Premier League: Liverpool's game against West Ham could be tougher than Porto

Bengaluru, February 16: Liverpool just thrashed Porto 5-0 in the Champions League and have an eight-day break before their next match - the Premier League fixture against stuttering West Ham United next Saturday, February 24. Three points at this stage for Liverpool will increase their chances of going second on the Premier League table with a mouth-watering Manchester United vs Chelsea game scheduled on Sunday, February 25. Should United lose, then Liverpool could snatch the second spot by beating West Ham.

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While the rest of the four top-5 teams will play the FA Cup Round-of-16 fixtures this weekend, Liverpool get to enjoy their break in in sunny Marbella, where manager Jurgen Klopp has called for a four-day training camp.

Klopp: Nathaniel Clyne will help ensure #LFC have a ‘comfortable situation’ at right-back once he is fully ready for match action.

👉https://t.co/KBTvUKzzFb pic.twitter.com/P0g0K7Zi8b

— Liverpool FC (@LFC) February 16, 2018

Liverpool surging to the second place depends on how they deal with West Ham as well as Chelsea’s outing against Jose Mourinho's United.

Given the 5-0 thumping of Porto in the Champions League, it would be easy to think that West Ham will be brushed aside. The problem with this idea is that Liverpool often stumble when it comes to teams at the other end of the table.

Klopp: Hope Salah doesn't stop

Liverpool have a history when it comes to beating opposition that is better or as good as them, while failing miserably when it comes to handling teams that have struggled in the Premier League. Does playing such teams psychologically affect Liverpool or is there a hint of complacency?

A familiar face dropped by today's session... 👍 pic.twitter.com/4foDixzPcY

— Liverpool FC (@LFC) February 15, 2018

With Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool, it’s neither. It has more to do with how he sets his team to play. When Liverpool lost to Swansea City in the league in January, Swans' newly-appointed coach Carlos Carvahal stated that Liverpool were like an F1 team that will blitz you with their pace. He then went on to say that an F1 car was practically useless in London traffic, which is what he set Swansea up to do. Denying Liverpool space by staying strong in their own half, Swansea managed to keep them at bay and sneaked in a goal to win the match.

'Professional, mature and aggressive'

Liverpool are no longer a team which relentlessly presses teams, they have started to sit in their half and hit teams on the counter. Porto found out the hard way on Wednesday that attacking Liverpool leaves space on their wings which Mo Salah, Roberto Firminho and Sadio Mane exploited. However, if you deny them that space, it will leave them frustrated and teams can then try to score from a set-piece.

"The support last night was fantastic, really fantastic." 🙌

Klopp's message to the 3,200 #LFC fans who travelled to @FCPorto: https://t.co/BKFBmxxMPB pic.twitter.com/97bPvxhUmz

— Liverpool FC (@LFC) February 15, 2018

There are no points for guessing what kind of tactics West Ham coach David Moyes, a former Everton boss, will employ on February 24. Liverpool will have to first counter David Moyes’ two banks of four before banking on Chelsea to come good against United.