Lawrenson tips Liverpool to ‘ruin the party’ at West Ham but shares worrying omen ‘Hammers will be happy to see’
by Max Rudd · The Empire of The KopEx-Liverpool defender Mark Lawrenson has tipped his former side to defeat West Ham today and move to within one point of league leaders Chelsea.
Thomas Tuchel’s men were held to a surprise 1-1 draw at home to Burnley yesterday whilst Manchester City defeated Manchester United 2-0 at Old Trafford.
Those results mean that Liverpool currently sit third in the Premier League ahead of their trip to the London Stadium today and the 64-year-old fancies his old club to come away with all three points.
“I think Liverpool will ruin the party, though. Jurgen Klopp’s side were very impressive against Atletico Madrid in midweek and, in terms of keeping the Hammers out, van Dijk and Joel Matip will have the answers Klopp needs against Michail Antonio,” the 64-year-old told BBC Sport.
The Match of the Day pundit predicts a 2-1 win for the Reds and believes the London Stadium will be bouncing, saying:
“I have got a bit of a thing going with West Ham fans now where I always tip them to lose or draw, and then they win – so all those Hammers will be happy to see what I am going for here.
“There will be a great atmosphere at London Stadium because West Ham are doing so well and one of the big teams are in town.”
With the return of Thiago Alcantara and Fabinho to our midfield, we should be confident we can pick up all three points today.
It will be a really tough game, though, and it will be interesting to see how Declan Rice performs today against our midfield three.
He has been superb this season and many believe he has all the assets to be a success in our midfield, whether that be alongside Jordan Henderson or as his replacement.
The key battle will be in midfield but if our front-three can produce their usual moments of magic then we should have enough to return to second spot.