Preview: West Ham United vs. Liverpool

West Ham United host Liverpool at Upton Park this Sunday with three points separating them in the Premier League table.

The Hammers currently sit in eighth in the standings, while Liverpool reside three places below their London competitors as they head into the weekend's meeting.

Sam Allardyce's men can put pressure on the top five if they manage to claim a victory on home turf and the Reds could move into the top eight if they snatch a win without star striker Luis Suarez.

Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers will be forced to line up without the inspirational Uruguayan, who was suspended after picking up his fourth yellow card of the season in the Reds' 1-0 win over Southampton last weekend, which means that Jonjo Shelvey could be pushed up into a forward role.

Meanwhile, Allardyce is likely to opt for Carlton Cole up front with Mohamed Diame and Mark Noble operating the midfield.

Recent form

West Ham: WDLLW

Liverpool: DWDLW

Possible lineups

West Ham: Jaaskelainen; Demel, Collins, Reid, O'Brien; Diame, Noble; O'Neil, Nolan, Jarvis; Cole

Liverpool: Reina; Johnson, Skrtel, Agger, Enrique; Lucas, Allen; Henderson, Gerrard, Sterling; Shelvey

Sports Mole says: 1-1