Liverpool v West Ham United
Barclays Premier League
Anfield
Saturday 20 November 2010
5.30pm
Referee: Lee Probert
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Introduction
• West Ham United travel to Anfield looking to end a 47-year wait for a win away to Liverpool. The Reds are without captain Steven Gerrard while the Hammers have a major concern over Scott Parker, who has a chest infection.
• The Hammers have still not won away in the Barclays Premier League since the opening day of last season on 15 August 2009 away to Wolverhampton Wanderers.
• Liverpool are playing at 5.30pm on Saturday for the second successive week, having lost 2-0 at Stoke City last weekend.
• The Hammers have lost their last three matches against Liverpool with the Reds scoring three goals in each of those contests. Four fixtures ago, there was a goalless draw at Anfield on 1 December 2008. Eight of the 12 Hammers used in that contest are still at the club, including goalkeeper Robert Green.
• This is the 106th league meeting between the two sides. Liverpool have won 56, West Ham have won 21 and there have been 29 draws.
• As it was last season at Anfield, Saturday's match will be screened live by ESPN, as was the other meeting between the clubs in the 2009/10 season at the Boleyn Ground. West Ham have never won a match shown live on ESPN.
• The visitors will be looking to record their first win on Merseyside since 14 September 1963, when a 2-1 victory came courtesy of goals from Martin Peters and Geoff Hurst. Jim Standen also saved a penalty from Ronnie Moran in the match.
• Liverpool's record home win against West Ham was a 6-0 success on 7 April 1984, a month before they became crowned champions of Europe in Rome.
Last time out
Saturday 13 November 2010
Barclays Premier League
West Ham United 0-0 Blackpool
West Ham United: Green, Jacobsen, Gabbidon, Upson, Ilunga, Parker, Noble, Dyer (Barrera 18), Boa Morte (Cole 71), Piquionne (McCarthy 83), Obinna
Subs not used: Stech, Kovac, Spector, Tomkins
Saturday 13 November 2010
Barclays Premier League
Stoke City 2-0 Liverpool
Liverpool: Reina, Kyrgiakos, Konchesky, Carragher, Skrtel, Rodriguez (Babel 73), Gerrard, Raul Meireles (Ngog 66), Lucas (sent off 90), Kuyt, Torres
Subs not used: Jones, Jovanovic, Shelvey, Kelly, Poulsen
Last meeting
Last season's meeting at Anfield took place on 19 April 2010. Yossi Benayoun opened the scoring on 19 minutes before Davd Ngog doubled the Reds' advantage ten minutes later. A Robert Green own goal just before the hour rounded out the scoring.
Liverpool: Reina, Kyrgiakos, Carragher, Agger, Johnson, Rodriguez, Benayoun (Degen 78), Gerrard (Mascherano 72), Lucas, Ngog (Babel 81), Kuyt
Subs not used: Cavalieri, Aquilani, El Zhar, Ayala
West Ham United: Green, Faubert, Spector (Daprela 80), Da Costa, Upson, Kovac, Noble, Behrami, Stanislas (Franco 45) , Cole (McCarthy 72), Ilan
Subs not used: Kurucz, Gabbidon, Diamanti, Mido
Last six meetings (Premier League unless stated)
19 April 2010 Liverpool 3-0 West Ham United
19 September 2010 West Ham United 2-3 Liverpool
9 May 2009 West Ham United 0-3 Liverpool
1 December 2008 Liverpool 0-0 West Ham United
5 March 2008 Liverpool 4-0 West Ham United
30 January 2008 West Ham United 1-0 Liverpool
Overall record v Liverpool (all competitions) W 23 D 34 L 63
Ten-year records
West Ham United
2009/10 Premier League 17th (35 points)
2008/09 Premier League 9th (51 points)
2007/08 Premier League 10th (49 points)
2006/07 Premier League 15th (41 points)
2005/06 Premier League 9th (55 points)
2004/05 Championship 6th (73 points - promoted to Premier League via play-offs)
2003/04 Championship 4th (74 points)
2002/03 Premier League 18th (42 points - relegated to Championship)
2001/02 Premier League 7th (53 points)
2000/01 Premier League 15th (42 points)
Liverpool
2009/10 Premier League 7th (63 points)
2008/09 Premier League 2nd (86 points)
2007/08 Premier League 4th (76 points)
2006/07 Premier League 3rd (68 points)
2005/06 Premier League 3rd (82 points)
2004/05 Premier League 5th (58 points)
2003/04 Premier League 4th (60 points)
2002/03 Premier League 5th (64 points)
2001/02 Premier League 2nd (80 points)
2000/01 Premier League 3rd (69 points)
Referee
• Saturday's referee will be Lee Probert.
• Aged 37, Probert has been a Premier League referee since summer 2007.
• Born in Gloucestershire, Probert made his way through the local leagues before joining the Football Conference list, being promoted to the Football League list of referees in 2003.
• Probert has yet to take charge of West Ham United this season. However, the official was the man in the middle for Liverpool's 1-0 home win over West Bromwich Albion on 29 August. Probert's last appointment for a Hammers' fixture was the 2-1 home defeat by Bolton Wanderers on 6 March this year.
West Ham United
• Carlton Cole, with one goal so far this campaign, will make his 100th start for West Ham United in all competitions should he be in Avram Grant's XI at Anfield.
• No Barclays Premier League player has had more shots without scoring this season than Victor Obinna (38).
• No team has been caught offside more than West Ham this season with the Hammers falling foul of the referee's assistant on 47 occasions.
Liverpool
• Two Liverpool players, Jamie Carragher and Dirk Kuyt, made their debuts against West Ham. Carragher's first appearance came at Anfield in January 1997, while Kuyt's came at Anfield in August 2006.
• Striker Fernando Torres scored a hat-trick against West Ham in Liverpool's 4-0 win at Anfield on 5 March 2008.. He has five goals in four appearances against the Hammers.
Team news
West Ham United
• Manager Avram Grant is definitely without Thomas Hitzlsperger (thigh) and Jack Collison (knee). Collison is hoping to return around the turn of the year, Hitzlsperger has a February comeback date having had surgery on his torn muscle.
• Junior Stanislas has been in training for a week after a groin problem while Zavon Hines played 30 minutes for the reserves in the goalless draw at Aston Villa on Monday. Hines could start for the reserves next Wednesday night against Chelsea.
• Robert Green and Scott Parker will both hope to maintain their ever-present records this season in the Barclays Premier League. Green is on a run of 139 consecutive league starts for the club. Parker is a major doubt, however, with a chest infection.
• Manuel da Costa has had surgery a week ago on an ankle injury that has kept him out of the last three matches. He is likely to be missing for up to three months as a result of the problem, which followed a late Cesc Fabregas foul.
• Valon Behrami, meanwhile, has a hip injury but has been back on the training pitch. Tal Ben Haim is also on the way back from a foot injury.
• Julien Faubert is available again after a three-game suspension for his red card in the reserves at Arsenal last month. He played 90 minutes alongside Winston Reid in Monday's reserves match.
• Freddie Sears has extended his loan spell at Championship side Scunthorpe United until 3 January 2011.
Liverpool
• Captain Steven Gerrard has been ruled out for four weeks with a hamstring injury suffered on international duty.
• Lucas Leiva is suspended for the Reds after his red card against Stoke last weekend.
• Full-backs Glen Johnson and Fabio Aurelio could return after injury.
Old boys
• Glen Johnson, 25, came through the ranks at West Ham, making 15 league appearances in the 2002/03 season. He was transferred to Chelsea for £6m in summer 2003 and subsequently moved on to Portsmouth before Liverpool snapped him up in June 2009.
• Left-back Paul Konchesky made 70 appearances for West Ham between July 2005 and July 2007, scoring one of only two goals for the club in the 2006 FA Cup final.
• Among the other players who have represented both clubs are Craig Bellamy, Yossi Benayoun, Tom Bradshaw, David Burrows, Titi Camara, Charles Cotton, Julian Dicks, Ray Houghton, Don Hutchison, Paul Ince, David James, Rob Jones, George Kay, Mike Marsh, Neil Mellor, Neil Ruddock, Danny Shone, Rigobert Song and Thomas Stanley.
General information
• For ticket information, click here. For details on getting to Anfield, click here
• Saturday's weather forecast in Liverpool is for an overcast day with temperatures peaking around the 8C mark.