Liverpool v West Ham United: Live matchday blog
Liverpool recorded a comprehnsive 4-1 win over West Ham United at Anfield. Emre Can set them on thier way with a 29th-minute header before Mohamed Salah and Roberto Firmino struck after the break.
Michail Antonio pulled one back for the Hammers, but Sadio Mane sealed the victory for the Reds with a neat close-range finish.
The manager's verdict
Jürgen Klopp addressed the media in his post-match press conference following Liverpool's 4-1 win over West Ham United - and hailed his side's display as 'the complete performance'.
Read what the boss had to say in full by clicking here.
Klopp in his post-match press conference: "It was a question of attitude [in the second half] - to focus and stay in the game and that's what we did. I'm really happy with the complete performance.
"They [West Ham] were really difficult to play today. We scored fantastic goals and created more chances. Today there is nothing to criticise."
The story of a good afternoon's work for Liverpool at Anfield...
Full Time
Reds get the win
It's all over at Anfield and Liverpool clinch a 4-1 success over West Ham United at Anfield.
Emre Can's header set them on their way to three points after 29 minutes before Mohamed Salah and Roberto Firmino struck after the break.
Michail Antonio pulled one back for the Hammers, but Sadio Mane restored the three-goal advantage to seal the win.
Three minutes of added time to be played...
Substitution
Mane and Salah make way for Solanke and Moreno.
Lallana strikes over the bar from 10 yards out.
Substitution
Double West Ham change - Rice and Hernandez on, Arnautovic and Mario off.
Substitution
Adam Lallana is on for Roberto Firmino.
Goal
GOAL! SADIO MANE!
Now he has his goal.
Liverpool spring forward, Firmino releases Robertson down the left, he crosses low and Mane beats Adrian to the ball and cushions it over him with a deft finish.
Chance!
Oxlade-Chamberlain slides Mane in, he dummies his shot but then strikes it against the base of the post.
Unlucky.
Oxlade-Chamberlain hammers one towards the bottom corner from 20 yards, which Adrian needs to beat away.
Chance!
Firmino escapes into space inside the area once again, tries to round Adrian but is blocked. His cross for Salah is headed away and Mane's follow-up shot is saved by the goalkeeper.
Chance!
Oxlade-Chamberlain does superbly down the right and pulls it back for Salah, who sees hios first-time side-footer blocked by Adrian.
Goal
Goal for West Ham - Antonio
He's only been on the pitch a matter of 30 seconds or so, but Michail Antonio reduces the deficit as he races into space and slides a low shot across Karius and into the corner.
Goal
GOAL! ROBERTO FIRMINO!
And it's three as Firmino nudges the ball around the onrushing Adrian from Can's ball forward and rolls it into the unguarded net.
Get in!
Chance
Alexander-Arnold's brilliant ball forward sends Oxlade-Chamberlain flying into space in the box, but his chip strikes the side netting under pressure.
Goal
GOAL! MOHAMED SALAH!
Another game, another goal for Mohamed Salah.
Oxlade-Chamberlain provides the assist as his tenacity sees him retain the ball on the edge of the box before nudging it through for Salah.
Our No.11 takes a touch, delays his shot and then steers it through the legs of Cresswell and across goal into the far corner.
That's six games in a row he's netted in now.
Yellow Card
Kouyate sees yellow for an arm in Van Dijk's face as they both contested a header.
Kick-Off
Back under way...
The story of the first half in numbers...
Half Time
Reds have the advantage
Emre Can's goal on 29 minutes is the difference between the teams at the break as Liverpool lead West Ham 1-0 at Anfield.
Half Time
Reds have the advantage
Emre Can's goal on 29 minutes is the difference between the teams at the break as Liverpool lead West Ham 1-0 at Anfield.
Half Time
Reds have the advantage
Emre Can's goal on 29 minutes is the difference between the teams at the break as Liverpool lead West Ham 1-0 at Anfield.
Salah clips a free-kick into the wall from the edge of the area.
Yellow Card
Collins goes into the book for a trip on Robertson as Liverpool looked to counter from a Hammers corner.
Arnautovic sends a dipping shot towards goal, which Karius needs to push over the crossbar.
Salah and Mane combine with a few flicks to open up West Ham before the latter crosses for Firmino, but Collins manages to get a boot to the ball.
It would have been a glorious goal.
By the way, Emre Can's goal was Liverpool's 100th of the season so far.
CHANCE!
Robertson's delivery at the end of a counter-attack picks out Salah at the back post, but he can only head over on the stretch.
Can swivles and shoots from the edge of the area, but he's off target.
Goal
GOAL! EMRE CAN!
Liverpool are in front and it comes via the head of Emre Can, who glances in a Salah corner from close range.
Robertson's hooked cross from the left almost drops in at the far post, needing Adrian to push it over the bar.
Matip's attempted headed clearance drops for Lanzini in the box, but he side-foots tamely at Karius.
Mane spins smartly and plays Firmino in down the right. He crosses back into the area for the Senegal forward, who heads well over the crossbar under pressure.
The ball falls invitingly for Zabaleta inside the Reds box. The full-back watches the ball drop and then strikes a half-volley right across the face of Karius' goal and behind.
Chance
Now it's West Ham's turn to strike the woodwork - and to be fair, Marko Arnautovic can consider himself unlucky not to have opened the scoring as he holds off Matip and lifts the ball over Karius from the edge of the box.
The 'keeper gets a touch, however, and tips in onto the crossbar with a fine save.
Can's chip over the West Ham defence finds Salah's run. He can't get it under control and the Zabaleta scrambles it behind.
Van Dijk heads goalwards from the resulting corner, but it's an easy take for Adrian.
Salah's flick sends Alexander-Arnold speeding into the area, but his attempted cross is headed behind before it can pick out Mane.
CHANCE!
Mo Salah almost opens the scoring as he drives one towards the bottom corner from Firmino's lay-off; however, it crashes against the base of the post, rolls along the line and West Ham clear behind for a corner.
Kick-Off
And we're off...
West Ham start the game at Anfield and we're under way.
Come on you Reds!
Can't watch today's game? Our free live audio commentary service from Anfield is now live. Click here to tune in.
A reminder of today's line-ups...
Dressing room ready
Here come the Reds...
Team news – three changes for LFC
Klopp makes three changes to his team, with Emre Can, Joel Matip and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain coming into the XI to face West Ham.
Danny Ings and Georginio Wijnaldum are absent from the squad due to illness.
Liverpool: Karius, Alexander-Arnold, Matip, Van Dijk, Robertson, Milner, Can, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Mane, Salah, Firmino.
Substitutes: Mignolet, Lovren, Gomez, Henderson, Moreno, Lallana, Solanke.
On the mic...
Virgil van Dijk takes care of the pre-match media duties at Anfield.
Looking glorious...
The odds are in...
BetVictor offer these prices on today's match - click here for more details.
Liverpool - 2/9
Draw - 6/1
West Ham - 14/1
Listen live
If you aren't attending or watching today's game, we politely point you in the direction of our free live commentary service from Anfield. You can listen in by clicking here.
View from the opposition
Here's what Moyes had to say about the task of stopping the Reds...
"It's a tough game, but we're in a good run of form ourselves. It will not be easy to stop Mane, Salah and Firmino. We will try to contain them - they have other players of course but those three can create on their own. We'll go there and hope that with the players we have in our team we will cause them problems as well."
Team news
Liverpool have no fresh injury concerns ahead of this match, with only Nathaniel Clyne unavailable as he builds up fitness following a lengthy lay-off.
Emre Can is eligible again after a suspension in the Champions League.
West Ham expect to have Manuel Lanzini and Winston Reid at their disposal at Anfield, though Arthur Masuaku is suspended.
Klopp: Let's do this together
The boss has issued something of a rallying cry in his programme notes for this one.
"For us to get a positive result our hunger and desire has to be at 100 per cent – that's for players, staff and supporters," writes Klopp.
"The mentality of everyone wishing for a positive Liverpool outcome must be that we make it happen through our own actions – be that on the pitch or in the stands. We must leave Anfield today knowing we have given our everything. If we do that together, if we have that approach and that mentality together, we will enjoy our day together."
Stat attack
Love a factoid? Want to impress your mates? Bored waiting for the game?
We've got you covered...
- Liverpool are one goal short of 100 for the season
- The Reds have scored at least twice in 12 of their last 13 matches
- West Ham have won once at Anfield in their last 44 league visits
- David Moyes has overseen seven draws and seven defeats at this ground as a manager
Liverpool can climb to second in the Premier League with victory over the Hammers today. Before the action begins, take a look at this weekend's fixtures and the standings below...
Weather
*Weather alert*
Dedicated matchday blog followers know we take our weather updates very seriously. And why would today be any different?
It's a clear morning in L4, with the temperature currently at one degree. That will rise slightly by kick-off but our advice would be to wrap up if you're heading to the stadium.
An alternative commentary...
Ahead of today's meeting at Anfield, we asked Oxlade-Chamberlain and Georginio Wijnaldum to try a spot of commentary by calling the action from the away trip to West Ham in November.
And we got five minutes of very amusing asides from the Reds pair - well worth a watch...
Last time
Liverpool enjoyed a productive evening at the London Stadium in this season's reverse fixture, running out 4-1 winners through a Mohamed Salah brace and goals from Joel Matip and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.
Relive the best of the action below.
The manager's press conference
Klopp spoke at length about facing West Ham, and a host of other subjects, at his media briefing on Friday. And you can see everything he said in our free video from Melwood...
Cover star
Virgil van Dijk adorns the front page of today's match programme...
The tale of the tape
First things first, why not take a look at the two sides' seasons so far?
Our nifty Opta tool below contains a range of facts and figures on their efforts in the Premier League in 2017-18. You can have hours of fun... probably.
Good morning...
... and welcome. The wait is over. Liverpool return to action against West Ham this afternoon.
10 days - 10 whole days - since the Reds ran riot at FC Porto, they pick up Premier League duties today.
Stick with us for extensive build-up and all the action and reaction from Anfield.