da marjack bet： Ahead of their Premier League fixture this Sunday, few are giving West Ham much hope of overcoming a Liverpool side who were decimating the top flight in imperious fashion until a shock defeat to Bournemouth last weekend.
da dobrowin： Indeed, that may have curtailed the Reds’ momentum somewhat but they’re still the Premier League’s top scorers with a staggering 35 goals and sit just four points behind table-toppers Chelsea.
West Ham, in direct contrast, are only three points off the bottom, one above the relegation zone, and have conceded the second-most goals of any Premier League side this season – 29 in 14 games.
Off the back of humiliating defeats to Manchester United and Arsenal, most are expecting the Hammers to be dealt another hefty thumping at Anfield this weekend.
But Premier League sides are often at their most dangerous when in need of a result and despite the vast chasm separating them in the table, a plethora of statistics point to a shock West Ham win. FootballFanCast take a look at THREE…
Last six encounters & brilliant Bilic
Considering their current disparity in the Premier League table, you might be surprised to learn it’s actually West Ham who lead Liverpool in terms of recent encounters (courtesy of Whoscored), winning four of the last six compared to the Reds’ solitary victory – which came all the way back in January 2015 – and netting more than twice as many goals in the process.
Of course, the two sides are very different this season and enter the match in completely polarised form, one looking to continue their title bid and the other hoping to distance themselves from the relegation zone.
But if there’s one man who seems to know the Liverpool cheat codes, it’s Hammers boss Slaven Bilic. As shown below (courtesy of TransferMarkt), from the six times he’s faced the Reds as a manager, he’s claimed an impressive four victories and lost just once. That harks back to his Besiktas days and gives the Hammers boss an average haul of 2.17 points-per-match against the Merseyside outfit.
Aerial bombardment
If this Liverpool team has one standout weakness, it’s a lack of natural height. Joel Matip, Dejan Lovren, Jordan Henderson and Emre Can are the only regulars who measure in above 6ft. and that’s had an inevitable impact on Liverpool’s efforts in the air this season – as shown by the above statistics, courtesy of Whoscored.
Indeed, the Reds have won the fourth-fewest aerial duels-per-match of any Premier League side so far this season and although West Ham rank just three places higher, towering front-man Andy Carroll has just come back into the fray, even finding the net in a 17-minute substitute outing vs. Arsenal last weekend.
From just 107 minutes of Premier League action this season, Carroll has won eleven headers, whilst he ranked fourth throughout the entire division for successful aerial duels last season (once again, courtesy of Whoscored). In a nutshell, the 6ft. 4″ striker is the ideal candidate to capitalise on Liverpool’s aerial frailties, particularly at set pieces – which brings us nicely onto…
Contrasting fortunes at set pieces
Inherently linked to their limited height, Liverpool have been almost synonymous with ropy defending at set pieces over the last five years. There has been a notable improvement this season but Jurgen Klopp’s side still aren’t the most convincing at corners, even conceding from one against Bournemouth last weekend – albeit, via a superb bit of play from centre-back Steve Cook.
At the same time, even in the absence of Andy Carroll, West Ham have scored the fourth-most goals from set pieces of any Premier League side this term. They have the perfect personnel to make it count against the Reds, with Dimitri Payet and Manuel Lanzini both excellent providers and Winston Reid, Angelo Ogbonna, Cheikhou Kouyate and the aforementioned Carroll all fantastic targets in the air.
If West Ham can keep it tight down their own end and take advantage of set pieces at the other, especially if Liverpool revert back to their usual disorganised selves, they have a great chance of sneaking a win at Anfield.
Image courtesy of Whoscored.