Key events
An email: “That is the 23rd time Liverpool have hit the post this campaign,” writes Declan Brennan. “Nice to see it wasn’t Nunez this time though; nine for him alone this season.” Like Larry David on Curb Your Enthusiasm, Liverpool clearly respect wood.
That goal: West Ham took a quick corner while Liverpool’s defenders were completely switched off. Emerson played the ball short to Kudus, who curled a cross into the penalty area while a couple of Liverpool defenders (hello Virgil and Trent) were quite obviously not paying attention. As the ball came into the box, Bowen rose completely unchallenged to powerfully nod home his 20th goal of the season.
Half-time: West Ham 1-0 Liverpool
Peep! A very pedestrian and largely uneventful first half meanders towards its conclusion with no sign of a reaction from Liverpool. Jarrod Bowen’s goal was the highlight of a half in which not a great deal else of note happened. Liverpool’s players look to have thrown in the towel as far as keeping their extremely faint title hopes alive is concerned.
45 min: Jurgen Klopp is appalled by what he’s just seen and it’s no surprise. He’s watched his team go behind again, conceding from a set-piece … again. Bowen, who is not a big man, was surrounded by Liverpool players as he leapt unchallenged in the box to power that excellent header home. A tip of the hat to Mohammed Kudus, whose delivery was excellent.
GOAL! West Ham 1-0 Liverpool (Bowen 44)
West Ham lead! Moments after going close with a deflected shot that Alisson was forced to put behind, Jarrod Bowen rises unmarked to head home from the corner. Liverpool concede the first goal for the 16th time in the Premier League this season.
42 min: Bowen whips a free-kick from deep over the top of Liverpool’s high defensive line. Soucek gets in behind and flings himself in the direction of the ball but is unable to get the crucial touch on it.
40 min: On the ball in the West Ham penalty area, Luis Diaz fires a shot through a gap between Coufal and Soucek only to see his effort strike the foot of the post. That’s the nearest we’ve come to a goal so far.
39 min: Retrieving an overhit cross from Harvey Elliott near the byline, Luis Diaz lays the ball off to Cody Gakpo in a good position. The Dutchman blasts the ball high and wide with the outside of his right foot.
38 min: Coufal sends a long, hopeful hoof down the pitch from deep only to see the ball bounce out of play for a throw-in. It’s that kind of game …
34 min: Liverpool continue to dominate possession but West Ham look more dangerous on their sorties forward in a game that has a real end-of-season, nothing-to-play-for feel about it. Both sets of players seem to be doing little more than going through the motions, while the atmosphere in the stands is pancake flat.
33 min: Harvey Elliott has the ball played his way in a good position by Mac Allister and shoots low, hard and straight at Alphonse Areola.
31 min: A half-chance for West Ham, as Paqueta sends the ball into the Liverpool penalty area. The ball doesn’t drop kindly for Bowen but squirms towards Coufal. The full-back’s low drive takes a nick off a defender but is saved by Alisson.
30 min: Wataru Endo is booked for a tactical foul on Kudus.
27 min: Cody Gakpo is felled by Ogbonna in the Liverpool penalty area and referee Anthony Taylor bides his time before awarding Liverpool a penalty. They won’t get to take it, however, as Luis Diaz was offside in the build-up. There’s a long VAR check soundtracked by boos from the crowd and small wonder – it was a quite obvious offside so there’s no need for this performative nonsense from the curtain-twitchers in Stockley Park.
24 min: Michail Anotonio takes a throw-in, receives the return pass and scuttles to the byline, where the ball is put out for another throw-in near the corner flag. Antonio takes this one too, Delapping the ball into the Liverpool penalty area, where it’s headed clear.
23 min: Gravenberch jinks his way down the left before pulling the ball inside to the centre. Mac Allister is crowded off the ball after running into traffic on the edge of the West Ham penalty area.
20 min: Alexander-Arnold takes the free-kick, fizzing the ball over the defensive wall but unable to keep it low enough to trouble Areola. Over the bar.
19 min: Kudus fouls Gakpo a couple of yards outside the West Ham penalty area and Liverpool have a free-kick in prime Trent Alexander-Arnold real estate.
18 min: Liverpool corner. Robertson’s inswinger is headed clear. The atmosphere on the pitch and in the London Stadium stands seems remarkably quiet.
17 min: Ryan Gravenberch tries to drill a low ball across the face of the West Ham goal, hoping to pick out Gakpo. His delivery is too close to Areola, who dives on the ball.
16 min: Alisson is quick off his line to snuff out any danger by putting an end to an impromptu game of head tennis which had broken out in the Liverpool penalty area.
13 min: Liverpool are doubling up on Kudus whenever the ball comes his way out on the left flank, making life difficult for the Ghanaian. He loses the ball but a loose pass niside from Harvey Elliott allows Bowen to pounce and send a low shot goalwards. Alisson spares his teammate’s blushes.
12 min: Good work from Jarrod Bowen and Mohammed Kudus, who combine down the inside-left to win a corner for West Ham. Emerson’s delivery is better on this occasion but Liverpool clear their lines after the ball bounces in the penlaty area.
11 min: Robertson curls a cross into the West Ham penalty area, standing the ball up nicely for Cody Gakpo. He can’t any purchase on his header and flicks the ball towards Harvey Elliott, who smashes a shot into the side-netting from a tightish angle.
10 min: Edson Alvarez fouls Mac Allister about 40 yards from the West Ham goal and Liverpool take a quick free-kick. Nothing comes of it.
8 min: Trent Alexander-Arnold drops the ball into the West Hamn penalty area, where Virgil van Dijk gets to it just ahead of Zouma but can only help it over the bar.
6 min: Paqueta catches Alexis Mac Allister with a late challenge, crunching his studs into the Argentinian’s instep. It’s a sore one and the West Ham midfielder is lucky to avoid a booking. Free-kick for Liverpool halfway between the halway line and the edge of the West Ham penalty area.
5 min: West Ham corner from the left. With James Ward-Prowse kicking his heels on the bench, Emerson takes responsibility for taking it. Or doesn’t – his delivery is poor and Andy Robertson clears with a header at the near post.
2 min: Lucas Paqueta wins possession for West Ham but immediately gives the ball back to Liverpool, who have started very aggressively and are hogging the ball in these early stages. Ryan Gravenberch directs a cushioned right-foot volley across the face of the West Ham goal but there’s nobody there in a Liverpool shirt to poke the ball home.
1 min: Andy Robertson gets an early delivery into the West Ham penalty area, where it’s headed away by Kurt Zouma, the home side’s skipper.
West Ham v Liverpool is go …
1 min: Liverpool get the ball rolling, the opening seconds of the game soundtracked by a rousing rendition of I’m Forever Blowing Bubbles sung by the West Ham fans.
Not long now: Led by referee Anthony Taylor and his match officials, the teams have made the long, long walk from the tunnel to the London Stadium pitch. Kick-off is just a couple of minutes away.
Jurgen Klopp: “It’s definitely a challenge, but it’s part of the job,” said the Liverpool manager, upon being asked how he would raise his players morale after their largely unexpected defeat at Everton. “I can’t remember ever being as disappointed or frustrated after a game like I was after Everton.
“I’ve unfortunately lost a lot of games in my life, but it was special. We were not there. You see the other two [Arsenal and Manchester City] playing very positive football, high results, but we are where we are because in this precise area, we don’t play positive football.
“I blame myself for that – 100%. I don’t know why or how it happened, but I’m responsible for the mood the team is in, and this team was not. In general, like I said, we don’t play positive football. It always feels in the end [like] we are always catching up with something.
“I think even Arsenal and City see it as a two-horse race. We might have to say something else publicly, but they don’t expect for themselves to lose two games from now on, I don’t think so. I don’t expect them to do that. If they do it, then we would be completely silly if we were not around.”
David Moyes: “The most important thing is things will need to be right between me and the club,” said David Moyes yesterday, when he was quizzed on his contract situation. “If we get that right, then we will see what happens but it will be at the end of the season. You can continue asking me the questions, I’ll be happy to take them but it’s not as if I have changed track. We’ve always said we will make it at the end of the season. As far as I’m concerned that will still be the decision.”
Today’s match officials
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Referee: Anthony Taylor.
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Assistants: Gary Beswick and Adam Nunn.
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Fourth official: Josh Smith.
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VAR: Tim Robinson.
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Assistant VAR: Wade Smith.
Liverpool’s succession plan: Jurgen Klopp was asked about his successor, the current Feyenoord manager Arne Slot, yesterday and had this to say of the Dutchman.
“I like the way his team plays football. All the things I hear about him as a guy, a good guy. Some people I know, know him. I don’t know him, but some people who know him say he’s a good guy. I like that a lot. So good coach, good guy. Looking forward for the club, if he is the solution, if he is the man, I am more than happy.”
Liverpool have since agrred a deal in principle with Feyenoord for Slot to become their next manager and will pay the Dutch club €9m (£7.7m) plus €2m in add-ons in compensation for the 45-year-old, who has two years remaining on his contract.
Salah and Nunez dropped to Liverpool bench
Those teams: Jarrod Bowen returns for West Ham in place of James Ward-Prowse but Konstantinos Mavrapanos and Nayef Aguerd both remain sidelined through injury. Alphonse Areola is back in goal, with Lucas Fabianski making way.
The big news for Liverpool is that Jurgen Klopp has dropped Mo Salah and Darwin Nunez to the bench, with Cody Gakpo coming back in to the side following his brief spell of midweek paternity leave. Ibrahima Konate, Dominik Szoboszlai and Curtis Jones have also been left out, with Jarell Quansah, Waturo Endo, Ryan Gravenberch and Harvey Elliott coming into the starting line-up.
West Ham v Liverpool line-ups
West Ham: Areola, Coufal, Zouma, Ogbonna, Emerson Palmieri, Soucek, Alvarez, Bowen, Lucas Paqueta, Kudus, Antonio.
Subs: Fabianski, Johnson, Cresswell, Ward-Prowse, Phillips, Cornet, Ings, Casey, Mubama.
Liverpool: Alisson, Alexander-Arnold, Quansah, van Dijk, Robertson, Mac Allister, Endo, Gravenberch, Elliott, Gakpo, Diaz.
Subs: Gomez, Konate, Szoboszlai, Nunez, Salah, Jones, Tsimikas, Bajcetic, Kelleher.
Referee: Anthony Taylor (Cheshire)
Early team news: West Ham midfielder George Earthy has been stood down according to the concussion protocols after being stretchered off with a head injury during his Premier League debut against Fulham last weekend.
Defender Nayef Aguerd is out with a twisted ankle, but Konstantinos Mavrapanos could return after a short spell on the sidelines with a minor injury. Jarrod Bowen is fit again after missing a couple of games with a back injury but his manager says his best player needs to be “monitored”.
For Liverpool, Joel Matip and Thiago Alcanatara remain sidelined with longterm injuries, while Conor Bradley and Diogo Jota are also out. Cody Gakpo is available for selection after missing the Merseyside derby to be with his partner, who was giving birth to their child.
Premier Leagvue: West Ham v Liverpool
Following his side’s miserable midweek Merseyside derby defeat at the hands of Everton, Jurgen Klopp could be forgiven for thinking the TV network gods are trolling him by ensuring his team’s first opportunity to bounce back comes in the Saturday lunchtime time-slot he loathes so much.
The good news for the German is that it’s the last time he’ll take charge of Liverpool in this time-slot and it may well be David Moyes’ final Saturday afternoon kick-off as West Ham boss too. Following the humiliation visited upon his team by Crystal Palace on Sunday, the writing looks to be on the wall for the Scotsman, whose contract is due to expire in June and whose employers are reported to be courting potential replacements.
With both teams out of sorts and licking their wounds after scarring defeats, this is a match that could go either way. Liverpool simply must win to keep their rapidly diminishing hopes of winning the title alive, while anything less than three points could kibosh West Ham’s faint hopes of playing European football next season.
Kick-off at the London Stadium is at 12.30pm BST but we’ll have team news and build-up in the meantime.
