A West Ham United star who is yet to start a single Premier League game this season could face Liverpool after impressing David Moyes.
West Ham consolidated their place in the Prem top four with a 4-1 win at Aston Villa on Sunday.
It was West Ham’s fifth consecutive win in all competitions and means victory over Liverpool this coming Sunday would see them leapfrog the Reds – and potentially go second heading into the international break.
David Moyes’s brilliant side are also in the quarter-finals of the Carabao Cup after famous wins over Man United and Man City.
And after a perfect start to their Europa League campaign, the Hammers are just one win – and possibly even one point – away from winning the group and earning a place in the last 16.
Moyes has admitted he has had to carefully plan and manage his squad to juggle the various competitions and remain highly competitive.
So far this season the Scot has done that masterfully.
They say never change a winning team. But Moyes could be tempted to make one big change when Liverpool come to the London Stadium on Sunday.
Said Benrahma has been excellent so far this season for West Ham.
But he was one of the only players to come out of the Villa game with a slight question mark against their name.
The Algerian has set high standards for himself with his excellent performances this season.
But he was substituted just after the hour mark with Manuel Lanzini coming on in his place.
Benrahma has flattered to deceive as an attacking force in some games of late. The skilful star has showed flashes but has not been taking on his man frequently enough, instead constantly cutting inside and trying – without success – to curl shots into the top corner from outside the box.
That aspect of his performance was criticised by Chris Wilder on Match of the Day 2.
One such foray inside did actually lead to Declan Rice scoring against Villa. And Benrahma has still been working hard for the team.
But Moyes clearly felt the attacker could be better as he substituted him for Manuel Lanzini just after the hour.
And the Argentine’s excellent 30-minute cameo helped West Ham score another two goals.
West Ham star yet to start a single Prem game could face Liverpool after impressing David Moyes
The pick of them came after Michail Antonio, Lanzini and Jarrod Bowen combined for a lovely move with the latter sliding in to tap home an unselfish pass from the little Jewel in the box.
West Ham had been sloppy after Villa were reduced to 10 men and Lanzini helped the Hammers keep hold of the ball and use it better going forward.
He has impressed Moyes with his performances in Europe and the cup games and after playing a key role in West Ham’s latest Premier League win there is a real chance he could start against Liverpool on Sunday, when keeping possession for spells will be absolutely key.
Benrahma could drop to the bench and come on as more of an impact player for a game against a side that look certain to challenge for the title.
West Ham fans will more or less know on Thursday night by who Moyes selects to start the Europa League game in Genk.
Should Benrahma start that then it is almost certain Lanzini will be making his first Premier League start of the season against Jurgen Klopp’s side.