Matchday 19 of the Premier League sees West Ham take on Liverpool at the London Stadium on December 29. West Ham vs. Liverpool: prediction and betting odds, statistics.
Referee: Anthony Taylor (England)
Matches – 15 (Premier League, 2024/25);
Yellow cards shown (including second yellows) – 57;
Average yellow cards per match – 3.8;
Red cards shown – 1;
Average fouls per match – 22;
Penalties – 40%.
Predicted lineups for West Ham vs. Liverpool
West Ham (4-1-4-1): Lukasz Fabianski – Konstantinos Mavropanos, Max Kilman, Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Emerson Palmieri – Guido Rodriguez – Tomas Soucek, Carlos Soler, Mohammed Kudus, Jarrod Bowen – Niclas Fullkrug.
Liverpool (4-3-3): Alisson Becker – Virgil van Dijk, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Andrew Robertson, Joe Gomez – Alexis Mac Allister, Ryan Gravenberch, Curtis Jones – Cody Gakpo, Mohamed Salah, Darwin Nunez.
Each team's lineup reflects their starting squad in the previous match of this tournament.
West Ham
The Londoners managed to avoid defeat in four consecutive Premier League matches for the first time this season. They capitalized on a favorable schedule, defeating bottom clubs Wolverhampton (2-1) and Southampton (1-0), while drawing with Bournemouth and Brighton (both 1-1). This run has lifted them to 13th place, bringing them closer to the European competition zone (6 points) than to the relegation zone (9 points).
Midfielders Guido Rodriguez and Tomas Soucek will miss the match due to an accumulation of yellow cards.
- No more than three goals were scored in 8 of West Ham's last 10 Premier League matches.
- Both teams scored in 5 of the club's last 6 league games.
- The Londoners have only won once in the first half of their last 10 home Premier League matches (5 draws and 4 losses).
Liverpool
Arne Slot's side is on a 13-match unbeaten run in the league (10 wins and 3 draws). They have opened up a 6-point lead over their nearest rival and have a game in hand. Liverpool also leads in goals scored with 40, surpassing Tottenham and Chelsea. Their prolific scoring was highlighted by two recent victories, where they netted 9 goals: they thrashed Tottenham away (6-3) and secured a comeback win over Leicester at home (3-1).
Midfielder Dominik Szoboszlai is suspended for this match.
- At least 4 goals were scored in 5 of Liverpool's last 6 Premier League matches.
- Liverpool scored exactly two or three goals in 9 of their last 10 league matches.
- Both teams scored in 8 of the club's last 10 Premier League encounters.
West Ham vs. Liverpool: Match Prediction
In the past 8 years, the Londoners have defeated Liverpool only once in the Premier League (3 draws and 12 losses). Given the visitors' current form, the hosts are likely to fall short again, but the match should be high-scoring. Notably, in the last 15 head-to-head encounters at West Ham's ground in the Premier League, the teams have scored at least three goals on 12 occasions, with both teams finding the net in 11 of the last 14 meetings at this venue.
A similar number of goals were scored in 9 of West Ham's last 11 home Premier League matches and in 8 of Liverpool's last 10 away league games. Liverpool is in such good form that they might allow the opponent to score, but they will likely respond with two or three goals. Arne Slot's side is unbeaten in 10 consecutive away league matches (6 wins and 4 draws), having scored at least two goals in all but one of those games. Although the Londoners have avoided defeat in 5 of their last 6 home Premier League matches, they have only picked up points against teams that are not in the top half of the table. Meanwhile, against clubs representing the Premier League in European competitions this season, West Ham has only suffered defeats at home: Aston Villa (1-2), Manchester City (1-3), Chelsea (0-3), and Arsenal (2-5).
My prediction: Liverpool to win and Total over 2.5 goals
