Julen Lopetegui insists West Ham United will not be afraid of Liverpool

West Ham United manager Julen Lopetegui has insisted his side will not be intimidated by Premier League leaders Liverpool ahead of Sunday’s clash, despite dealing with a significant list of absentees.

Lopetegui described Liverpool as “the best team in the Premier League by far” but maintained that the Hammers will approach the game with confidence.

West Ham extended their unbeaten run to four matches with a hard-fought 1-0 win at Southampton on Boxing Day.

However, that victory came at a cost, as the Hammers could be without five key players for the upcoming showdown.

Goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski, defender Max Kilman, and midfielder Carlos Soler were all substituted due to injuries in the Southampton match.

Additionally, midfield duo Tomas Soucek and Guido Rodriguez are unavailable after picking up yellow cards that trigger a one-match suspension.

Despite these setbacks, Julen Lopetegui remains optimistic.

“To be afraid? No, afraid no. We have big respect for all the teams, but we have the same respect for Southampton, for Liverpool and all of them,” said the West Ham boss.

“We are talking about the best team in the Premier League.

“Top players, very good coach, they are now in the height, but we have to believe in us, in our strength and in our possibility.

“We have to take solutions and decisions for the next challenge.

“We are happy to have this kind of match at home, knowing the difficulty, but in the same way we believe in our players.”

He added: “We are talking about the best team in the Premier League now by far. This is enough reason to be ready.

“Now we have to rest and to be ready for the next challenge. It is time to take advantage of the players that we are going to need.

“It is the moment to highlight the worth of the team with capital letters because we need this.

“We have a lot of problems. All the midfielders out, also we only have two centre-backs, but it happens and we have to be ready.”

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