Liverpool could be without Lucas Leiva and Roberto Firmino ahead of the West Ham clash but do have Sturridge and Lallana coming into the eleven.
With a draw against Southampton and a loss against Crystal Palace coming in recent home ties, Liverpool will be partially relieved to be playing away at West Ham on Sunday.
The Reds, while looking imperious at home during the first half of the season, haven’t looked anything like it of late. While a large part of that may have to do with opposition teams putting more men behind the ball, Liverpool’s shaky backline has also done the damage many a time.
As a result of what’s been a shaky run of results, Liverpool have offered Arsenal a way back into the race for the Top 4 and should they falter at the London Stadium, their Champions League fate could be off their hands.
The onus is on Jurgen Klopp’s men to take the initiative and stamp their authority among Europe’s elite for the 2017-18 campaign. The Reds could potentially be without the services of Roberto Firmino and Lucas Leiva as they were cased as fitness doubts by Klopp.
Firmino has played a significant part in the on-going campaign for the Reds featuring in 34 out of the 36 Premier League outings and his work-rate has often contributed to goals.
In recent weeks though, the 25-year-old has shown signs of running out of steam and with him being an injury doubt for Sunday, Klopp may look to offer the Brazilian some much needed rest.
Daniel Sturridge and Adam Lallana, both of whom came off the bench last week, should be expected to start in their absence. The former has scored goals and tormented West Ham in the past and it’s an experience Liverpool should look to pounce upon.
The Reds’ 4-3-3 formation has been hardly enough to penetrate compact opposition in recent weeks especially with the absence of players like Sadio Mane and Jordan Henderson.
Providing the update on his team’s fitness issues in his pre-match press conference, Klopp said: “We left him [Firmino] out of training. It’s a muscle thing. We have to wait and give him as much time as possible.
“Lucas, after the game, [felt the same]. Lucas could be back in training today, we have to see. Roberto, tomorrow if possible. Then we make the decisions.”
Slaven Bilic, meanwhile, will be without the services of West Ham captain Mark Noble and Cheikhou Kouyate. Even star striker Andy Carroll is a potential doubt for Saturday’s clash as the manager concedes it is a case of ‘touch and go’ and the team may be forced to wait until before the game to decide regarding the player’s availability.
