West Ham have reason for optimism going into 2025 but hopes of Liverpool upset hit by key absences
West Ham have reason for optimism going into 2025 but hopes of Liverpool upset hit by key absences
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As West Ham prepare for their final match of December and 2024, it is worth remembering how dire things had got at the beginning of the month. The visit to the King Power Stadium on December 3 delivered a bruising 3-1 defeat to Leicester City. It seemed as though Ruud van Nistelrooy’s first game in charge of the Foxes could prove to have been Julen Lopetegui’s last as West Ham manager. The Hammers’ board met to discuss his sacking - only to give him more time.
Since then, victory over Wolves, draws with Bournemouth and Brighton, and a win over Southampton mean West Ham are in decent fettle and appearing to have turned a corner. The long-term future of no manager is ever certain and Lopetegui is no different, but he has unquestionably steadied the ship.
It is just as well, because the arrival of Liverpool to the London Stadium on Sunday has the potential to a bleak event West Ham fans if the Hammers allow themselves to be thrown around by the Premier League leaders and far-and-away the slickest outfit in the country.
Though this is the first Premier League meeting between the two sides this season, it is not their first encounter. West Ham must draw on their experience of September’s Carabao Cup visit to Anfield and learn how not to play into the hands of Arne Slot’s team.
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