Exclusive: A top Liverpool ITK has lifted the lid on big changes for the West Ham clash in a major boost to cup hopes.
West Ham head to face Liverpool at Anfield in the Carabao Cup quarter-finals on Wednesday night.
When West Ham were drawn out of the hat to go to Liverpool having beaten Arsenal 3-1, many Hammers fans bemoaned yet another tie against a “Big Six” side.
It’s easy to see why. Since the 2010/11 season, West Ham have drawn a so-called “Big Six” side 19 times in the domestic cups.
Liverpool ITK lifts lid on big changes for West Ham
West Ham go into the game off the back of a 3-0 win over Wolves while title-challengers Liverpool could not find a goal to see off Man United at the weekend.
When the draw was made at the start of November, Hammers News pointed out that it might come at a great time for West Ham and bad time for Jurgen Klopp’s men.
Because the clash against West Ham was being inserted into one of Liverpool’s biggest weeks of the season.
And so it may well prove.
In an exclusive, a top Liverpool ITK has lifted the lid on big changes for West Ham in a major boost to their cup hopes.
‘It’s a really good time to play us’
Hammers News has spoken to Liverpool expert and journalist James Brooke of Rousing the Kop ahead of the big game.
Having expended a lot of energy against Man United and with Arsenal next up at the weekend, Brooke says it is a great time for West Ham to be playing Liverpool.
Especially as he has revealed Klopp has a host of injury problems when they play the Hammers for a place in the semi-finals.
What sort of team can West Ham expect Klopp to field?
Bearing in mind Liverpool have a number of injuries and have Arsenal to come to Anfield on Saturday, this is a really good time to play us! No one is quite sure exactly who’ll be playing tomorrow, but it’ll definitely be a rotated side. It would be a surprise to see the likes of Alisson, Salah and Szoboszlai for example. But given the lack of numbers at the moment it’ll still have to be relatively strong on paper. There might be one or two playing out of position as well.
What have you made of West ham this season?
Very impressed – again! You seem to have really got to grips with playing in Europe and those midweek games even seem to have helped take you on another level. You gave us a tough afternoon at Anfield earlier in the season and we’ll be expecting more of the same tomorrow. Jarrod Bowen has obviously been brilliant but there are certainly plenty of Liverpool fans who would love to see Lucas Paqueta in a red shirt one day, too. Mohammed Kudus is another we’d have been happy to have at Anfield. Nayef Aguerd, Edson Alvarez, the list goes on…
Would it be fair to say this competition is bottom of Liverpool’s priority list? Should that give West Ham hope?
It is bottom of Liverpool’s priorities this season, although I wouldn’t underestimate how much we want to win it. After a terrible season last year, picking up the first trophy of the new campaign would be a huge lift for everyone. In 2022 the Carabao Cup win propelled us towards a push for a quadruple and seemed to give Jurgen Klopp a newfound appreciation of the competition. He’ll want to do it again. The absence of City, Arsenal, United and Spurs has also increased the feeling that we should be winning this.
In terms of giving West Ham hope, they should have plenty of that without worrying about Liverpool’s mindset. Anfield obviously swings it, but with the win at the weekend and the likelihood of a second-string Reds team, the Hammers shouldn’t be far off being favourites for this one.
What would be your predicted Liverpool starting XI for the game?
A really tough question that! I think we’ll see changes, but Klopp is a little limited in who he has to bring in. Given West Ham’s quality and form, he’ll have to risk a few ahead of Arsenal, though. So I’ll go with Kelleher in goal, a defence of Conor Bradley, Joe Gomez, Jarell Quansah and Kostas Tsimikas. Curtis Jones, Harvey Elliott and Trent Alexander-Arnold in midfield, with Ben Doak, Cody Gakpo and Luis Diaz up front. Ideally it would be a little stronger, but we’re so stretched at the minute. Could go either way!
Thanks to James for his expert insight.
May the best team win.
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