Liverpool vs West Ham preview | Confirmed team news | Expected line-ups | Prediction

Liverpool will go one step closer to clinching the Premier League title when they take on West Ham at Anfield this evening.

The Reds tasted a rare defeat last Tuesday night with a 1-0 loss to Atletico Madrid in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie but domestically Jurgen Klopp’s side have been virtually faultless.

A 1-0 victory over Norwich City last weekend made it a staggering 25 wins from 26 Premier League games so far this season with only Manchester United managing to take a point off the champions-elect.

It means Liverpool sit a whopping 19 points clear of Manchester City in the table and they can restore their 22-point lead if they win their game in hand against West Ham this evening, so it’s just a matter of time before the Merseysiders clinch the title.

However, the Hammers will arrive at Anfield desperate for a positive result as they currently sit in the bottom three having won just 6 games all season so David Moyes will be hoping to cause an upset tonight.

Team news

Liverpool were dealt a blow ahead of the game with the news that Jordan Henderson is facing three weeks on the sidelines with a hamstring injury that he picked up against Atletico Madrid last week.

Xherdan Shaqiri is also still on the sidelines as he’s taking longer than expected to recover from a niggling calf injury but Klopp has no other significant injury issues to contend with.

Naby Keita is pushing for a recall to replace Henderson in midfield while Gini Wijnaldum could be given a rest with Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain brought back into the side.

West Ham will be without right-back Ryan Fredericks for the trip to Anfield after he sustained a shoulder ligament injury during the defeat to Man City.

Jack Wilshere is also still unavailable due to a groin injury while Andriy Yarmolenko is still recovering from a thigh problem.

Expected line-ups

Prediction

Liverpool 2-0 West Ham: Liverpool have an excellent record in this fixture as they’ve lost just once in the last 46 league games at Anfield against West Ham. Klopp’s side have been formidable all season and they’ve turned Anfield into a fortress in recent years so I just can’t see the Hammers getting anything tonight. Liverpool have won their last 17 Premier League games on the bounce and it seems inevitable they’ll extend that run to 18 games – equalling Man City’s record. I’m going for a routine 2-0 Liverpool win tonight.