Liverpool out to avoid equalling unwanted 33-year-old club record in West Ham Premier League clash

Liverpool will be at risk of equalling an unwanted 33-year-old club record when they meet West Ham United in Saturday's Premier League clash at Anfield.

The Reds are back at their Merseyside base following a smash-and-grab 1-0 win at Nottingham Forest in gameweek 27, courtesy of an Alexis Mac Allister strike in the dying embers at the City Ground.

Liverpool's triumph allowed them to move level on points with Chelsea in the Premier League table, but Manchester United are still in control of the race for fourth place, sitting three clear of the Blues and the Reds.

Arne Slot also lost chief playmaker Florian Wirtz to a back injury just before kickoff against Forest, and the Liverpool boss has confirmed that the German will remain unavailable this weekend, even though the player hinted at a return for the clash with the Hammers.

However, Liverpool could have Jeremie Frimpong back in the ranks this weekend, which would allow Slot to shift Dominik Szoboszlai into a central role, in the hope of avoiding a particularly unwanted fate.

Liverpool could match unwanted 33-year-old record against West Ham

The Reds have already suffered a humiliating 3-0 home loss to Forest this season, and they are now welcoming a West Ham side who begin the gameweek in 18th place, two points shy of safety.

Should Slot's side come away from the game with no points, it would mark only the second time in their history that they have suffered two home defeats to teams in the relegation zone in one Premier League season.

That first and only instance occurred in the competition's inaugural campaign in 1992-93, when the Reds suffered home defeats to Arsenal and Wimbledon sides who started the weekend in the demotion zone.

Liverpool, laboured to a sixth-placed Premier League finish under Graeme Souness that year, and the reigning champions are on course for an identical ranking this time around, but there is another crumb of comfort for Slot.

The hosts have prevailed in each of their last two Premier League games by a 1-0 scoreline, and they could win three top-flight matches in a row without conceding for the first time since Slot's opening three contests in 2024-25.

Unsurprising Dominik Szoboszlai stat emerges before Liverpool vs. West Ham

Whether Frimpong is fit to start after his third hamstring injury of the season remains to be seen, but the Dutchman returning to the XI will spell optimism for Liverpool's chances of success.

Frimpong at right-back will free up Szoboszlai to deputise for Wirtz in the number 10 role, where the Hungarian could prove particularly devastating with his venomous long-range strikes.

Szoboszlai has fired a league-high 37 shots from outside the box in the current top-flight campaign, while three of his four goals in the 2025-26 Premier League have been from greater than 18 yards.

Of all Premier League players to score at least twice this term, only Leeds United's Anton Stach boasts an equally high ratio from outside the box, and giving Szoboszlai licence to let fly from a central attacking role could prove critical for the champions.