Harry Diamond
Jurgen Klopp has warned his Liverpool side to expect a ‘big challenge’ when they come up against a struggling West Ham side at the London Stadium on Wednesday night.
The Premier League leaders continue their pursuit of the title when they travel to face David Moyes’ side tonight, with victory set to extend Liverpool‘s lead over nearest challengers Manchester City at the top to a barely believable 19 points.
By contrast, the Hammers are currently struggling near the foot of the division following a disappointing start to the campaign, though Klopp is wary of the threat posed by tonight’s opponents who he says will ‘fight with all they have’ for valuable points in their bid for survival.
“West Ham fights for staying in the league and that’s what it looks like. It will be a big fight, they will fight with all they have,” Klopp said at his pre-match press conference.
“It will be a rather defensive line-up. If it’s four in the back or five in the back, I don’t know but both is obviously possible. They did something mixed already when it was four plus Masuaku man-marking Pereira, I think, against Leicester.
“So different possibilities but we have to be ready for a big fight. They want to strike back, they have a tough programme coming up, everybody knows that. They have no points to waste, no time to waste.
“It will just be a tough one, 100 per cent. But we have to do what we have to do. We have to fight as well.
“We have to keep up, if not set the intensity level and do some smart things with possession as well. That’s a big challenge.
“[They have] counter-attacking threats – Antonio, Lanzini, whoever can play, I’m not 100 per cent sure. It will be tough but that’s what the Premier League is about.”
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