West Ham v Liverpool: Irons and Reds to underwhelm viewers again

West Ham 2.66 v Liverpool 2.94; The Draw 3.50
Tuesday, 19:45
Live on BT Sport 2

West Ham

When these sides met in the Premier League at the Boleyn Ground last month, West Ham were 4.0 outsiders, but following a 3-0 win at Anfield with a 2-0 success that day and silencing Liverpool again in the initial playing of this FA Cup fourth-round tie has earned them 2.66 favourite billing this time.
This is the Irons' fifth successive televised clash, and they haven't been too lively in the last few. They were outplayed on Merseyside when drawing 0-0 ten days ago despite the Reds playing a lot of youngsters, they did the bare minimum to dismiss ten-man Aston Villa last Tuesday and then lost to Southampton on Saturday, creating little in the 36 minutes in which they enjoyed a man advantage.
In terms of team news, the hosts will be forced to turn to fourth-choice right back Joey O'Brien with James Tomkins and Carl Jenkinson injured and Sam Byram cup-tied, though he impressed off the bench at Anfield. Cheikhou Kouyate should return, while Manuel Lanzini and Diafra Sakho miss out.

Liverpool
It was another disappointing Premier League afternoon for the 18-time English champions against Sunderland as they leaked twice in the closing nine minutes after a fan walkout to turn a 2-0 win into a 2-2 draw. The consequence is that they have won a mere six of their 17 top-flight fixtures under Jurgen Klopp.
Cup competitions have proven far more pleasant, with 11 encounters yielding six victories and four draws. Even the solitary defeat was the second leg of the Capital One Cup semi-final against Stoke from which they still qualified on penalties, so he has to suffer elimination across three fronts.
Unusually, the German tactician is the team-news headliner for this replay, stepping back inside the dugout days after having his appendix removed. The on-pitch bulletins are promising too, with Klopp noting of his selection that "it will not be like Exeter because a lot of players are now available".
Those include Daniel Sturridge, Philippe Coutinho and Divock Origi, yet Joe Gomez, Martin Skrtel, Joe Allen and Danny Ings are all expected to be absent, as well as possibly Dejan Lovren.

Match Odds
West Ham's positioning as 2.66 favourites is understandable given their 5-0 aggregate lead in head-to-head combat this season, but their most recent performance against the Reds was the weakest of the lot, and they were indebted to Darren Randolph for this second chance.
They have never beaten Liverpool in the FA Cup in six attempts and, whereas Klopp has instantly taken to the cups, Slaven Bilic hasn't transitioned quite so adroitly.
His only cup triumphs against top-tier opposition came against Andorra's FC Lusitans and Malta's Birkirkara, with their Europa League progress stopped in the qualifiers by Romania's Astra Giurgiu and an immediate Capital One Cup exit inflicted by Leicester's second string.
For just the second time since August, West Ham have lost twice in a five-game span, so they don't arrive in their finest form. Liverpool failed to reach the fifth round just once in the last four years so, even if you don't trust them in 90 minutes at 2.94, they look a decent bet to qualify at 2.18.

Both Teams to Score? No
It is 2.26 that at least one of the two clubs keep a clean sheet, which seems an exceptional price when you consider that the initial contest finished goalless, West Ham haven't conceded in four-and-a-half hours against Liverpool this term and this bet has paid out in their past four collisions.
No backers were rewarded in each of the Londoners' previous three matches and three of their latest four home outings. The four goals that they permitted in their last seven fixtures in front of their fans were divided equally between Sergio Aguero (one a penalty) and own goal.
Liverpool's "Both Teams to Score? No" stats on their travels are similarly favourable, with punters paid out seven times out of nine since December 6. It has also been a winner in five of their last six cup ties at all venues.

Recommended Bet:

Back Both Teams to Score? No @ 2.26