Liverpool & West Ham injury and suspension news: Star’s knee injury and TRIPLE ban

After securing a positive result against Leicester on Boxing Day, the Reds have little time to digest their Christmas turkey as they face West Ham only 3 days later.

Arne Slot’s men will be looking to go nine points clear on Sunday as they face a West Ham side who have started to find some form under Julien Lopetegui after a poor start (5.15pm, live on Sky Sports).

Liverpool will be looking to end 2024 on a high but the Irons will aim to spoil the party and make 2025 an interesting one for all of the Premier League.

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However for the East London club, their injury crisis has begun and it seems they will be without key players during the clash this weekend.

West Ham suffer on Boxing Day

Max Kilman went down with a shoulder injury in the Hammers away victory against Southampton.

The former Wolves defender was strapped up by physios but couldn’t continue and had to be replaced.

This will benefit the Reds with Kilman being a solid starter for Lopetegui’s side this season and easily one of their better players.

Goalkeeper Lukas Fabianzki also suffered a worrying head injury on Thursday and was forced off due to concussion protocols.

The protocols also mean he will miss 10 days for recovery, ruling him out of the game on Sunday. This means Alphonso Areola will appear in the goal at the London Stadium.

Moreover, Carlos Soler was subbed off at half-time against Southampton with the West Ham manager confirming he has some “knee issues” which will likely rule him out for the quick turnaround against Liverpool.

In addition to this, midfielder Tomas Soucek and Gudio Rodriguez picked up yellow cards, meaning they tallied enough up to earn them a suspension in their next game against the Reds.

Fortunately for West Ham fans, there is good news with the return of Lucas Paqueta who finds his way back after his one-match ban for receiving five yellow cards.

Overall though, a shocking blow to their squad was sustained against Southampton it seems and this will massively benefit Liverpool who will be looking to exploit this lack of depth.

Liverpool without key midfielder

But it's not all roses for Liverpool.

The Reds of course are still without Conor Bradley and Ibrahima Konate who are likely to return early in the new year.

But Slot’s side will also be without Dominik Szoboszlai who picked up his fifth yellow card this season off the bench against Leicester which means he is suspended for this tie.

After his dominant performance against Spurs, Slot will be fuming at his absence as he was probably benched against the Foxes on Thursday so he was fully fit for the tie this weekend.

Liverpool will want to end 2024 on a high and with West Ham’s current personnel problems, they need to take that advantage.

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