Liverpool vs West Ham EFL Cup prediction and stats: Reds get defence underway
Liverpool start the defence of their EFL Cup crown with an all-Premier League tie in the third round against West Ham United on Wednesday.
This is Arne Slot’s first taste of cup football in England, while Julen Lopetegui won one and lost two of his four cup games when in charge of Wolverhampton Wanderers — including a defeat to Liverpool.
Three Liverpool vs West Ham predictions
Liverpool 2-1 West Ham (7/1 with Midnite)
Liverpool have won five of their last six games against West Ham, though the most recent meeting was a 2-2 draw.
Cody Gakpo to score anytime (8/5 with Bet365)
Cody Gakpo scored four goals in six EFL Cup games for Liverpool last season, netting in each of his first four appearances in the competition. He will be hoping to use any minutes in this match to fight his way into Slot’s first-choice XI.
Liverpool to win and BTTS (6/4 with SkyBet)
West Ham are winless at Anfield in their past 10 visits, since a 3-0 win in August 2015. However, they have scored in six of those games including each of the past two.
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How to watch Liverpool vs West Ham live
Liverpool vs West Ham is scheduled for 8pm on Wednesday 25th September and will be broadcast live on Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Football.
How both teams go into Liverpool vs West Ham
For the second time in four seasons, Liverpool enter the EFL Cup as defending champions. On both occasions they beat Chelsea in the final, last season doing so after extra-time. But since their domination in the early 1980s, Liverpool have famously struggled in defending their crown.
The Reds haven’t made it past the fourth round in any of their past six seasons in which they were defending EFL Cup holders. However, only one of those seasons saw them lose in the third round. Last season Liverpool beat four Premier League teams en route to the trophy, including a 5-1 win over West Ham in the quarter-finals.
Last season was an escape from the norm for West Ham in the EFL Cup. While it was their second quarter-final run in three seasons, West Ham have been falling early in this competition. In four of the past six seasons, the Hammers have failed to make it past the fourth round. That includes two third-round exits.
In 2022-23 they were beaten on penalties by Bristol City and in 2019-20 they were shocked in a 4-0 defeat to Oxford United. They have already beaten Premier League opposition in the EFL Cup this season, knocking out Bournemouth in the second round.
Liverpool host West Ham at Anfield on Wednesday 25th September at 8pm.
Liverpool team news
Harvey Elliott and Alisson are Liverpool’s only confirmed absentees for this one at the moment. Slot could opt to rotate his XI slightly, with a busy period across competitions coming up.
West Ham team news
Summer signing Niclas Fullkrug picked up a knock while on international duty with Germany, related to his Achilles tendon and calf muscle. He missed their recent meeting with Chelsea and is likely to miss out here. Lukasz Fabianski has been confirmed as the starting goalkeeper.
Liverpool vs West Ham head-to-head
Liverpool are unbeaten in their past six games against West Ham across all competitions. This includes a 5-1 thrashing in the EFL Cup last season.
| Liverpool vs West Ham H2H | |||||||
| Date | Score | Ground | |||||
| 27/04/24 | West Ham 2-2 Liverpool | London Stadium, London | |||||
| 20/12/23 | Liverpool 5-1 West Ham | Anfield, Liverpool | |||||
| 24/09/23 | Liverpool 3-1 West Ham | Anfield, Liverpool | |||||
| 26/04/23 | West Ham 1-2 Liverpool | London Stadium, London | |||||
| 19/10/22 | Liverpool 1-0 West Ham | Anfield, Liverpool | |||||
| 05/03/22 | Liverpool 1-0 West Ham | Anfield, Liverpool | |||||
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