Liverpool vs West Ham Prediction, Preview & Lineups: Ward-Prowse tipped in two double bets at Anfield

Liverpool will host West Ham in a Premier League clash on Sunday at Anfield, starting at 2:00 PM, live on Sky Sports Main Event.

Oli Nixon has previewed the match and delivered his best bets below.

Liverpool vs West Ham Preview

With their season somewhat stuttering, having exited the Champions League and lost in both domestic cup competitions, Liverpool will be keen to get back to winning ways and secure the league title that has been considered a formality for so long. West Ham, meanwhile, look far from a well-oiled machine under Graham Potter and despite being safe from any relegation fears, will need to start showing signs of progress soon if fans are to keep their patience. Liverpool have scored five goals in three of the last four meetings between these sides and so the Hammers cold be the perfect opponents for Arne Slot’s side to regain their confidence.

Liverpool vs West Ham Betting Tips

Recent weeks have seen James Ward-Prowse earn a starting spot in Graham Potter’s midfield, starting each of the Hammers’ last six matches. With Tomas Soucek playing a more advanced role, Ward-Prowse has more defensive responsibility, which has resulted in a big increase in both his tackles and fouls.

Where his fouls are concerned, he’s made at least one in all of his last six appearances and has also picked up two yellow cards to demonstrate how difficult he’s finding this more defensive position. Central midfielders against Liverpool are kept very busy and Ward-Prowse will be tasked with containing the trio of Alexis MacAllister, Ryan Gravenberch and Dominik Szoboszlai who draw an average of 3.77 fouls per 90 between them. Across their last 10 domestic matches, opposition central midfielders have committed 36 fouls, and with Ward-Prowse in an unnatural role, he’s likely to be contributing some more to this list.

With regard to tackles, Ward-Prowse has averaged 1.75 per 90 for his new boss, with at least one in all six starts and two against Wolves, Everton, Newcastle and Leicester. His career average is 1.2 tackles per game and so there’s been a clear spike in his data in recent weeks. As well as Liverpool’s midfielders drawing plenty of fouls, they’re also regularly dispossessed with their starting three in the middle of the park being tackled 2.33 times per 90 combined. Across the Reds' last nine matches in all competitions, opposing defensive midfielders have made 59 tackles, and so it’s clearly an area of the pitch where we can expect a combative affair.

Across the two meetings between these sides this season in league and cup, West Ham’s defensive midfielders had the following stats including their replacements as we get paid for those with Bet365 now too;

Liverpool 5-1 West Ham (EFL Cup)

Tomas Soucek – 3 tackles, 1 foul

Edson Alvarez – 1 tackle, 5 fouls (sent off after 76 minutes)

West Ham 0-5 Liverpool (Premier League)

Lucas Paqueta – 4 tackles, 1 foul

Edson Alvarez – 2 tackles, 1 foul

That head-to-head data, coupled with opposition data across the season and Ward-Prowse’s recent numbers, suggests that he could be in for plenty of defensive involvements on Sunday afternoon.

Liverpool vs West Ham Lineups

The lineups for Liverpool vs West Ham will be displayed below approximately one hour before kick-off.

Liverpool vs West Ham Bet Boosts

Liverpool vs West Ham Odds