Liverpool v West Ham United
Premier League, Saturday 5 March 2022, 5.30pm
West Ham United return to Premier League action on Saturday with a trip to Anfield to take on title-chasing Liverpool.
The Hammers will travel to Merseyside seeking a first Premier League double over the Reds since the 2015/16 season, having defeated Jürgen Klopp's side 3-2 in a thrilling game at London Stadium in November.
West Ham go into the weekend fifth in the table with 45 points from 27 matches, and a win would take us back above Manchester United, who play away to leaders Manchester City on Sunday, and into the top four.
Liverpool, meanwhile, are second in the standings with 60 points from 26 matches, six fewer than Manchester City, but with a game in hand on their title rivals.
Saturday's game will kick off at 5.30pm GMT.
Ticket news
The first 90% of our allocation of 2,936 Standard Tickets sold out to Season Ticket Holders and Bondholders with 28+ Priority Points. The remaining 293 were sold via ballot to Season Ticket Holders. For Accessibility Ticket information, click here.
However, tickets are on General Sale now for our upcoming home games versus Aston Villa on Sunday 13 March, Sevilla in the UEFA Europa League on Thursday 17 March and Everton on Sunday 3 April.
Click here to watch West Ham United in action live now!
Support for Ukraine
To show League-wide support for Ukraine, the Premier League will be demonstrating that ‘Football Stands Together’ in all matches taking place from Saturday 5 to Monday 7 March.
The 20 club captains will wear special armbands in Ukrainian colours and fans are encouraged to join players, managers, match officials and club staff in a moment of reflection and solidarity before kick-off at Anfield.
Big screens at stadiums will display "Football Stands Together" against the backdrop of the blue and yellow colours of the Ukrainian flag. These words will also be shown on LED perimeter boards during matches.
This message of solidarity will also be visible to fans around the world across Premier League digital channels. Logos and profiles on those platforms will change to represent the colours of the Ukrainian flag, which will also be displayed across match broadcasts both in the UK and overseas.
How to follow
Saturday's 5.30pm kick-off will be broadcast live in the UK by Sky Sports and around the world by the Premier League's international broadcast partners.
For details of international coverage of the game, click here.
We will also be covering the game live with a blog and audio commentary on whufc.com and our Official App and across our social media channels, with goals, highlights and exclusive reaction to follow after the final whistle.
Team news
Andriy Yarmolenko was granted compassionate leave in the midst of the crisis engulfing his home country of Ukraine.
The Eastern European country was invaded by Russian forces on Thursday 24 February, advancing on the northern city of Chernihiv, where the West Ham United grew up, and a number of other large population centres, including the capital Kyiv, where Yarmolenko played for the country’s leading club Dynamo for a decade.
Last Friday, Moyes revealed the No7 had requested and been granted time off. He returned to training on Monday, but the manager has confirmed it will be Yarmolenko's decision if and when he feels ready to return to competitive action.
Vladimír Coufal underwent surgery on a groin injury last week, while Angelo Ogbonna continues his recovery from an anterior cruciate ligament injury. Arthur Masuaku's knee problem continues to be managed, too.
For Liverpool, Brazil forward Roberto Firmino is hoping to be fit after suffering a muscle injury in a UEFA Champions League round of 16 first leg win at Inter Milan last month.
Spain midfielder Thiago Alcantara suffered a hamstring injury in the warm-up ahead of the Carabao Cup final against Chelsea and is considered a doubt.
Young midfielder Curtis Jones was withdrawn with a thigh injury during the midweek FA Cup fifth-round win over Norwich City.
The opposition – Liverpool
After a trophyless 2020/21, Liverpool appear to be enjoying a resurgent 2021/22 campaign.
The Reds have lost just two of the 42 matches they have contested in all competitions this season, winning 31 of them and scoring 108 goals in the process. Liverpool are unbeaten at Anfield this term.
Jürgen Klopp's talented squad sit second in the Premier League table and still harbour strong hopes of regaining the title they won in 2019/20. They have already won the Carabao Cup this season and are through to the UEFA Champions League round of 16 and Emirates FA Cup quarter-finals.
Liverpool's charge has again been led by Egyptian superstar Mohamed Salah, who has plundered 27 goals, despite being away for a month or more with his country at the CAF Africa Cup of Nations at the start of 2022.
Portuguese Diogo Jota has netted 17 times and Sadio Mané 13, while the January capture of Colombian forward Luis Díaz has further added to Klopp's attacking options.
At the back, Virgil van Dijk leads a defence that has conceded just 20 goals in 26 Premier League matches, while full-backs Trent Alexander-Arnold and Andrew Robertson have 19 top-flight assists between them.
Previous meetings
West Ham United meet Liverpool in the Premier League for the 52nd time on Saturday.
Unsurprisingly, perhaps, the Reds have had much the better of the previous 51 top-flight meetings, winning 31 to West Ham's ten victories, with ten draws.
However, West Ham did win the reverse fixture at London Stadium in November, when an early Alisson own-goal and second-half goals from Pablo Fornals and Kurt Zouma secured a superb three points for David Moyes' side.
The Hammers have won just once in 25 previous Premier League visits to Anfield, 3-0 in August 2015, when goals from full Premier League debutant Manuel Lanzini, Mark Noble and Diafra Sakho secured a first victory at Anfield in 42 attempts dating back to September 1963.
Match Officials
Referee: Jon Moss
Assistant Referees: Marc Perry & Timothy Wood
Fourth Official: Kevin Friend
VAR: Darren England
Assistant VAR: Sian Massey-Ellis
Born in Sunderland in 1970, Jon Moss won a football scholarship at Central Connecticut State University in the United States but completed his studies with a degree in teaching and physical education at the University of Leeds.
Moss played Academy football for Sunderland and Millwall before opting to become a physical education teacher, teaching future Liverpool and England star James Milner at Westbrook Lane Primary School in Leeds!
Moss’s refereeing career began in the Northern Counties East League and Northern Premier League before he was promoted to the National Group of assistant referees in 2003.
He became a Football League referee in 2005 and a Premier League referee in 2011, before taking charge of the 2015 FA Cup final at Wembley.
The 51-year-old has refereed West Ham United 34 times in total since a 2-1 Championship defeat at Derby County on New Year’s Eve 2011.
His most-recent Hammers appointment was for our 2-1 Emirates FA Cup fourth round win at Kidderminster Harriers on 5 February.
As an aside, Moss famously runs a record shop in Leeds called... Vinyl Whistle!
