOAL! Liverpool 2-0 West Ham (Mamadou Sakho)
WEST HAM SUB: The visitors have made one change at the break, and it is a straight swap of Liverpool old boys as Joe Cole replaces Downing.
KICKOFF: West Ham get us back underway at Anfield as they look to get themselves back into this match.
The players are beginning to filter back out onto the field now ahead of a big second half for both teams. A point at Anfield would be a big bonus for West Ham, while anything less than three for Liverpool would be a disappointment.
Their main problem may be successfully shifting the balance between attack and defence. On the whole, they coped with Liverpool's attack, especially Suarez, well in that first half, but they will need to be a bit more adventurous if they are to rescue anything from this game, so that could give Suarez more room to manoeuvre.
However, it must be said that it is hard to see them scoring twice and going on to win this match. Remember, Liverpool have gone into the break ahead more often than any other side this season, and they have not lost from that position yet. I can't really see today ending that run, but West Ham showed enough in that first half to suggest that they are still a threat here.
Liverpool do probably just about deserve their lead, but West Ham are by no means out of this match. They had a couple of good opportunities in the first half, most notably when Maiga was denied by a fine Mignolet save. They are happy to soak up the pressure for most of the game but will know as well as anyone that Liverpool have struggled to keep clean sheets this season. As long as the gap remains just one goal, West Ham have a chance in this match.
Liverpool were in control for much of the first half but struggled to break down the stubborn defence of West Ham, James Collins in particular had a very good half for the Hammers. Suarez has made a couple of bright breaks, while Sterling has also seen a couple of good chances fall to him but, on the whole, the hosts have been limited to long shots.
Right, back to Anfield and what an intriguingly poised match we have on our hands here. While Wednesday's win was awash with glorious goals, it is a very messy one that separates the two sides at the break in this game. Guy Demel was the unlucky player to scored the own goal, which gives Liverpool a slender lead at the halfway stage.
UPDATE: Before we take a look at that first half, let me just bring you news from two other matches as both Southampton (Osvaldo) and Stoke (Crouch) have equalised against Man City and Chelsea respectively. It is now 1-1 in both of those matches.
HALF-TIME: Liverpool 1-0 West Ham United
CHANCE! Liverpool fail to clear a dangerous Downing delivery from a corner, prompting a goalmouth scramble. Jarvis has the best chance in the midst of that, but his low strike was blocked by a Liverpool defender.
There will be a minimum of just one minute added time at the end of this first half.
CHANCE! Another big chance for Liverpool to double their lead! It is brilliant from Sterling, who beats Collins before nodding the ball into the path of Suarez. The Uruguayan only has the keeper to beat and goes for goal first time, but slices his volley a long, long way wide. He won't want to see that one again.
Oh that is so unfortunate for West Ham! Suarez is involved again, but this one won't go into the same scrapbook as his four on Wednesday. His low shot is saved by Jaaskelainen, but it bounces back in off the shins of Demel, who is in the wrong place at the wrong time. Desperately unlucky for West Ham, but Liverpool won't be complaining.
GOAL! Liverpool 1-0 West Ham (Guy Demel og)
CHANCE! Huge chance for Liverpool. Coutinho sends a superb ball behind the defence that Sterling races on to, showing incredible pace to beat Tomkins to the ball. That puts him one-on-one with Jaaskelainen, but he pokes it a yard or so wide of the post when he probably should have gone round the keeper.
West Ham make a quick break forward and McCartney plays the ball in to Jarvis down the left. The winger slides a fine low ball right across the face of goal, but none of his teammates are attacking the ball. Maiga could have had a tap-in if he was on his toes there!
The ball pinballs around the West Ham area and almost falls for Suarez at one point, but Downing is back and alert to clear the danger off the toes of the striker.
Liverpool make a promising break forward with Suarez showing his dancing feet before feeding Sterling, who just can't bring the ball under control. It comes back out to Gerrard, who sends a raking cross-field ball to Suarez, but Demel stands firm to stop the Uruguayan in his tracks.
Downing twists and turns inside the box to find space for a cross, but he can't find a white shirt as Liverpool flick it away. That was a good position wasted by the former Liverpool winger.
Sterling makes a good run in behind the defence and is found by a reverse pass. He chooses to go for goal first time, which was always going to be difficult, and his shot trickles into the arms of Jaaskelainen. Had he taken a touch then he would have been the wrong side of Demel and could have drawn the foul.
Suarez picks the ball up on the edge of the box but is forced to poke it out wide rather than go for goal himself. Coutinho is the recipient and tries to find space to cross, only for Collins to be well-placed at the near post and clear the danger.
Suarez started this match brightly but he has struggled to make much of an impact in the last 10 minutes or so. West Ham are certainly getting tight to him, which is something that Norwich were accused of not doing on Wednesday.
SHOT! Johnson zips the ball in to Sterling, who controls it before teeing up Coutinho. The Brazilian goes for goal from range, flashing his shot a couple of yards wide of the right post. Liverpool are being restricted to long range efforts at the moment.
Nolan trips Allen and that earns him a talking to by Michael Oliver. You feel that his next foul will draw the first yellow card of the match.
Almost a brilliant pass from Coutinho as he clips it forward with the outside of his boot. Henderson looks for a moment like he will latch on to it, but he just overruns it and Demel is able to come across and eventually clear the danger.
Gerrard lays a short pass off to Suarez, who immediately looks to turn and shoot from range. This time his route to goal is blocked by Tomkins, however, and his effort deflects behind for a corner.
Risky but confident play from Mignolet as he produces a Cruyff turn to escape the attentions of Kevin Nolan, who went flying into the challenge. The crowd love that!
Liverpool have had 59% possession in the opening 20 minutes or so of this match, but they are yet to really click. West Ham have had the best moment of the match with that Maiga header, but Liverpool are just about in control here.
SAVE! Brilliant save from Mignolet! Jarvis whips a fine cross into the box and Maiga does really well to get in front of his man and flick a powerful header towards the corner, only to be denied by a fabulous stop. Maiga thought he had scored, and he wasn't the only one!
Sterling makes his way down the right and produces a dangerous low ball into the box. No-one is making the run towards the near post, however, giving Jaaskelainen the chance to come out and collect it. Good delivery from the youngster, though.
UPDATE: It's a good day for the away teams so far. Norwich have now taken the lead at the Hawthorns, Gary Hooper making it 1-0 for the Canaries against West Brom.
Suarez gives it to Henderson on the edge of the box and continues his run into the area. Henderson curls the ball goalwards but it hits Suarez, who just can't react quickly enough to dodge it or flick it on.
CHANCE! Mignolet has been criticised for not having the same level of distribution as his predecessor Pepe Reina, but the Spaniard would have been proud of this. He releases Sterling on the counter with a huge throw, and the youngster whips a ball in towards Henderson at the back post. The Liverpool man gets a shot in, but it hits a West Ham defender and goes out for a corner.
West Ham are coming back into this one right now. Downing wastes a promising free kick with a poor delivery, but it comes back and Maiga sees his deflected shot loop wide for a corner, which Mignolet comes out to claim.
UPDATE: Bad news for Liverpool coming up: both Manchester City and Chelsea have taken the lead. Sergio Aguero has made it 1-0 to City against Southampton, while Andre Schurrle has broken the deadlock for Chelsea against Stoke.
SAVE! End-to-end stuff at the moment! Coutinho plays a nice pass behind the defence to Suarez, but the Uruguayan's shot is tame and easy for Jaaskelainen to get down and save.
At the other end, Diame slips a delicious pass in to Maiga, but he just can't get his foot to it. That was inches away from being a very good chance.
Suarez seems to have decided that he is only going for wonder goals now. Flanagan gave it to the striker on the edge of the box and he proceeded to chip it towards the far corner, but it was just off target.
UPDATE: The first goal of the 3pm kickoffs has gone the way of struggling Crystal Palace, who have taken a 1-0 lead against Cardiff. Cameron Jerome got the goal, and what a big goal it could prove to be.
Liverpool are starting to take control of this match as they come forward time and time again. This time it is Glen Johnson who is attacking, but his cross is too long for Sterling and goes out harmlessly for a goal kick.
Suarez is slipped in behind the defence, with Collins gesturing frantically for an offside flag. None is forthcoming, however, and Suarez is clean through on goal. Uncharacteristically, he chooses the wrong option in looking to find Sterling when he should have shot, allowing Collins to come back and make the interception.
Liverpool and Suarez's first attack results in a corner, but Gerrard's outswinger is just too high for Skrtel, who had made a good run towards the near post.
It has been a bright start from the visitors here, with Downing receiving the ball on a couple of occasions. He puts a ball in towards Matt Jarvis, but Liverpool are able to successfully defend it.
KICKOFF: Michael Oliver gets us underway at Anfield as Liverpool kick off. Can they produce a repeat performance of Wednesday night or will West Ham manage to frustrate the hosts?
Before kickoff we will have a minute's applause in recognition of the incredible Nelson Mandela, who died earlier this week. Anfield stands as one to pay tribute to the former South African president.
Right, the players are out and the fans are in good voice as they sing along to 'You'll Never Walk Alone'. The main question today is simply whether West Ham can stop Luis Suarez. If they manage that, they will go a long way towards getting something from this match.
Of course, this being a Saturday, this match isn't the only one on today. We have plenty more for you here at Sports Mole, and you can click here to take a look at what we have on offer. Alternatively I will keep you up to date with goings on from around the country in the Premier League as and when they happen.
Furthermore, West Ham have not even scored at Anfield since 2006, a run stretching back six games. The last West Ham player to find the net here was Bobby Zamora back in 2006. He gave the Hammers the lead before goals from Agger and Peter Crouch gave the hosts a 2-1 win.
I think it is fair to say that West Ham would gleefully accept a repeat result of their last visit to Anfield this afternoon. They came away with a goalless draw on that occasion, but their overall record here is pretty woeful. They have won just three times in 55 visits, and have not beaten Liverpool in their own back yard since The Beatles topped the charts in 1963, 50 years ago.
PREDICTION: We're 10 minutes from kickoff at Anfield, which means that it is time for my match prediction! West Ham showed with their 3-0 win over Spurs earlier this season that they are capable of springing a shock, but their protracted away form suggests that that results was very much an anomaly. With Suarez in such form, and Liverpool beginning to make Anfield a fortress once more, I can't look past a comfortable home win this afternoon. I'll go for 3-0 to the Reds.
As for West Ham, we all know how solid their defence is, but they may suffer in the absence of Winston Reid, who is sidelined with an ankle injury. Perhaps their biggest loss, however, will be the bright young talent of Ravel Morrison, who is suspended for today's game. Stewart Downing will have a point to prove, but Allardyce's lineup suggests that attacking will be low down on the list of his priorities this afternoon.
The striker may well be the subject of more attention then usual today after Uruguay were drawn in England's World Cup group yesterday, leading to a potential showdown between Suarez and his club captain Steven Gerrard. Until then, though, his focus seems to be solely on Liverpool, and today it will be on breaking his duck against West Ham. The Hammers are one of just four Premier League sides that Suarez has not scored against, the others being Southampton, Hull and Cardiff.
Suarez has 10 goals in four games at Anfield this season, 10 goals and an assist in his last six Premier League matches overall, and a phenomenal 29 goals in his last 28 appearances for Liverpool. He is averaging a goal every 62.15 minutes and with his four goals against Norwich became the first Premier League player to score a hat-trick of hat-tricks against the same club. We are simply running out of superlatives for the player this season.
Then we come to the star of the show - Luis Suarez. His performance against Norwich was nothing short of mesmerising and a similar display today would almost be enough to win Liverpool the game on its own. He is the league's top scorer with 13 goals - more than West Ham have managed as a team in the current campaign - despite the fact that he missed the start of the season through suspension.
In midfield, Gerrard will be the driving force as always, and alongside him he has two players who have started to really find their feet as Liverpool players this season. Henderson and Allen both had unspectacular starts to their lives at Anfield, but they are beginning to look comfortable in the red shirt now. Coutinho will be the main creative force in midfield while Sterling will be eager to build upon his goal against Norwich on Wednesday.
Flanagan once again gets a chance to show what he can do ahead of Cissokho, while Sakho will also be looking at this as an opportunity to win a place in the starting lineup. West Ham will be extra wary of Glen Johnson, who has scored in three of his last four matches against his former club. Skrtel has rediscovered his form from a couple of season ago this year and will be looking to keep up his impressive displays this afternoon.
So, what can we make of those two teams? Well, starting with Liverpool, it's no real surprise to see Rodgers stick with the side that beat Norwich, as least as much as he could. I was expecting Lucas to come back in but you can see Rodgers's reason for not changing anything he didn't need to. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.
WEST HAM SUBS: Adrian, O'Brien, Collison, Diarra, C. Cole, J. Cole, Taylor
WEST HAM STARTING XI: Jaaskelainen; Demel, McCartney, Collins, Tomkins; Noble, Diame, Nolan, Downing, Jarvis; Maiga
LIVERPOOL SUBS: Jones, Cissokho, Kelly, Lucas, Moses, Alberto, Aspas
LIVERPOOL STARTING XI: Mignolet; Flanagan, Sakho, Skrtel, Johnson; Allen, Gerrard, Henderson; Sterling, Coutinho, Suarez
TEAM NEWS: Right then, I think it is about time I brought you some team news! Liverpool are without Daniel Agger due to illness but, other than that, the team is unchanged to the one that dismantled Norwich in midweek, with Joe Allen staying in and Lucas Leiva remaining on the bench. West Ham, meanwhile, keep Carlton Cole on the bench and his namesake Joe will also be sat alongside against his former club. One player that will be making this return to Anfield, however, is Stewart Downing, who starts for the Hammers having joined them from Liverpool this summer.
Their away form is perfectly representative of their strengths and weaknesses this season. They have conceded just five goals in their seven away games this season - a tally only matched by league leaders Arsenal - yet they have also failed to score in five of those seven matches. They have won just one of their last 12 away games in the Premier League stretching back to last season, although that was a surprising 3-0 triumph over Spurs at White Hart Lane.
On the other hand, and in a mirror image to Liverpool, the Hammers have been very solid at the back despite their league position. Only five teams in the division have conceded fewer goals, and they have the best defensive record in the bottom 12. Only Everton, with eight, have kept more clean sheets than West Ham's seven so far this season, placing even more emphasis on their ability - or lack thereof - to find the net at the other end.
It is painfully obvious where West Ham's deficiencies lie, too. Only three teams in the entire division - two of whom are in the relegation zone - have scored fewer goals than West Ham's 12 this season. Sam Allardyce's men have failed to score in eight of their 14 games in the league this season. Many will point to the absence of Andy Carroll as a major reason behind that but, with the big striker expected to be sidelined for another few weeks despite having returned to training, Allardyce needs to find an answer before it is too late.
They have picked up just 13 points from their opening 14 games, winning three, drawing four and losing seven. They have just one win from their last seven Premier League matches and have lost three of their last four. Perhaps the worst thing for Sam Allardyce is that many of their poor results this season have come against teams that they could realistically expect to take points off, potentially leaving them needing more points against the bigger teams as the season progresses.
As for West Ham, things are beginning to get a little worrying for them. They are looking nervously over their shoulders towards the relegation zone, with just three points separating them from Fulham and Crystal Palace in 18th and 19th respectively. They have played those two in their last two games, beating Fulham 3-0 before falling to a 1-0 defeat at the hands of Palace.
Interestingly, no Premier League team has been leading at half time more often than Liverpool so far this season. Brendan Rodgers's side have gone into the break ahead on 10 different occasions this season and have not yet lost from that position.
Their home form this season has been very impressive, however. They have won their last four games and seven of their eight so far this season. In that spell of four wins from the last four, they have scored 16 goals - never failing to find the net less than three times in those games - and conceded just three.
The main problem for Liverpool, despite a number of clean sheets to start the season, has been conceding goals. No side in the top six has let in more than Liverpool's 17 this season, while only Newcastle and Manchester United have a worse defensive record in the top half of the division.
Scoring goals has certainly not been the problem for Liverpool this season. Only Manchester City, who have been scoring for fun at the Etihad, have found the net more times than Liverpool this season, with the five on Wednesday taking their season tally up to 30.
These matches have been blessed with an incredible number of goals, with the last four alone yielding 20 at an average of five per game. Still, the dropped points leave them seven points behind league leaders Arsenal, a gap that Rodgers will be desperate to close. Games like these are almost must-win matches if they are to do that.
I'll talk more about Suarez a little later, but back to Liverpool's recent form. They have lost two, won two and drawn one of their last five games, which is pretty average form. The Arsenal defeat wouldn't have come as a huge shock to anyone, while the loss to Hull certainly would have. However, interspersed between those low points have been big wins over Fulham and Norwich, and a 3-3 draw against Everton in a wonderful Merseyside derby.
Suarez scored four goals in that match, and the quality was even more impressive than the quantity. Three of them have to be considered truly world class, while the worst of the lot was still a very impressive finish, the type that Sergio Aguero garnered so much praise for when he netted a similar goal in the Manchester derby earlier this season. Suarez's performance on Wednesday was one of the greatest individual showings in Premier League history, and West Ham will have to keep a very close eye on him today.
Their recent results have been a mixture of great highs and disappointing lows, the 3-1 loss to Hull last weekend certainly falling into the latter category. It was a poor performance from the Reds on the day, but one they banished with a virtuoso display - particularly from Luis Suarez - in Wednesday's 5-1 win over Norwich.
We'll start by looking at our hosts this afternoon, and Liverpool come into this match on the back of a turbulent couple of weeks. Their early season form propelled them towards the top of the Premier League and put their name firmly amongst those with a realistic chance of finishing in the top four. However, they have faltered a little of late and now find themselves in the final Champions League spot, only above Merseyside rivals Everton on goal difference.
Good afternoon! Thank you very much for joining Sports Mole for this afternoon's Premier League match between Champions League-chasing Liverpool and relegation candidates West Ham. It promises to be an interesting affair, so let's get straight down to business.
