Julen Lopetegui calls for West Ham unity amid injury crisis before Liverpool clash
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Julen Lopetegui insists West Ham will hold no fear of Liverpool despite a dire recent record and escalating injury crisis. The Hammers are down to just two fit centre-backs for the visit of Arne Slot ’s league leaders to London Stadium with Lopetegui set to be without six senior players.
And having beaten Liverpool just once in their past 16 league meetings, a daunting task has been made tougher by their bruising Boxing Day win at Southampton. Top defender Max Kilman and goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski were substituted in the first half of a difficult 1-0 victory with Carlos Soler removed because of a knock at half-time.
Guido Rodriguez and Tomas Soucek were then booked in the second half to leave them suspended for Sunday afternoon's game, with Michail Antoni out long-term after breaking his leg earlier this month. But on the back of a four-game unbeaten run, Lopetegui said: “We’re not afraid of playing Liverpool.
“We have big respect for all the teams and the same respect whether it is Southampton or Liverpool. Fear is only for other things. In football, there is no fear. “We must believe in ourselves, in our strength and the possibility of finding solutions for the next challenge. We’re happy to have this kind of match at home, even knowing the difficulties, because there is belief in our players.
“In Liverpool we know we are talking about the best team in the Premier League, with top players and a very good coach. That’s a fact. They are right now at their height. That’s enough reason for us to be aware and to be ready. But each match in this league, you should be like this.”.
