Liverpool are coming into this game on the back of a thrilling 5-4 victory away at Norwich. This win was Liverpool’s 1st Premier league victory in 4 matches. Currently Jürgen Klopp’s side sit in 7th place on 34 points and their recent Premier League home record reads W6, D4, L5. It should also be noted that Liverpool have only won 3 of their last 10 home Premier League matches.
When hosting teams of West Ham’s standing, Liverpool’s record reads a decent looking W5, D2, L3 and here they can be backed at around 2.00, and this looks priced a little low.
The recent Premier League head-to-head record at Anfield is dominated by the home side and reads Liverpool 4 Wins, 0 Draws and West Ham 1 win. It should however be noted that West Ham have won 3 of the last 4 Premier League meetings, including both matches this season. The draw can be backed at around 3.65 and this looks to offer some value and should be given serious consideration.
By their standards, West Ham are enjoying an exceptional season. Although the Hammers have only won 3 of their last 10 Premier League matches, they have been extremely resilient and have only lost 1 of these 10 matches. Here Slavan Bilic’s side are coming off a 2-2 draw at home to Premier League title favourites Manchester City, and currently they sit in 6th place on 36 points. West Ham’s recent away record reads a reasonable W5, D5, L5.
When visiting top half sides, West Ham’s away record is reasonable and reads W3, D3, L4, and here they can be backed at around 4.05. If you do fancy the Hammers to do well then you can keep the draw on your side and they can be backed +0.5 goals at around 1.95 and this looks to offer value.
As far as goals are concerned then there are mixed stats. When playing similar opposition in both sides' last 10 home and away matches we see that in the 20 games, 12 have seen 3 or more goals, whilst 8 have seen 2 or less. Despite these stats my ratings suggest the value is with Under 2.5 goals and this can be backed at around 1.91.
Potentially this has the makings of an excellent tie, both clubs have a rich FA Cup history and the 2006 final remains one of the best of the modern era finals. Historically West Ham’s recent FA Cup away record is poor, and they have only won 2 of their last 10 away ties. However I am basing my selection on the basis that both teams should be keen to progress and both teams should field reasonably strong squads. If this is the case then the value lies with the away side. This season in the Premier League the Hammers have visited 5 of the Top 7 sides and have only lost at Spurs. Here they are visiting a Liverpool side who are far from consistent, having won just 5 of their last 13 competitive home matches. Here my recommended trade is West Ham +0.5 goals at around 1.95.