A top Sky Sports pundit has made an astonishing claim about the Liverpool vs West Ham clash even Graham Potter will barely believe.
But Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has surely ruined it.
West Ham face the perennially daunting task of taking on Liverpool at Anfield as two wildly contrasting seasons draw to a close.
The Hammers started the Premier League campaign backed by many as dark horses to challenge the likes of Liverpool for a Champions League spot after a £155m spend.
Hammers were given hope ahead of Liverpool
They end it on a second manager, fighting to avoid being the worst team in the top flight outside the bottom three.
Liverpool meanwhile were tipped to struggle to challenge after the departure of Jurgen Klopp and with Arne Slot being new to the Premier League.
Especially after they spent just £12m on a solitary signing – Federico Chiesa.
But how those predictions were wrong on both sides.
Slot has made it look easy as the Reds canter to another league title.
Ahead of facing West Ham, who have won just once at Anfield since the 1960s, Liverpool actually lost only their second league game all season, 3-2 to Fulham.
That might have given the Hammers some much-needed hope.
But Mohamed Salah signed a new contract this week after years of speculation. And Virgil van Dijk is expected to follow suit soon.
The news has given the entire club a massive shot in the arm at the worst possible time for West Ham and Graham Potter.
Despite that, a top Sky Sports man has made an astonishing claim about the Liverpool vs West Ham clash.
Sky Sports man’s astonishing claim about Liverpool vs West Ham
Even Potter himself will scarcely believe the claim – although Arteta has now surely ruined it.
Lewis Jones is one of Sky Sports’ leading football experts and even has his own weekly column Jones Knows.
As he looked ahead to Liverpool’s game against the Hammers, he can see only one winner – West Ham.
Jones says Liverpool are staggering over the Premier League finish line.
And he believes Potter’s excellent record and tactical nous away at the top sides will result in a 2-1 victory for the Irons at Anfield.
“Liverpool only need (nine) points from their remaining seven games to guarantee the Premier League title but they might just stagger over the line,” Jones said in his latest Sky Sports column.
“Graham Potter has a very impressive record away from home against the elite teams in the Premier League.
“In his last 10 games managing away from home against a team that finished in the top three that season, he has avoided defeat on six occasions. But what really impressed me when looking at those matches is the overall aggregate score in those 10 games: his teams only lost 8-12 on aggregate.
“And the expected goals aggregate was very close too over that time at 0.85-1.3. That’s so impressive when you factor in the difficulty in matches Potter’s teams were undertaking.
“Potter has taken West Ham to Arsenal and won this season, drawn at Villa and only lost narrowly to Chelsea already. He can work his magic again.”
It all sounds great for the Hammers.
Arteta has fed West Ham to Liverpool lions
But the reality is that Arteta and Arsenal have just fed West Ham to the Liverpool lions.
Anfield already promises to be in carnival mood after Salah signed his new deal.
Now Arsenal’s meek surrender in their latest 1-1 draw – this time with Brentford – has handed Slot’s side an even greater incentive.
Arteta rested several players and substituted top stars very early as the Gunners were held at home by the Bees.
It was the first sign of Arteta waving the white flag in the title race after he insisted just last week they were in it until the end.
Arsenal’s shock 3-0 Champions League quarter-final first leg win over Real Madrid has completely changed the priorities in north London.
With the second leg to come it is understandable Arteta wanted to rest his stars.
But West Ham may now be lambs to the slaughter as a result.
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