Liverpool boss Arne Slot has named his starting XI to take on West Ham United in the Premier League, with Alisson Becker and Conor Bradley both returning but Darwin Nunez absent. The Reds could move within six points of the title with a victory.
In front of Alisson, who has missed the last two games because of a head injury he sustained during the international break, is a back four of Bradley, Ibrahima Konate, Virgil van Dijk and Kostas Tsimikas. Joe Gomez remains absent through injury and Andy Robertson and Jarell Quansah are among the substitutes.
In midfield, Slot has gone with Ryan Gravenberch at the base with Alexis Mac Allister and Curtis Jones on either side of the Dutchman. Dominik Szoboszlai, who last didn’t start in the Premier League in the first game of 2025 through illness, is given a rest and is available in reserve.
Mohamed Salah, who this week penned a new contract that will keep him at Anfield until 2027, starts on the right-hand side of the Liverpool attack. He hasn’t scored at club level since the game against Southampton just over a month ago and hasn’t netted from open play since February 23.
Salah is joined up top by Diogo Jota and Luis Diaz, with Cody Gakpo on the bench. Harvey Elliott and Federico Chiesa are among those who could make an impact from the sidelines.
“The atmosphere in our last home fixture was very special, especially in the minutes after Diogo Jota scored the decisive goal,” Slot writes in the official matchday program.
“That, of course, was in a Merseyside derby and I have been in football long enough to know that a local rivalry will always bring out the very best in fans. The situation we are in with just seven games to go, though, means it would make a big, big difference if we could have a derby-style atmosphere in all of our home matches.”
(Image: Nikki Dyer – LFC/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)
Slot also paid tribute to the 97 victims of the Hillsborough disaster who were unlawfully killed. “We also recognize that there will be many amongst us today who are survivors of Hillsborough or who lost loved ones on that day,” he said.
“Again, I want you to know that we will always stand with you and we will never forget. Not just this week as we commemorate the anniversary, but every single day. This is our duty to you as representatives of Liverpool Football Club.”
Liverpool starting XI: Alisson; Bradley, Konate, Van Dijk, Tsimikas; Jones, Gravenberch, Mac Allister; Salah, Jota, Diaz. Subs: Kelleher, Jaros, Quansah, Robertson, Endo, Elliott, Szoboszlai, Gakpo, Chiesa.
West Ham starting XI: Areola; Wan-Bissaka, Kilman, Mavropanos, Todibo, Scarles; Ward-Prowse, Soler, Paqueta; Bowen, Kudus. Subs: Fabianski, Coufal, Fullkurg, Guilherme, Alvarez, Rodriguez, Soucek, Emerson, Ferguson.
