Liverpool will look to continue their recent upturn in form when they return to league action this weekend. Liverpool host West Ham United at Anfield in Saturday’s 3pm kick-off.
The fixture comes six days after a thrilling 1-0 away win against Nottingham Forest in their previous match. Alexis Mac Allister saw what he believed was a late winner ruled out for handball, but he struck again in the 97th minute to seal three crucial points for the Reds.
Liverpool now face another side fighting to avoid relegation at the end of the campaign. The Hammers travel to Anfield sitting 18th in the league table, though they are only two points away from climbing out of the danger zone.
With matches coming in quick succession, injury concerns remain for both squads ahead of this Premier League meeting. With that in mind, here is the latest injury update from both teams before the clash.
Liverpool
Slot has confirmed that summer signing Florian Wirtz will miss the match against the Hammers because of a back problem picked up during the warm-up against Nottingham Forest last week. Speaking at his pre-match press conference, he said:
“I don’t expect Florian to be available, which is obviously disappointing.
“Whenever a player is unavailable it’s frustrating, and it’s also not something I anticipated after last week. But sometimes things develop that way, and unfortunately this time not in a positive direction.”
When asked about a possible return date, Slot added:
“No, at this moment, no – and normally when I say that, I do know but don’t want to share it! This time, I genuinely don’t know.”
Wirtz will be joined on the sidelines by longer-term absentees Alexander Isak (ankle), Wataru Endo (foot), Giovanni Leoni (knee), Conor Bradley (knee) and Stefan Bajcetic (hamstring). Young forward Jayden Danns is also expected to miss out as he continues his recovery from a previous fitness issue.
There is some positive news for Liverpool, however, as full-back Jeremie Frimpong could return from injury against West Ham. The 25-year-old has been sidelined for the last five matches in all competitions with a hamstring problem.
West Ham
The injury picture appears more encouraging for the Hammers, with Nuno Espirito Santo likely to be without two players due to injury and one through suspension. January signing striker Pablo Felipe is expected to miss the game.
Providing an update at his pre-match press conference, Nuno said:
“He (Pablo) hasn’t joined us yet. He’s started his individual programme and is improving day by day. We’ll continue to assess him and see when he can return. Hopefully it will be soon because we miss him.”
Goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski has been absent for much of the season with a back injury and is also expected to remain unavailable. Midfielder Freddie Potts will be ineligible as he serves the second match of a three-game suspension following his red card in the FA Cup tie against Burton Albion.
Nuno also suggested there could be additional concerns but did not go into detail.
“There are always things to assess,” he said. “We have another training session tomorrow (Friday) and then we will travel.”
