West Ham vs Liverpool: Jurgen Klopp’s side head to London as they hope to bounce back after their defeat to Everton.

Jurgen Klopp has selection issues ahead of Liverpool’s game with West Ham this weekend after a disappointing Merseyside derby.

The Reds are set to face the Hammers in the early kick-off on Saturday as they look to bounce back from their midweek Merseyside derby defeat to Everton. With both Manchester City and Arsenal winning this week, they fell behind in the title race. However, Arsenal face Spurs and City travel to relegation-threatened Nottingham Forest meaning there is some possibility that Liverpool’s rivals could drop points this weekend.

In terms of West Ham, they are in mixed form having been knocked out of Europe by Bayer Leverkusen. They’ve also lost to Fulham and, most recently, they were beaten heavily by Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park. Despite that, they pose a difficult threat at the London Stadium for Klopp’s side and he was on hand to speak to the media ahead of the game, confirming the latest regarding his side’s team news.

Liverpool team news

Klopp’s squad is in a mostly strong shape but the most pressing issue is whether Cody Gakpo will return for Klopp after missing the derby following the birth of his first child. The manager said Gakpo’s son ‘Samuel’ was born and he’s back in training and will return to action this weekend which is a boost for Liverpool.

However, after failing in front of goal as well and with their midfield struggling against Everton, Klopp could ring the changes with the likes of Harvey Elliott and Ryan Gravenberch pushing to start. Gakpo could also step back into the side after Nunez frustrated against Everton so we could see some tinkering from the Liverpool boss.

Diogo Jota is out of action for at least another few games after suffering an issue last week and so is Conor Bradley with Klopp claiming both are unavailable but are progressing well for a return to training soon. Whereas Stefan Bajcetic, who has been part of recent matchday squads, won’t be rushed back after a significant spell out. In terms of long-term absentees, those include the likes of Joel Matip (ACL) Ben Doak (Knee) and Thiago (Hip) all of whom won’t feature again this season.

West Ham team news

Star man Jarrod Bowen sat out the 5-2 defeat to Palace during the week and Moyes will hope to have his top scorer back for this game. The England winger has scored 19 times in all competitions and provided nine assists and would be a big miss on the right wing. If he isn’t fit, Mohammed Kudus will most likely deputise in his place. While defensive pair Nayef Aguerd and Konstantinos Mavropanos will require late fitness checks.

Predicted XI: Fabianski; Coufal, Zouma, Ogbonna, Emerson; Soucek, Alvarez, Kudus, Ward-Prowse, Pacqueta; Antonio.