Game Week 13 Predictions: West Ham to trouble Liverpool at the London Stadium

West Ham vs Liverpool: Struggling Reds rocked by grief face resurgent Hammers. Can Bowen & Wilson punish fragile champs? Verdict: BTTS

Liverpool's misery could hit a new low when they travel to London to play against West Ham on Sunday, how will this one play out? (Photo credit: Opta)

 West Ham United vs Liverpool

London Stadium

3:05pm

Much of Liverpool’s struggles have been linked to the passing of Diogo Jota, with many people believing the entire squad are just internalising the sad incident that led to the death of their colleague.

Ask people who have dealt with grief as pivotal points; they will tell you how hard it is to lose a loved one. It’s a different kind of pain, and psychologists might just need to do a lot of work on these lads; they need all the help they can get at this difficult time.

And then, there’s West Ham, who seems to be on the upward curve. The Hammers lost too many games for comfort and had to send their manager, Graham Potter, packing. There were talks of a potential sacking for his predecessor, Nuno Espirito Santo, but the Portuguese may have turned things around.

The Hammers are currently out of the relegation zone on goal difference; however, it can get better for them if they earn anything at all from this game, as they hope to climb higher on the log. A fixture against Liverpool is just about the right one to improve confidence in their squad.

Three games without defeat for West Ham have given them a platform to dare the champions, who have lost each of their last three games; the last two have been quite embarrassing, as Liverpool lost 3-0 at home to Nottingham Forest and 4-1 at home to PSV in the Champions League.

Diogo Jota is one thing; the mindset of the players is another. News broke out in midweek that Real Madrid will be moving on from Ibrahim Konate; the Frenchman has refused to sign a new deal at Liverpool. What happens to him now? Is his head in the right place?

Liverpool could welcome back Florian Wirtz into their fold, but how much good news is that for the Kops considering how poor the German has been for them? How will they line up for this one? Will Alexander Isak start up front again ahead of Hugo Ekitike?

How does this weak Liverpool defense stop the firepower of Jarrod Bowen and the newly inspired Callum Wilson? The champions need a result to turn things around; Arne Slot has to understand that excuses won’t always be tenable. He must get a grip and get a result here.

Verdict: Both teams to score.