Game Week 28 Predictions: Liverpool to beat West Ham

Champions League playoff: Newcastle v Qarabag, Leverkusen v Olympiakos, Galatasaray v Juventus, Dortmund v Atlético vs Brügge, Inter v Bodø/Glimt.

Liverpool's top five hopes got a big boost on Friday as Aston Villa lost at Wolves; the Kops must do their job at home against West Ham, will they step up to it? (Photo credit: GOAL)

Liverpool vs West Ham

Anfield

4:00pm

Liverpool can move closer to the third spot after Aston Villa lost at Wolves on Friday night. It’s a huge opportunity for the trio of Chelsea, Manchester United and Liverpool to heap pressure on Aston Villa in the race for Champions League football.

The Reds learned their opponents in the next stage of the Champions League as well as their route to the final, and it’s Galatasaray that they will visit in the first leg of the Round of 16 before hosting the same team two weeks later.

West Ham will relish this fixture as one they can impress with. It's crunch time for everyone, and picking points at a ground like this would give confidence to the strides of the Hammers as they hope to climb out of the relegation zone.

With Nottingham Forest appearing revitalised, West Ham must approach each game as if it were a potential final. Just two points separate West Ham from Forest on the log; it might be interesting to see if Tottenham gets into the relegation mix.

Liverpool’s form is great. The champions have won their last three games, and winning late at Forest last weekend has added some wind to their sails. They have it all to do against a resurgent Manchester United and Liam Rosenior’s Chelsea in the race for Champions League football; they can’t afford to drop points in this game.

West Ham just need to keep doing what they’ve been doing lately, which is to stay in games without losing concentration. Their players that returned from the Africa Cup of Nations have helped their defence; now they need to build on recent results.

How will they both approach this? Arne Slot has no other option than to attack the Hammers. The Anfield crowd will do their bit, but the players must ensure West Ham doesn’t grow into the game on Saturday. Liverpool must get out of the blocks quickly to settle nerves.

Liverpool welcomes Jeremy Frimpong back into the fold in midweek as he returns to full training, while the trio of Florian Wirtz, Alexander Isak and Connor Bradley remain injured and out of contention for this game. The Kops will depend on their fast transition; Mohammed Salah will be key for this one.

For the Hammers, Crysencio Summerville will have his say as he has done recently, and Jarrod Bowen will lead from the front; however, the Hammers' defence must step up on Saturday. It will be a tough game; they must be ready for it.

Verdict: A straight win for Liverpool