Despite the fact that the rivals will meet in London in the first round of the Premier League, their match with each other in the current season will be the second. Fate brought West Ham and Liverpool together in the 1/16 finals of the English League Cup, which took place at Anfield. Then the Merseyside club was considered a clear favourite, but the "Hammers" expected that on the background of success in the Champions League and the national league wards Slot would not be able to adjust to the second English Cup properly. However, expectations were not fulfilled and the trio of Jota, Salah and Gakpo struck five times against the visiting team - 5-1. Sunday's match will be held as part of Boxing Day, which has already brought many sensations in the form of defeats of the leaders of English football from mediocre participants of the elite division. Bookmakers have identified the guests as favourites for the upcoming meeting, offering odds of 1.39 on their victory.

Liverpool in the middle of the week got a second consecutive victory in the Premier League. Following Tottenham, the Reds defeated Leicester City. Prior to the meeting with the London club, Liverpool had two draws in the Premier League, which gave sceptics reason to talk about the arrival of the "long-awaited" decline of Slot's team. However, two matches without victories in a row remained the longest series of Liverpool in the current championship. Furthermore, Nottingham Forest are still the only club to have beaten Liverpool in over four months of the season. Given that the Reds have scored a total of nine goals in the last week, we should assume that their attack is in good order and they will be playing first choice on Sunday.

West Ham approach the clash with Liverpool in their best form since the start of the season. It is emphasised by a run of four unbeaten games. For comparison, since the beginning of August, the team has not played more than two matches without defeat. At home, West Ham tries to play in an attacking style with all opponents. Of the nine matches in their arena, only two matches did not record goals for the Hammers. Considering that in the last five head-to-head meetings between West Ham and Liverpool both teams scored, we should choose a similar position for the bet.