West Ham United v Liverpool: Premier League – live

Today’s match officials

• Referee: Anthony Taylor.

• Assistants: Gary Beswick and Adam Nunn.

• Fourth official: Josh Smith.

• VAR: Tim Robinson.

• Assistant VAR: Wade Smith.

Liverpool’s succession plan: Jurgen Klopp was asked about his successor, the current Feyenoord manager Arne Slot, yesterday and had this to say of the Dutchman.

“I like the way his team plays football. All the things I hear about him as a guy, a good guy. Some people I know, know him. I don’t know him, but some people who know him say he’s a good guy. I like that a lot. So good coach, good guy. Looking forward for the club, if he is the solution, if he is the man, I am more than happy.”

Liverpool have since agrred a deal in principle with Feyenoord for Slot to become their next manager and will pay the Dutch club €9m (£7.7m) plus €2m in add-ons in compensation for the 45-year-old, who has two years remaining on his contract.

Those teams: Jarrod Bowen returns for West Ham but Konstantinos Mavrapanos and Nayef Aguerd both remain sidelined through injury. Alphonse Areola is back in goal, with Lucas Fabianski making way.

The big news for Liverpool is that Jurgen Klopp has dropped Mo Salah and Darwin Nunez to the bench, with Cody Gakpo coming back in to the side following his brief spell of midweek paternity leave. Ibrahima Konate and Curtis Jones have also been left out, with Jarell Quansah and Harvey Elliott coming into the starting line-up.

West Ham: Areola, Coufal, Zouma, Ogbonna, Emerson Palmieri, Soucek, Alvarez, Bowen, Lucas Paqueta, Kudus, Antonio.

Subs: Fabianski, Johnson, Cresswell, Ward-Prowse, Phillips, Cornet, Ings, Casey, Mubama.

Liverpool: Alisson, Alexander-Arnold, Quansah, van Dijk, Robertson, Mac Allister, Endo, Gravenberch, Elliott, Gakpo, Diaz.

Subs: Gomez, Konate, Szoboszlai, Nunez, Salah, Jones, Tsimikas, Bajcetic, Kelleher.

Referee: Anthony Taylor (Cheshire)

Early team news: West Ham midfielder George Earthy has been stood down according to the concussion protocols after being stretchered off with a head injury during his Premier League debut against Fulham last weekend.

Defender Nayef Aguerd is out with a twisted ankle, but Konstantinos Mavrapanos could return after a short spell on the sidelines with a minor injury. Jarrod Bowen is fit again after missing a couple of games with a back injury but his manager says his best player needs to be “monitored”.

For Liverpool, Joel Matip and Thiago Alcanatara remain sidelined with longterm injuries, while Conor Bradley and Diogo Jota are also out. Cody Gakpo is available for selection after missing the Merseyside derby to be with his partner, who was giving birth to their child.

Following his side’s miserable midweek Merseyside derby defeat at the hands of Everton, Jurgen Klopp could be forgiven for thinking the TV network gods are trolling him by ensuring his team’s first opportunity to bounce back comes in the Saturday lunchtime time-slot he loathes so much.

The good news for the German is that it’s the last time he’ll take charge of Liverpool in this time-slot and it may well be David Moyes’ final Saturday afternoon kick-off as West Ham boss too. Following the humiliation visited upon his team by Crystal Palace on Sunday, the writing looks to be on the wall for the Scotsman, whose contract is due to expire in June and whose employers are reported to be courting potential replacements.

With both teams out of sorts and licking their wounds after scarring defeats, this is a match that could go either way. Liverpool simply must win to keep their rapidly diminishing hopes of winning the title alive, while anything less than three points could kibosh West Ham’s faint hopes of playing European football next season.

Kick-off at the London Stadium is at 12.30pm BST but we’ll have team news and build-up in the meantime.