England League Cup - Quarterfinals

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Liverpool vs West Ham Preview:

Possible starting lineups:

Liverpool:
Kelleher; Alexander-Arnold, Gomez, Quansah, Tsimikas; Elliott, Endo, Jones; Salah, Gakpo, Diaz

West Ham:
Fabianski; Kehrer, Mavropanos, Aguerd, Cresswell; Soucek, Ward-Prowse; Kudus, Fornals, Benrahma; Ings

Liverpool will welcome West Ham to Anfield in a EFL Cup quarter-final on Wednesday night. The Reds are favorites, but West Ham should not be underestimated. This is an all-Premier League affair and I expect an interesting match. Jurgen Klopp's men have overcome Bournemouth in the previous round of the competition, winning 2:1 at Vitality. However, the players confidence isn't at desired level at the moment. The reason is they lost the first place in the Premier League, playing only a goalless draw with Manchester United on Sunday. The Reds had a total domination and 34 shots on goal, but failed to score. To be worse, Ryan Gravenberch suffered an injury on that match, but the last news are optimistic and the Dutchman could be back very soon. However, Alexis Mac Allister and Diogo Jota remain sidelined, as well as Andy Robertson, Joel Matip, Thiago Alcantara and Stefan Bajcetic. To be worse, Ben Doak suffered a serious knee injury with the Under-21s at the weekend and is now set for surgery. The absence of the mentioned players is a big handicap ahead of the busy festive period. It is clear Klopp has limited options for rotations.

West Ham were very successful in EFL Cup so far. The opening win against Lincoln City was somehow expected, but the elimination of Arsenal was a huge surprise. The Hammers advanced to the quarter-finals of the competition for the second time in three seasons. They are in fine form at the moment, registering two victories in the last six days. Last Thursday they won 2:0 against Bundesliga side Freiburg and secured a knock-out stage in the Europe League, while on Sunday beat Wolverhampton Wanderers with 3:0. All three goals were set up by Lucas Paqueta, who became just the second Brazilian after the former Reds Roberto Firmino to register three assists in a single Premier League match. The atmosphere in the squad is good and they will not go to Anfield with a white flag. David Moyes has almost all players available, only Michail Antonio remain sidelined with a knee injury. Edson Alvarez recovered from a hip injury and played the full 90 minutes against Wolves. Moyes should choose between Lukasz Fabianski and already-recovered Alphonse Areola at goalkeeper's position.

Liverpool vs West Ham Prediction:

Liverpool will temporarily turn out the focus from the title race as they are looking to secure a League Cup semi-final. The Reds have lifted the trophy nine times, most recently in 2022. Klopp is known as coach that doesn't like the cup competitions too much, but he is just three steps from another piece of silverware and I think he will start with a decent squad. According to some sources, Virgil van Dijk could be rested, as well as Alisson. Darwin Nunez and Dominik Szoboszlai are out of form and that's a big problem for Klopp. His counterpart Moyes is experienced coach and he will try to take advantage from Liverpool's issues. I think West Ham won't lose high.

Liverpool vs West Ham Pick: West Ham +1.5 AH @ 1.77 with Pinnacle