The first season of Arne Slot in Liverpool looks destined to end with a Premier League winner's medal, but the Dutchman cannot be satisfied with how things have gone lately.
A defeat of the penalty shoot-out for Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League represented a reality check, but a Meek EFL Cup final loss for Newcastle United was the low point of their season.
And after weeks of speculation about the likely relocation of Trent Alexander-Arnold to Real Madrid, they only suffered their second league-defeat last Sunday and went 3-2 to Fulham in Craven Cottage.
A maximum of 11 more points are required for Liverpool to get the title, but Slot does not want their triumphant campaign to end up on a flat memorandum.
The Reds return to Anfield on Sunday, with the foreign West Ham the visitors. Prior to the game we look at the best OPTA data around both teams.
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– Liverpool FC (@LFC) April 9, 2025
What is expected?
The OPTA Supercomputer makes Liverpool huge favorites for this one, with a chance of winning of 67.5%.
About our 10,000 simulations for the match, West Ham only triumphed in 14.7% of the scenarios, with a finish level of 17.8%.
De Hamers have not had much fun lately when visiting the red side of Merseyside. In all competitions, Liverpool has only lost one of their last 57 games against West Ham in Anfield. They have won 42 those competitions (14 draws), including the last nine in a row.
Since the Double about Liverpool in 2015-16, West Ham has only won one of their last 17 Premier League matches against the Reds (three draws, 13 defeats)-a 3-2 triumph in the London Stadium in November 2021.
In addition to a step in the direction of the title, Slot's side has the chance to create a piece of history.
Liverpool has already beat West Ham 5-1 this season in the EFL Cup and 5-0 in the Premier League. No English Top-Flight team has ever scored five or more goals against another in the same campaign.
Salah in a malaise
Just like Liverpool as a team, Mohamed Salah threatens to somewhat abandon a spectacular campaign pie.
Salah has certainly received the Player of the Season prize from the Premier League in the bag, after he has registered 44 goal-oriented involvement in 2024-25 (27 goals and 17 assists)-the joint by each player in a 38-game campaign, alongside Thierry Henry in 2002-03 and Erling Haaland in 202223.
With seven more games, it seems almost certain that the Egyptian will revise the record of 47 of 47, held jointly by Andy Cole (for Newcastle United in 1993-94) and Alan Shearer (for Blackburn Rovers in 1994-95).
Salah corresponded to the 38-game Mark by scoring two penalties in a 3-1 win over Southampton on March 8, but since that match he has given no goal or helped in all competitions for four trips.
It is his longest run without a target involvement for the club since March 2021 (also four). Only in March 2019 did he go five performances without a goal or assistant for the Reds.
His constant drought consists of the defeats for PSG and Newcastle who derailed Liverpool's hope for a Treble, as well as a narrow derby victory on Everton and last week's loss against Fulham.
Salah has an average of 1.39 shots, 0.46 shots on goal and 0.25 expected goals (XG) per 90 minutes in this spell, with 3.62 shots, 1.81 shots on goal and 0.72 xg per match between the start of the season and the first game in this run.
And it is not as if Salah also takes care of his teammates, only on average 0.93 opportunities created and 0.09 expected assists (XA) in his last four games, with an average of 2.2 opportunities created and 0.25 XA this season.
Perhaps the absence of regular right back Alexander-Arnold Salah or Service has starved.
Curtis Jones started behind Salah in Craven Cottage last week before he went to midfield, but he only completed three passes to the Egyptian, a count made by Conor Bradley after being introduced in the 67th minute (four).
With Alexander-Arnold who has still fought an ankle problem, Bradley could get a start on Sunday.
Potter who needs some magic
The arrival of Graham Potter in January at the London Stadium would herald a new dawn for the frustrated fan base of West Ham.
While David Moyes brought success, but – in the eyes of many fans – boredom, Julen brought Lopetegui's short enchantment just the latter.
Potter arrived with a reputation for coaching a fairly running, modern football brand, built for three happy years with Brighton. But since he came to West Ham, they have lost weight in most attacking statistics.
On average, they have a marginal higher property share in their 12 league matches under Potter (48.9%) than in 22 under Lopetegui (46.4%), but they have done little expensive with that extra time on the ball.
Per Premier League match, Potter's West Ham, are on average fewer goals (one to 1.18), XG (0.94 to 1.39), shots (9.5 to 14.5) and shots on goal (2.67 to 4.27) than the hammers of Lopetegui did.
Last week's home conflict with Bournemouth brought an increase in the entertainment bands when goals from Jarrod Bowen and Niclas Fullkrug West Ham with 2-1 placed the second half, but they could not hold the victory and Drew 2-2.
And in Way matches, only Everton (11), Southampton (12) and Leicester City (14) scored fewer goals this season than the Hammers -15.
This is despite the fact that they only have two of their 15 road trips in the Premier League this season, the case of parties or famine, but of small snacks entertainment.
While injuries to Mikhail Antonio and Crysencio Summerville have the attack options of Potter, an improvement is certainly required.
Mohammed Kudus was recalled last week, but currently passed his longest Premier League goal (13 games), while Brighton -Leenlee Evan Ferguson has left 14 games in the competition without nets, six of them for West Ham.
Potter, however, has good memories of visiting Anfield, undefeated by his three Premier League trips there (one win, two draws), two with Brighton and one with Chelsea.
The last visiting manager who was unbeaten in four straight trips to Liverpool was Sam Allardyce, between 2016 and 2020.
Players to watch
Liverpool – Luis Diaz
Diaz has (once) scored or (three times) helped a goal on each of his last four Premier League performances for Liverpool, the longest series of target involvement by a Colombian in the competition.
His four targeted involvement in this spanning width are as much as in his previous 17 league games, and his three assists as much as he had provided in his previous 34 games.
West Ham – Jarrod Bowen
Bowen was directly involved in six of the last seven goals from West Ham against Liverpool in all competitions (three goals, three assists).
Since the beginning of last season, no player has more goals (three, level with Alexander Isak) or goal statements (four, level with Isak and Dominic Solanke) against the Reds than Bowen.
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