Sam Stone

Wed 19 October 2022 17:10, UK

Gabby Agbonlahor believes Liverpool will have too much “firepower” for West Ham United and has backed Jurgen Klopp’s side to win 3-0 on Thursday night.

David Moyes’ men head into the fixture off a disappointing draw against Southampton after seemingly turning a corner after their poor start to the season.

However, Agbonlahor believes Liverpool will be “confident” after their impressive victory over Manchester City and feels they should easily beat the Hammers.

“This could be a game where Carvalho starts or maybe Nunez, Firmino and Salah,” he said (talkSPORT EDGE, 19 October).

“They’ve still got enough firepower there to beat West Ham and with the confidence after the Manchester City game, I can’t see Liverpool not beating West Ham so I am going to go 3-0 to Liverpool.”

Can’t just turn up

After their positive result against Manchester City, some of Liverpool’s players could feel that just turning up will get them a result against West Ham and this could play into Moyes’ side’s favour. The Hammers had 25 shots against Southampton and can probably count themselves unlucky not to have come away from St Mary’s with all three points.

If Liverpool aren’t at their very best then there is every chance the Irons can go and get a positive result at Anfield. This type of game tends to suit Moyes’ tactics of sitting back and looking to attack teams on the counter-attack with fast transitions. With the added quality of Lucas Paqueta and Gianluca Scamacca, Liverpool’s defence will have to replicate the performance levels they displayed during their win over City.

The Red’s last two games have certainly lessened the concern over their start to the season. Nevertheless, it’s still a poor start for their standards. A win today for the Hammers will take them above Klopp’s men and within touching distance of the European places.

The Hammers head into the game with a big injury boost, with Kurt Zouma and Craig Dawson both in contention to return to action (ExWHUemployee, 19 October).