West Ham should be looking to capitalise on the flaws exposed during Fulham’s impressive 3-2 win over Liverpool at the weekend.
The Hammers face Arne Slots’ side next, and the Premier League fixture now comes with an extra layer of intrigue following reports that Liverpool are interested in signing Jarrod Bowen.
A top Hammers source has since rubbished the Bowen rumours to C&H yesterday. However it’s the fortunes of a different West Ham wide man that could cause Liverpool real problems on Sunday.
Marco Silva’s Fulham side not only claimed all three points—they also shone a spotlight on a weakness that Mohammed Kudus could exploit.
With Curtis Jones once again starting at right-back—and substitute Conor Bradley a doubt for the weekend—Kudus may well be licking his lips.
Jones is a quality midfielder, but he’s very clearly not a natural right-back. His inclusion in defence highlights an ongoing issue for for Slot and it ain’t getting resolved anytime soon. The Trent Alexander-Arnold situation has become something of a soap opera, and West Ham must look to take advantage.
Kudus provided the assist for Bowen’s goal in the 2-2 draw against Bournemouth, with a decent cross from the left. With Niclas Fullkrug leading the line and Bowen returning to his natural right-sided role, the entire West Ham frontline looked far more dangerous in the second half.
If Graham Potter can stick with that setup at Anfield, West Ham—and Kudus in particular—could cause Liverpool’s makeshift backline some serious problems.
Liverpool conceded three goals to Fulham. If the Hammers play with a bit of ambition in the final third, there’s a slim hope we can exploit the same vulnerabilities.
It will be interesting to see how brave Potter is this weekend . Most of us I am sure would like to see him play with Bowen Fullkrig and Kudus. But is Potter brave enough to have a go ?
I fear he will go with a back 5 and 3 defensive midfielders.
As with the Arsenal game Kudus could see the Liverpool game as a shop window opportunity especially with a patched up defence. I’m not expecting a win and a draw seems unlikely. What I hope for is a lineup that is set up positively with a striker, a midfield and defence set proportionately.
There’s a certainty that we won’t score if we have 8 defence minded players with Bowen and Kudus to runaround without a hope. Set up as we were in the 2nd half against Bournemouth we could score one maybe two in a narrow loss. We’d then be looking good for following games and some fans would get the entertainment they paid for.
Fulham beat Liverpool 3-2, not 3-1.
Liverpool lost 3-2
Gonzo, it’s great that you are looking at the Liverpool game with optimism and I wish I shared it with you. But I can’t see it being anything less than another 4 or 5 goal thrashing. Our defence might have reduced the goals conceded lately but, hey, this is Liverpool at Anfield! 😱