Liverpool vs West Ham United20:00, Wednesday 20th DecemberAnfield, LiverpoolLeague Cup Quarter-FinalReferee: John BrooksAn increased-capacity Anfield plays host to a second of three home matches this week on Wednesday, as West Ham United travel north to face Liverpool in the Quarter Final of the 2023-24 League Cup. Jürgen Klopp’s side were held to a goalless Premier League draw against North West rivals Manchester United on Sunday, relinquishing top-spot to next-up Arsenal. The inconsistent Hammers enjoyed a 3-0 victory over similarly-inconsistent Wolves earlier in the day, and occupy a very comfortable top-half position. The Reds have of course won this competition more than any other side, with the latest of their nine League Cups being claimed against Chelsea in 2022. West Ham have been runners-up twice (1966 and ’81), and have reached this stage four times in the last ten seasons.Liverpool and West Ham last met in the League Cup in November 1988, with John Lyall’s to-be relegated Hammers claiming a 4-1 victory over Kenny Dalglish’s visitors. A young Paul Ince had netted a brace before a John Alridge penalty reduced the deficit during the first half, but a Steve Staunton own goal was added to by Tony Gale to eliminate the Reds. The pair met on a further four occasions in the competition, winning a game each at the first hurdle and with Liverpool proving successful on two other occasions that required replays. Their meeting on this occasions comes off the back of Jürgen Klopp’s side claiming 3-1 home & 2-1 away victories over Leicester City & Bournemouth, respectively, whilst David Moyes’ side beat Lincoln City 1-0 away from home before impressively dismissing Arsenal with a 3-1 win at the London Stadium.David Moyes is of course in charge of West Ham United for a second time, having twice been appointed to rescue a struggling side from relegation – first in November 2017, steering the Hammers for the relegation zone to a reasonably-comfortable 13th, and again in December 2019, eventually guiding them to survival in 16th. A highly impressive 2020-21 followed, with goals from Michael Antonio and Tomáš Souček firing a squad that featured Vladimír Coufal, Declan Rice, retiring Mark Noble, and on-loan Jesse Lingard to a best-since-’99 (the days of Shaka Hislop, Rio Ferdinand, Frank Lampard, Joe Cole, and Ian Wright, led by Harry Redknapp) 6th place finish. League form dropped off a little during 2021-22, though this could be attributed to a strong showing in the Europa League – Moyes’ side progressed through the group-stage before eliminating Sevilla and Lyon in the knockout rounds, ultimately being dismissed by eventual-winners Eintracht Frankfurt at the semi-final stage.League form dropped off yet further during 2022-23, as the Hammers picked up just 40 points (compared to 65 & 56 in ’21 & ’22, respectively) and finished much closer to the drop zone that European qualification positions. Moyes’ side did qualify for a third consecutive season of European football, however, after becoming the second winners of the Europa Conference League. West Ham beat Anderlecht to top-spot in their group, before beating AEK Larnaca, Gent, and AZ on their way to their final against Fiorentina. West Ham took the lead halfway through the Prague-based final, courtesy of a Saïd Benrahma penalty, but were quickly pegged-back by a Giacomo Bonaventura equaliser – soon-to-depart captain, Declan Rice ultimate lifted the trophy after a late Jarred Bowen winner.The 2023 Europa Conference League trophy is West Ham’s first trophy since their 2012 & ’05 playoff victories and the 1999 Intertoto Cup (besides these, you have to look back to the 1980 FA Cup), and is David Moyes’ second overall (the first since a bright new era for Manchester United began at Wembley, with a 2-0 Community Shield victory over Wigan Athletic). The ‘Moyes era’ has been West Ham’s best period since at least the days of Harry Redknapp’s talented young squad of the late-90s, but there’s a sense that the club should be aspiring to regular top-half finishes and cup-runs rather than very occasional ones. The relationship between club, manager, and supporters has always seemed a little more fragile than their recent records (on paper) suggest it could otherwise be. The first half of this season is exactly what supporters will be looking for if they’re to have the appetite for this era lasting much longer, however – the Hammers have started the Premier League season well (only really let down by a poor October run) and have cruised through the Europa League group-stage. It’s very rare for visiting sides to be deemed favourites at Anfield, but an effort & performance that shows that West Ham United are in this competition to win it will be what supporters are looking for.It's become a somewhat strange season for Jürgen Klopp’s side, who are unbeaten in ten league matches (having lost just once, away to Tottenham Hotspur admist controversy) and sit just a point behind league-leaders & next-opponents Arsenal. There’s a nagging sense of frustration amongst the fanbase that the Reds’ position is somewhat in spite of performances rather than a result of them – the encouraging signs of the emergence of a new midfield have thinned out, and a talented forward-line continues to misfire. It’s hard to view the League Cup as any sort of a priority for a club who will have ambitions of going all the way in the Europe League and FA Cup, whilst at-least challenging for the Premier League title, but Wednesday’s game looks like an important one in the context of requiring some renewed positive during a busy & high-stakes period of the season, and in a competition for which Liverpool must surely be considered favourites.
However if something serious happens to them I will eat my own cock.
If anyone is going to put a few fingers deep into my arse it's going to be me.
Curtis is looking sharp, Harvey too
It's just the final ball again
That final ball just isn't going for us at the moment. We just have to keep at it.
Great strike by Dom!You know he's gonna keep doing those long shots now don't ya?!
