Having both claimed opening Europa League wins in eerily identical circumstances, Premier League high-flyers Liverpool and West Ham United resume domestic action at Anfield on Sunday afternoon.

The Reds came from behind to beat LASK Linz 3-1 in midweek, while the Hammers also recovered from a one-goal deficit to see off Backa Topola in Europe.

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Coming from behind to triumph has been the theme for Liverpool during the earliest weeks of the 2023-24 season, and just like at Molineux last weekend, Jurgen Klopp's side consigned a slow start to the history books with a glut of second-half goals.

Florian Flecker's stunning drive put the Austrian side ahead in the Group E clash - which was Liverpool's first Europa League match for over seven years - but Darwin Nunez's penalty, Luis Diaz's first-time finish and Mohamed Salah's landmark goal saw the Reds travel back to Merseyside with maximum points.

Salah's 42nd Liverpool goal in Europe - the joint-most for an English player alongside Arsenal icon Thierry Henry - helped Klopp become the first Reds manager in history to achieve 50 continental wins, and his side head into the weekend on a five-game victorious streak in all tournaments, although they conceded the first goal in four of those games.

However, fighting fire with even more fire has been the way forward for Liverpool, who are in the bronze medal position in the Premier League table - only two points behind Manchester City and behind Tottenham Hotspur on goals scored, having found the back of the net on one fewer occasion than the Lilywhites.

Despite their recent penchant for giving up the first goal, Liverpool's unbeaten Premier League run at Anfield now stands at 14 matches since Leeds United's stunning 2-1 success last October, and they have only failed to score in one of their last 44 top-flight games at their Merseyside headquarters.

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There should not have been a more relieved man at the London Stadium than Angelo Ogbonna on Thursday night, as the centre-back's horror error allowed Backa Topola's Petar Stanic to storm through and propel the Serbian minnows into the unlikeliest of leads in their Europa League opener.

However, while Liverpool were busy fighting back against LASK, David Moyes's men turned the tide in their favour against Backa Topola, as a Nemanja Petrovic own goal preceded a pair of headers from debutant Mohammed Kudus and Tomas Soucek in the English capital.

James Ward-Prowse was unsurprisingly the architect of both set-piece goals during another fine display from the former Southampton captain, who opened the scoring in last week's Premier League encounter with Manchester City before the champions struck back through Jeremy Doku, Bernardo Silva and Erling Haaland.

Nevertheless, that beating at the hands of the champions remains the only blemish on the Hammers' record so far, and Moyes's side occupy a healthy sixth place in the table with 10 points to their name, but they remain without a clean sheet since the season commenced.

The Irons have come away from Brighton & Hove Albion and Luton Town's territories with a maximum haul so far this term, but they have not won three Premier League away games on the trot since October 2021, and seven of their last eight league contests with Liverpool have ended in defeat.

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One slightly sour note of Liverpool's win over LASK Linz was the enforced withdrawal of full debutant Ryan Gravenberch, who looked particularly jaded as he made his way around the perimeter of the field in the second half.

Klopp is hopeful that the Dutchman was only suffering from cramp, but Sunday's game is still expected to come too soon for Trent Alexander-Arnold (hamstring) and Thiago Alcantara (hip) to make their competitive comebacks.

After making a full 11 changes for the Europa League, Klopp will be expected to green-light a similar set of alterations for the visit of West Ham, especially with Diaz and Nunez - who claimed a goal and assist apiece - both completing the full 90 minutes in Austria.

Speaking of newly-signed midfielders suffering from fatigue, West Ham lynchpin Edson Alvarez was absent from the win over Backa Topola for that exact reason, but the former Ajax man is expected to make an immediate return to the first XI here.

Alvarez's comeback would leave the West Ham treatment room almost empty, but Aaron Cresswell came off with a hamstring issue at half time on Thursday, while Jarrod Bowen was absent with a virus and will need assessing too.

Moyes is suffering from the best kind of selection headache in attack following Kudus's starring role in the Europa League, which could see the Ghana international given the nod over Soucek if the Irons boss risks a more attacking lineup.

A wealth of changes will be afoot at the back, though, as Alphonse Areola, Vladimir Coufal, Kurt Zouma, Nayef Aguerd and Emerson Palmieri prepare to return, while Danny Ings will make way for Michail Antonio at the tip of the attack.

Liverpool possible starting lineup:
Alisson; Gomez, Konate, Van Dijk, Robertson; Szoboszlai, Mac Allister, Jones; Salah, Gakpo, Jota

West Ham United possible starting lineup:
Areola; Coufal, Zouma, Aguerd, Emerson; Ward-Prowse, Alvarez; Bowen, Kudus, Benrahma; Antonio

We say: Liverpool 3-1 West Ham United

Barring Liverpool's 3-0 win over Aston Villa earlier this month, both teams have found the back of the net in every one of the Reds' and West Ham's fixtures this term, and an entertaining encounter with plenty of goalmouth action should be on the menu at Anfield too.

Klopp and Moyes will both be able to recall well-rested big-hitters to their respective starting lineups as well, and while Liverpool's sheets will likely remain unclean, the Merseyside giants should capitalise on the Hammers' ongoing defensive frailties to record a sixth win on the bounce.


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Written by
Ben Knapton

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