Premier League preview: Liverpool v West Ham
A talismanic captain who can often carry the team, score spectacular, vital goals and inspire the 10 others around him won’t be playing at Anfield on Saturday.
Scott Parker, suffering with a chest infection, will indeed be a huge miss for bottom of the table West Ham United, but it is the absence of the Liverpool skipper that has made the most headlines in the past few days, and he’s had his moments against the Hammers in the past.
“There is no doubt Steven Gerrard will be missed whether we win, lose or draw because he is such an important player here,” said Jamie Carragher, who will captain the Reds tomorrow four-and-a-half years after watching on in Cardiff as Gerrard almost single-handedly wrestled the FA Cup out of West Ham’s hands.
Gerrard won’t be playing here though, as the hamstring injury picked up playing for England – until the 85th minute – on Wednesday night rules him out for the next month. Time for others to step up then.
“It is up to us to perform well and lessen the impact,” said Carragher, “like when we beat Spurs (2-0) in January without him and Fernando Torres.
“Everyone knows what great quality Steven has got and it is frustrating for everyone - though nobody more than him - that he is out because he has been in such good form.
“But the most important thing now is beating West Ham. We know we didn't perform at Stoke but if we get three points tomorrow, the league table will look much better and we can push on.”
That 2-0 loss at Stoke set Liverpool back to the bad old days under Roy Hodgson, days that the Reds boss had hoped to have put behind him following the victory in Liverpool’s last home game against Chelsea. The visit of the Premier League’s bottom club could well be coming at a good time for him then, not that the Hammers see it that way. They might be bottom, they might not have won for seven games and they might not have won at Anfield since 1963, but they fancy their chances.
“I am very excited about playing at Anfield,” said the Hammers Mexican international winger Pablo Barrera. “It will be a very difficult match but we need to start winning. The team is playing well despite being frustrated by the results in the recent matches. We have a great chance to get something from Liverpool.
“We just need to keep working to come out from this period, because I believe that we've got quality in the squad to do it. Of course mentally we are not in our best moment because we have not been winning. However, the team is playing well, so we just need a little bit extra to turn draws into wins.”
Draws in their last three Premier League matches followed on from an unfortunate defeat at Arsenal, and while there is little doubt that the Hammers have improved upon their awful showings at the beginning of the season, they are still not winning. Gerard or no Gerrard, Avram Grant – who first visited Anfield in his early 20s to study the methods of the great Bob Paisley – is in for a tough test here, a test which only gets tougher without Parker.
Hodgson will have to reshuffle his midfield too, with not only Gerrard injured but youngster Jay Spearing cruelly denied the opportunity to replace him after cracking a bone in his ankle during a training ground five-a-side, and Lucas suspended after being sent off at Stoke.
Those absences mean that the Dane Christian Poulsen – hardly the most popular figure amongst Reds fans since his summer move from Juventus – and Portugal’s Raul Meireles will start in the centre of midfield, with Joe Cole’s continued layoff opening the door for one of Ryan Babel or Milan Jovanović to come in. Glen Johnson and Martin Škrtel are fit to play in defence, as are Torres and Dirk Kuyt in attack.
By contrast West Ham are in rude health, but missing Parker would have a huge effect on the team. He might still make it, but that looks extremely doubtful. Forward Carlton Cole gets ready to make his 100th appearance for the club.
It looks likely to be an unhappy one though, as even a Liverpool without Gerrard should have enough to beat the Premier League’s bottom side.
As far as the Reds are concerned though, Gerrard should have only played an hour for England on Wednesday night.
Should, as Hodgson is repeatedly discovering, is a big word around Anfield these days.
Prediction: Liverpool 1 West Ham 0
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