Slot sounds warning note for Liverpool ahead of West Ham test

Arne Slot has warned Liverpool against the depth of quality in the Premier League ahead of his team’s clash at home to West Ham this afternoon.

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The Reds will be widely expected to maintain their recent winning streak today as they welcome Nuno Espirio Santo’s outfit to Anfield, where the 18th-placed Irons have lost on each of their last 10 visits in all competitions.

However, with three of the current bottom six having already taken points off us in L4 this season, there are already enough case studies for LFC to be forewarned about complacency when hosting teams at the lower end of the table.

Slot warns Liverpool not to take West Ham lightly

Slot made reference to Wolves’ surprise 2-0 win over Aston Villa last night in pointing out how results in this division can go very much against the grain in terms of league positions, and he’ll be desperate for Liverpool not to get caught out in such a fixture yet again today.

Speaking to Sky Sports ahead of kick-off, the Reds’ head coach said: “All these teams that are not in the top five have performed well everywhere in the Premier League. Even last night we saw Wolves play a really, really good team in Villa. That’s the Premier League.

“It’s not just the teams around West Ham who have done well here. All of the teams we have faced throughout the whole season at home and away have been difficult games. I don’t expect anything else today.”

Liverpool won’t have it easy today, but victory is non-negotiable

As Roberto Martinez explained in predicting the Irons to spring a surprise this afternoon, the likelihood of Nuno employing a deep-lying defensive setup could make life rather difficult for Liverpool, just as other visiting teams have done when setting up in a low block at Anfield.

Villa’s defeat on Friday means that the Reds could go to within three points of Unai Emery’s side in third if they maintain their winning streak against West Ham this afternoon, whilst also turning up the pressure that bit more on Manchester United and Chelsea ahead of their fixtures tomorrow.

This is exactly the kind of game that LFC simply must win if they’re to salvage Champions League qualification, but as we’ve seen against the likes of Forest and Burnley this season, it’s also one which comes as a major banana skin for the Merseysiders.

The absence of Florian Wirtz through injury will make Liverpool’s task a bit harder, but there should still be enough quality in the starting XI to secure all three points this afternoon.

It might require patience to break down West Ham, just as it did in the reverse fixture three months ago, but so long as the Reds perform with the right attitude and are ruthless in both penalty boxes, they ought to come through a stern test with their winning run intact.