Match Preview: No excuses for Liverpool ahead of crucial West Ham United clash | OneFootball

Liverpool vs West Ham – Premier League Preview

Date: Saturday, 28 February 2026

Venue: Anfield

Kick-off: 15:00 GMT

The calendar tightens. The margins narrow.

Liverpool return to Anfield knowing the arithmetic is no longer theoretical. Champions League qualification is not a luxury — it is the baseline expectation for reigning champions navigating a transitional season. Across from them stands a West Ham United side fighting for survival, and desperation in late February can distort logic as easily as it fuels resilience.

There will be no comfort at the table. Only consequence.

West Ham: Survival Instinct and Direct Threat

West Ham’s position near the bottom has sharpened their approach. The aesthetics have faded; the essentials remain. Compact defensive lines. Quick vertical release. Relentless set-piece emphasis.

Expect a narrow midfield, screening central lanes and daring Liverpool to go wide. The Hammers will attempt to congest the half-spaces, forcing Liverpool’s attackers into predictable crossing patterns rather than controlled combinations. Second balls will matter. Duels will matter more.

In transition, West Ham are at their most dangerous. One turnover, one loose touch in midfield, and the contest can swing into a footrace toward Alisson’s goal. Survival fights rarely produce beauty — they produce volatility.

Anfield must not mistake urgency for inferiority.

Liverpool: Structure Without Wirtz

The absence of Florian Wirtz alters the geometry.

Wirtz offers drift, subtlety, and interior superiority. Without him, Liverpool loses a natural manipulator of space between the lines. The solution cannot simply be replication; it must be recalibration.

Dominik Szoboszlai becomes the fulcrum. His vertical authority, his willingness to break lines with or without the ball, must now stretch West Ham’s compact block. Alexis Mac Allister’s role deepens further — rhythm-setter, tempo-controller, emotional regulator if frustration creeps in.

Mohamed Salah remains the decisive outlet. Against a low block, his isolation on the right can be an advantage if Liverpool circulates possession quickly rather than hesitating. The full-backs must provide width early and often, pinning West Ham’s wide midfielders deeper than they would prefer.

Patience is not passivity. It is pressure applied intelligently.

At the back, Virgil van Dijk marshals territory rather than merely space. West Ham will not dominate possession, but they will attack in moments. Every clearance must be clean. Every second ball is anticipated.

Liverpool’s challenge is mental more than tactical. An early goal changes the emotional temperature of the afternoon. Delay it, and anxiety grows audible.

Predicted Liverpool Lineup (4-2-3-1)

GK – Alisson Becker

RB – Curtis Jones

CB – Ibrahima Konaté

CB – Virgil van Dijk (c)

LB – Milos Kerkez

CM – Alexis Mac Allister

CM – Ryan Gravenberch

AM – Dominik Szoboszlai

RW – Mohamed Salah

CF – Hugo Ekitike

LW – Cody Gakpo

Final Word

Anfield at 15:00 on a Saturday should be authority personified.

Liverpool are not chasing romance; they are chasing position. Champions League qualification demands accumulation, not spectacle. West Ham will arrive organised, stubborn, and unafraid of slowing the tempo to a crawl.

This is a test of composure. Of repetition. Of maturity.

Win, and the table bends favourably. Stumble, and the narrative tightens.

The champions must look like it — even when elegance is absent.

Steven Smith’s Score Prediction:

Liverpool 2 – 0 West Ham United