Liverpool host West Ham United on Sunday in a Premier League fixture that goes back over a century. Only three points separate them in the table, too – a result here could bring them together or create a bigger divide.
So what can we expect? Here at Football Fancast, we've gone into the historical data to find everything you want to know about this fixture at every level.
Liverpool vs West Ham: What's their head-to-head record?
As with virtually all of their head-to-head records, Liverpool come out of this one looking quite dominant. It's not exactly a small sample size, either.
Liverpool and West Ham have met 147 times in English football, dating back to an FA Cup tie in early January 1901. They wouldn't meet in the league, however, until the very end of 1923. The Reds won both games, starting a pretty incredible record against the Hammers.
Overall, Liverpool have won 80 of the 147 fixtures – so quite comfortably over half. It's quite rare to see records that dominant over a long run of games like that, something underlined by how few victories West Ham have managed.
The Hammers' 29 wins are very, very low. It's fewer than Derby County, Bolton Wanderers, both Sheffield teams, Stoke City and Middlesbrough, for a non-exhaustive list. None of those teams have faced Liverpool as often as West Ham.
And for those keeping count, there have been 38 draws between the two sides.
Liverpool wins
80
Draws
38
West Ham wins
29
Liverpool vs West Ham: What's the record at Anfield?
70 of the 147 games have been at Anfield. It is very difficult for any side to play that many home games against one team and come away with a better record than Liverpool have.
They've won 49 of them, but the real standout here is the number of wins West Ham have at Anfield – 4. That might actually be the worst record any team has at Liverpool's ground, taking the number of fixtures into count.
For a quick comparison, Brighton have won at Anfield three times but have only played there on 19 occasions, not 70.
Somehow, Liverpool don't average two goals per game at home, against them, though. They fall just shy on 136. West Ham, if you're wondering, have 41 goals in those 70 games.
Liverpool wins
49
Draws
17
West Ham wins
4
Liverpool vs West Ham: What's the record at West Ham?
Well, West Ham do fare better on their own ground than they do at Anfield. But they're also still playing catch-up.
72 fixtures have been in East London, with Liverpool coming out on top 29 times. West Ham, in response, have 25 wins and 18 draws. The best you can say about that is the Reds fail to win slightly more often than they do win. You're still more likely to see them celebrating than the hosts, however.
In terms of goals, Liverpool are comfortably on top, too. They've scored 108 in 72 games to West Ham's 95. Both manage to average well over a goal per game, then.
Liverpool wins
29
Draws
18
West Ham wins
25
Liverpool vs West Ham: What's their record in finals?
One of the strangest things about Liverpool's dominance in this fixture is that West Ham aren't a small club. That's highlighted best by the fact that these two have met four times in finals.
Two of those were in the Community Shield. Both in 1964 and 1980, the Reds went into the season-opener as First Division Champions, the Hammers as FA Cup winners.
The first ended in a 2-2 draw, with the shield shared. Liverpool then squeezed a win out of the second as Terry McDermott scored in a 1-0.
Then there was the 1981 League Cup final. This one was so close that the first game ended in a draw after extra time, forcing a replay. West Ham took a 1-0 lead in that through Paul Goddard, but Liverpool hit back to win 2-1 after Kenny Dalglish and Alan Hansen found the net.
And, of course, there was the 2006 FA Cup final. The two sides played out a remarkable, historic match that saw West Ham go 3-1 up. Steven Gerrard, though, carried the Reds over the line with two second-half goals – the second of which might be the best final goal the competition has ever seen. Liverpool won on penalties to win the cup.
So that's five games, two draws, three Liverpool wins. None of these were emphatic wins, however, and it does once again suggest there's a sort of mental block at West Ham against the Reds. Despite being competitive with them, they just struggle to win.
Liverpool wins
3
Draws
2
West Ham wins
0
Liverpool vs West Ham: What's their Premier League record?
Liverpool have consistently been a more competitive team than West Ham since the start of the Premier League in 1992. It leaves a record that doesn't exactly surprise – the Reds are dominant.
54 Premier League fixtures have resulted in 34 Liverpool wins. The remaining games are then split evenly, with 10 draws and 10 West Ham wins. It has become a rather predictable result, especially at Anfield.
Not that anyone will be shocked at that if you've read the stats above. Only one of those 10 West Ham wins has come on Liverpool turf.
Liverpool wins
34
Draws
10
West Ham wins
10
Liverpool vs West Ham: When did West Ham last win at Anfield?
So given there have only been four West Ham wins at Anfield, you might be wondering when it last happened. After all, it's a genuinely historic event.
2015, is the answer. It was one of Brendan Rodgers' final home games as Liverpool boss and a real sign of the end for the Northern Irishman. Manuel Lanzini, Mark Noble and Diafra Sakho all scored to humiliate the Reds.
Before that? 1963. Geoff Hurst and Martin Peters – England's goalscorers when they would win the World Cup three years later – put West Ham two up, but Liverpool could only reply through Roger Hunt (who would also start that final).
And we might as well round out the other two here for the complete four. West Ham also beat Liverpool at Anfield in 1954 and this one was particularly notable as it happened in the Second Division. 2-1 it finished, much like the result in '63.
That leaves one – a 3-1 win in February 1928, this time in the First Division. And that's your lot.
Liverpool vs West Ham: What are the recent results?
Liverpool have played West Ham 14 times since the start of Jurgen Klopp's first full season in charge. In that span, all have been in the Premier League and have seen the Reds fail to win on just three occasions.
One was a draw in December 2016, another a draw in February 2019. Then West Ham got their sole win over Klopp's Liverpool in November 2021. The Reds have won the other 11.
It's obviously an incredible record but we do think it's worth mentioning that the last four results have been very close. All have been by one goal – West Ham winning 3-2, then a couple of 1-0s for Liverpool before a 2-1. Despite the dominance in the win column, the Reds aren't exactly playing their opponents off the park here.
Last five results (All Premier League):
West Ham 1-3 Liverpool West Ham 3-2 Liverpool Liverpool 1-0 West Ham Liverpool 1-0 West Ham West Ham 1-2 Liverpool Liverpool vs West Ham: How have they started the season?
Liverpool have been chaos since the season started. Of course, they're trying to rebound from their struggles last season – but no one can be really sure if they're doing that.
They drew 1-1 at Chelsea in what no longer looks like a particularly good result. The Reds have since gone behind early against Bournemouth, Newcastle United and Wolves but came back to win all of them. A 3-0 win over Aston Villa is their most impressive result.
West Ham are another that you can't really pin down. They've conceded in every game but have still managed an enormously impressive 3-1 win over Brighton. A 3-1 win against Chelsea, too, raised eyebrows. Of course, no one will be too harsh on losing 3-1 to Manchester City.
Things do feel positive, even if David Moyes' team lack control. They've built a very solid squad despite losing Declan Rice in the summer – that's an accomplishment in of itself, given most move backwards after losing such a key player.
Liverpool vs West Ham: When is it?
Liverpool host West Ham United at 14:00 UK time on Sunday, September 24. It'll be the 148th meeting between the two teams as the Hammers look to record an incredibly rare feat – a win at Anfield.
Doing so would be just their fifth in 71 attempts, meaning few would count on it. But with Liverpool feeling inconsistent, perhaps now is the time to make history and get number five.
That would put these two level on 13 points after six games, while Liverpool are hoping to move onto 16 and firmly cement themselves in the early fight at the top.