West Ham head coach Julen Lopetegui is a proud man who will want to show his managerial abilities following a tough few days. Whilst he is undoubtedly aware of the noise surrounding his position this week, which may serve as motivation to prove his detractors wrong, I suspect his desire to get his tactics and team right will be all the encouragement he needs.
Lopetegui is an experienced manager who can draw on a wealth of knowledge to correct the obvious flaws that were present against Chelsea. Therefore, I expect to see a far more disciplined defensive performance from West Ham at Anfield this evening.
The Spaniard is nobody’s fool, and I will be surprised to see Edson Alvarez deployed in an auxiliary central defensive role while the team plays a high line. Cody Gakpo is likely to start for Arne Slot’s Liverpool tonight in the Carabao Cup, and I expect him to take up the kind of positions from which Chelsea caused so much damage over the weekend.
As a result, I anticipate that Lopetegui will close down that particular avenue by tightening things up at the back and ensuring that defenders don’t go AWOL.
While the Hammers boss is under pressure, it’s worth remembering that away from home he is undefeated. It is true that doesn’t necessarily translate into a West Ham win against Liverpool, but it does demonstrate that Lopetegui is happy to keep it tight and snatch a win.
It’s going to be tough, no doubt about it, but if West Ham can somehow claim victory in Merseyside this evening and avoid defeat against Brentford, it would at least give the Irons gaffer some valuable breathing space to drill the team in a set of tactics they are clearly struggling with.