Luis Diaz and Diogo Jota will return to the Liverpool starting lineup against West Ham United, with Cody Gakpo and Darwin Nunez dropping to the bench.
Liverpool are currently on top of the Premier League table, and they will look to extend their lead over their rivals when they lock horns with West Ham United at the London Stadium on Sunda evening. And Arne Slot has a new roster issue hampering his preparations ahead of his side’s latest fixture.
Dominik Szoboszlai will serve a one-match suspension after picking up his fifth yellow card of the 2024/25 Premier League season this past weekend against Leicester City. In addition, the away side will be without Conor Bradley (hamstring) and Ibrahima Konate (knee). Meanwhile, Slot commented on the duo during his pre-match press conference. He also discussed Diogo Jota’s progress.
“They will not be back for West Ham United, but then there is a week in between [before the game against Manchester United] so let’s see how close they are then,” the Liverpool manager said in his pre-match press conference.
Alisson Becker will start in goal, as the Reds line up in a 4-2-3-1 formation against West Ham. Trent Alexander-Arnold and Andrew Robertson will continue as the full-backs. They will look to contribute at both ends of the pitch. Joe Gomez will form the central defensive unit alongside Virgil van Dijk.
On Jota, Slot said, “You need to have some minutes to build this up. And he is in competition with some other special players as well who are at this moment also on top of their game. He is gradually building it up and I think he comes close to starting a game, but like I said, he has competition in this position as well.”
As for the midfield unit, Alexis Mac Allister will start alongside Ryan Gravenberch, and the two players will look to add defensive cover and control to the side from the deep. Curtis Jones will reprise the no. 10 role, and he will look to create goalscoring opportunities and find the back of the net. Mohamed Salah and Luis Diaz will start on the flanks, with Diogo Jota leading the line for Liverpool against West Ham.
Predicted Liverpool XI: Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Gomez, van Dijk, Robertson; Gravenberch, Mac Allister; Salah, Jones, Diaz; Jota
