English Premier
2026-02-28 - Liverpool vs West Ham United
A Sports Betting Pick by Auls
Football: English Premier League
Saturday 28th February 2026 - Kick Off 3pm
Liverpool
Even manager Arne Slot had to admit that his team were very fortunate to leave the City Ground with all three points, but it was an important win for Liverpool when not being at their best. Taking advantage of slips from those above them like Aston Villa and Chelsea who had dropped points on Saturday was the important outcome of the win at Nottingham Forest and the manager has made it clear that Liverpool need to be playing Champions League Football again next season.
Five places are almost certainly going to be handed to England at the end of the campaign and Liverpool are currently 6th in the Premier League table having an inferior goal difference compared with Chelsea. All Liverpool fans will be focusing on is seeing the team winning football matches and the side are back at Anfield where they have a 7-3-3 record in the top flight.
Liverpool have won 5 of the last 6 games in all competitions, including the last 3 in a row, following the very late winner at Nottingham Forest last Sunday. The Reds have won 3 of the last 4 at Anfield in all competitions with the exception being a game in which they led Manchester City before conceding twice very late on.
Florian Wirtz picked up a knock in the warm up last Sunday, but the manager has indicated it is not a long-term concern. He will be a doubt for this weekend, but Wirtz will be pushing to be a part of the squad, as will Jeremie Frimpong.
West Ham United
There will be a feeling amongst the West Ham United support that they missed a big opportunity last weekend in the goalless draw with Bournemouth at the London Stadium. Games between now and the March international break look very challenging for West Ham United who need some big results to drag themselves out of the bottom three.
After all of the results last weekend, West Ham United actually gained a point on their main relegation rivals, but remain in 18th place in the Premier League table and 2 points from safety. The Hammers will climb above Nottingham Forest with a victory on Saturday, but that means improving the 3-4-6 away record that has been produced.
West Ham United have lost 1 of the last 8 games in all competitions and have made it through to the FA Cup Fifth Round, although the priority remains the Premier League. The 3-0 loss at Molineux in January feels like a low point for West Ham United who have only lost 1 of the last 4 away games played and have beaten Tottenham Hotspur and Burnley in big away fixtures in the Premier League during that run.
Freddie Potts continues to serve his domestic suspension, while Pablo is a doubt.
Head to Head
Two second half goals helped Liverpool to a relatively comfortable 0-2 win at the London Stadium earlier this season.
Liverpool have won 10 in a row at Anfield against West Ham United in all competitions.
Prediction
There will be plenty of people looking at the Liverpool price and being very keen to add them to accumulators, but this is not going to be a fixture that is one-way traffic.
You have to believe Liverpool will have plenty of the ball and they do have solid attacking talent that will create chances, but Nuno Espirito Santo's West Ham United have been playing with more confidence than you would perhaps expect from a side in the bottom three.
Slowly but surely they are creeping up towards the safety zone and West Ham United have looked more settled after signings made in January.
A single loss in 8 games in all competitions will have given them confidence and even in that defeat West Ham United were leading 0-2 at Chelsea before falling to a 3-2 defeat in the second half. The Hammers will be happy to sit in and try and counter Liverpool, although they do not have a very good record against this opponent and especially not at Anfield where Liverpool have beaten West Ham United 10 times in a row.
Not many of the League victories have been comfortable and only 1 of the last 6 Premier League wins Liverpool have had over West Ham United have been by more than a single goal margin.
The away team have to know that Liverpool have struggled for some consistency as they have looked to balance defensive responsibility and attacking threat. Any absence of Florian Wirtz would be another big blow for the home team and put more pressure on the likes of Mo Salah, Cody Gakpo and Hugo Ekitike to find the right solutions in the attacking areas of the pitch.
However, the overriding feeling is that Liverpool will ultimately have too much for West Ham United and especially if they can force a situation where the visiting team have to take risks.
Recent home games have seen Liverpool create plenty of chances and they may just overwhelm West Ham United, even if this game is likely to be more closely contested than any final scoreline may suggest.
West Ham United should be credited for some big away wins at Tottenham Hotspur and Burnley in recent weeks, but both of those teams are struggling at the wrong end of the table.
This is a much tougher challenge and it may end up being a fixture in which a late goal could put a gloss on the scoreline, much like what happened at the London Stadium. The first goal feels like it will be massively important in the final outcome with both teams desperate for the three points and the team scoring that goal may be able to kick on for a strong result.
The Statistics :
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The Pick :
Liverpool 2-0 West Ham United
