Liverpool v West Ham predictions: Revitalised Salah could land the first blow

Free football tips, best bets and analysis for Liverpool v West Ham in the Premier League on Wednesday.

Where to watch

Amazon Prime Video, 7.30pm Wednesday

Best bet

Mohamed Salah to be first goalscorer
1pt 15-4 bet365

Team news

Liverpool
Diogo Jota joins Naby Keita, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Arthur Melo and Luis Diaz on the sidelines. Joel Matip and Ibrahima Konate are doubts, but Trent Alexander-Arnold is expected to return to the starting line-up.

West Ham
Nayef Aguerd is yet to recover from an ankle issue and Maxwel Cornet is a doubt. Kurt Zouma and Craig Dawson face late fitness tests.

Match preview

Liverpool put their early-season struggles behind them by ending Manchester City's unbeaten start at Anfield on Sunday and, with confidence restored, West Ham must be fearing the worst ahead of their trip to Merseyside.

The Reds had registered just two wins from their first eight Premier League assignments and, even accounting for the conquering of City, they remain 14 points adrift of table-toppers Arsenal, albeit with a game in hand.

Injuries have certainly played their part and Jurgen Klopp still has a handful of star players on the treatment table - Diogo Jota becoming the latest to be ruled out after Sunday’s titanic tussle.

But there was nothing wrong with Liverpool’s attitude and performance against the champions and a similar effort should be enough to see off a West Ham side who have managed just one win from their five away matches.

The Hammers were frustrated in a 1-1 draw at Southampton on Sunday - enjoying 25 shots but only hitting the target four times - and they’ve also been beaten on trips to Nottingham Forest, Chelsea and Everton.

And for all Liverpool’s troubles this term, Anfield has remained a fortress and home support has regularly spurred them on.

Victory over the Citizens took their unbeaten home record in the Premier League to 28 games, and they’ve come out on top in 21 of those encounters.

However, Liverpool have been held at home by Crystal Palace and Brighton already this season and the current injury situation means there are few options to call upon from the bench if required.

With Luis Diaz and Jota sidelined, that places extra emphasis on Mohamed Salah and he appears to have rediscovered some of the belief that had gone missing.

Buoyed by his midweek exploits against Rangers, where he came off the bench to score a six-minute hat-trick, Salah was Liverpool’s most dangerous threat against Manchester City and coolly slotted home the only goal of the game.

After all, form is temporary, class is permanent and it’s easy to forget that Salah has scored at least 19 times in each of his five full Premier League campaigns at Liverpool.

The goals could soon come thick and fast for the Egyptian talisman, whose first-goalscorer claims are bolstered by the fact that he’s on penalty duty. Salah also has an excellent goalscoring record against West Ham, who face an anxious wait on the fitness of first-choice centre-backs Kurt Zouma and Craig Dawson.

Salah has scored nine goals in ten Premier League meetings against the Hammers and, after Sunday’s match-winning performance, he looks good value to land the first blow at Anfield.