Jurgen Klopp has warned his Liverpool team to ‘be prepared’ for West Ham’s set piece threat when the two sides meet in the Premier League on Wednesday night
The Reds arrive at the London Stadium with seven points from their last three games, despite conceding twice from throw-ins during Saturday’s 3-2 win over Nottingham Forest.
The German emphasized the Irons’ ability to punish opponents from set plays during his pre-match press conference ahead of tomorrow’s game.
Liverpool has frequently taken advantage of dead ball situations, and according to WhoScored, they are joint-top scorers from set pieces with Tottenham (14).
That trait was on display last weekend, when all three of their goals against Forest came from corners or free kicks, though the way Steve Cooper’s side tormented the Reds from throw-ins will haunt Klopp for the rest of the season.
West Ham used set plays effectively in their previous match as well, scoring twice off corner kicks in their 4-0 thrashing of Bournemouth on Sunday.
That also happened the last time Liverpool played at the London Stadium, when two of the Hammers’ goals came from corners in David Moyes’ side’s 3-2 victory in November 2021.
Klopp will be well aware of the aerial threat that a resurgent Michail Antonio can pose, having scored with his head in both of the Irons’ recent victories.
The Reds manager is aware that West Ham can be a threat in this regard; the key will be to devise and implement a strategy to deal with it so that our recent resurgence isn’t derailed by a team that has also shown improved form this month.
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