The background
West Ham United kick-off 2016 with the opportunity to complete a first league double over Liverpool since the 1963/64 season.
Having ended a 52-year wait for victory at Anfield in August, the Hammers could make the perfect start to the New Year and overtake Jurgen Klopp’s Reds in the process.
Liverpool moved back ahead of the Hammers in the table with their 1-0 win over Sunderland on Wednesday night, but only have a point more at the halfway stage.
After a slow start to the season, Brendan Rodgers was replaced by Klopp, who has led the Reds to the Capital One Cup semi-finals and to a position where they are challenging for a top four slot.
West Ham ended 2015 in the perfect fashion, coming from behind to defeat Southampton 2-1 thanks to goals from Michail Antonio and Andy Carroll.
That ended an eight-game wait for victory, and at the same time extended the Hammers’ unbeaten run to six.
Three points on Saturday could lift West Ham into the top five of the league, with the top half remaining congested.
The history
West Ham and Liverpool have met on 130 previous occasions, with the Hammers’ record against the Reds being a particularly poor one.
The east Londoners have tasted victory on just 26 occasions against their Merseyside rivals, with Liverpool coming out on top 70 times.
However, three of those wins have come in the last eight meetings, with Winston Reid, Diafra Sakho and Morgan Amalfitano all on target in a 3-1 Boleyn Ground victory last season.
Then, Manuel Lanzini, Noble and Sakho again all hit the net as West Ham thumped the Reds 3-0 at Anfield earlier this term.
The match
Team news
West Ham United
Manuel Lanzini and Andy Carroll returned from injury from the bench in Monday’s win against Southampton, so could be involved from the start on Saturday.
Dimitri Payet will be back in the squad after overcoming his ankle problem, but the game will likely come around too quickly for Winston Reid and Victor Moses, who both have hamstring injuries.
Liverpool
The Reds were involved on Wednesday evening, defeating Sunderland 1-0. Skipper Jordan Henderson was replaced after an hour, with boss Klopp commenting on his fitness: “I don’t really know – it’s not perfect otherwise we wouldn’t have taken him off, but we had to. Now we have to wait. I cannot say exactly [what the injury is] at this moment.”
Match info
- Saturday’s match referee is Robert Madley, who will be assisted by Simon Long and Simon Beck. The fourth official is Roger East.
- Billy Bonds has made more appearances against Liverpool, 33, than any other West Ham United player. The Reds’ Ian Callaghan made a record 33 appearances against the Hammers, scoring twice.
- Vic Watson scored a record nine goals in 14 appearances against Liverpool. Steven Gerrard scored nine times against the Hammers.
- The largest crowd to attend a West Ham versus Liverpool fixture at the Boleyn Ground was the 38,239 who saw Pat Holland score the only goal in a 1-0 Division One victory for the Hammers on 28 March 1970.
- The Hammers and the Reds met in the 1981 League Cup final at Wembley, drawing 1-1 after extra-time, with Ray Stewart scoring a late penalty. Liverpool ran out 2-1 winners in the replay at Villa Park.
Ticketing, travel, coverage and other info
- Tickets for this match have SOLD OUT. However, they may become available online as Season Ticket Holders relist.
- The District and Hammersmith & City lines are set to serve Upton Park station as normal on Saturday. Click here for the latest news on TfL services and here for National Rail.
- Rain is expected at lunchtime on Saturday, with temperatures crawling up to 10C (50F).
- If you are not heading to the game on Saturday, make sure you keep right up to date on our digital channels. The whufc.com live match centre has audio commentary, text updates, in-running stats, photos and more. Remember you can get involved with the conversation on social too using the hashtag #WHULIV.