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Liverpool’s back injury woes have been well documented, but have received a boost with news that Saturday’s opponent, West Ham United, will be missing one of their key men in the attack.
Hammers manager David Moyes confirmed that Michail Antonio will miss the game at Anfield as he was forced to withdraw early in last weekend’s game against Manchester City.
“We don’t think it’s that bad, but it’s enough to keep him out of this game, that’s for sure.” Moyes said of the forward, who also failed to complete 90 minutes in Tottenham’s 3-3 draw.
Antonio will be a big mistake, as he finished last season as the London club’s top scorer and found the net three times this season, including in the City game.
However, his absence from Matchday 18 will leave Liverpool with different things to consider.
The obvious move for Moyes would be to replace Antonio with Sebastien Haller and persist with the 5-2-3 formation he has used so far this season.
Club Haller’s record signing has been out of favor since returning from injury in July, and all of his league appearances since the Premier League summer restart came from the bench. However, the former Eintracht Frankfurt forward has scored once in the league this season, leading West Ham’s fourth goal in their win over Wolverhampton Wanderers, and scored four times in this season’s Carabao Cup.
He’s a bigger danger in the air than Antonio, which could be a problem for a Liverpool defense that doesn’t have Virgil van Dijk’s aerial prowess, but lacks the variety of moves the Englishman displays.
Another option, which Moyes tried Saturday before throwing Haller into the mix, is to introduce Andriy Yarmolenko to the right of the three forwards and move Jarrod Bowen to center.
Bowen does much of his best work from the outside, but his shooting range saw him finish last season as the seventh leading scorer in the Championship despite leaving Hull City for West Ham in January.
The 23-year-old has taken 12 shots this season (according to FBref.com), scoring three goals and came close to beating Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson last season in what was his second game for the Hammers.
If Moyes goes this route, it would probably lead to a more fluid front of three, with Yarmolenko and Pablo Fornals free to take center stage over the course of 90 minutes.
Another potentially available option for Moyes is to introduce new signing Said Benrahma.
The Algerian joined West Ham from Brentford on the day of the deadline, but was not on Matchday 18 for City’s game and might not be considered ready to go straight to the starting eleven.
However, if Benrahma’s exploits at Griffin Park last season are something to go through, he could offer a more subtle and less direct element to West Ham’s attacking game.
It could be an option from the outside with Haller or Bowen in the middle, but it may be the case that Moyes takes his time and leaves it on the bench to start.
Regardless of how West Ham lines up on Saturday, Liverpool will also need to be wary of the aerial threat posed by visitors from set pieces.
Fabian Balbuena scored with a header on Spurs, while fellow central Angelo Ogbonna scored his first Hammers goal against Liverpool in 2016 and Tomas Soucek added height from midfield.
Without Antonio in the attack, Moyes can put more attention on this attack line against an unfamiliar Liverpool backline, so whoever starts at the back should be on high alert.
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