West Ham 1-1 Liverpool – Premier League: Live score, team news and updates as Jarrod Bowen heads home to add to Reds’ woes

There’s a hint of an offside check with Mac Allister miles off but not in the eye line of Areola.

Nonetheless, the ball finds its way into the box and it’s Andy Robertson who squeezs it in, no back lift, past the West Ham goalkeeper.

He’s potentially unsighted, but I think Areola has got to be doing better there.

But we are level! A nod and clap of acknowledgement from Klopp.

A bit better from Liverpool so far, with the likes of Mac Allister and Gakpo moving the ball well on the edge of the box.

The half starts with Alexander-Arnold trying to pass the ball to Elliott but booting the ball out of play.

The first effort of the half comes from Gravenberch, who fires over from the edge of the box after an awkward bounce.

It can’t be worse than the first half.

No changes for either side at the break.

As if Bowen needed another record, he has become the first player to score in three different games against Liverpool in a season since Geoff Hurst in 1965/65.

A lock in for the England squad? Maybe.

Well this has been one of the worst games of the season so far, but we do have a goal and it’s come from Jarrod Bowen in front of Gareth Southgate.

Poor defending from Liverpool, who look shadows of their old selves and are on the verge of their third Premier League defeat in four games.

Jurgen Klopp has four half time team talks left and this is maybe the most important. His side’s season is hanging by a thread in front of his eyes.

I suspect we will see Salah and Nunez soon.

The whistle blows for the break.

I can almost hear the sighs from the away end. And that’s not just because the West Ham fans are so quiet.

Bowen steps up to a West Ham free kick. Darren Fletcher reminds up that Ward-Prowse is on the benhc for the 50th time today.

It’s just over Soucek’s head. Good cross, but not quite perfect.

Bowen shoots himself this time and Alisson has to get down well, changing direction after the ball deflects…

Liverpool work half an attack through Mac Allister, then Diaz, then Gakpo.

The play ends with the latter firing high and wide with an outside-of-the-foot shot.

One of the worst games of the season, this. I can’t lie to you. But stay tuned… it can only get better.

WOW! Out of nowehere, Diaz hits the post. He works it all himself, turning Soucek and Coufal inside out, cuts in, shoots towards the near post, but it comes back off it rather than creeping inside.

Elliott shoots, coming in from the right. He opens his body up, tries to go for the far corner but it’s too close to Areola. Not great.

Last on Match of the Day is how I’d describe this so far.

It’s all Liverpool with a number of balls flying into the box.

Endo picks up the first yellow card of the game for a foul on Kudus, who had got away from the midfielder.

Areola was called into action just before that with a good save. Coufal then shoots at the other end, and Alisson saves.

Finally, the game is coming alive.

Pure chaos. Alexander-Arnold picks out Diaz, who feeds Gakpo. The forward is wiped out by Ogbonna but the referee plays on… the ball then whacks the defender’s hand and he’s pretty much given away two penalties within a few seconds.

Taylor points to the spot, but the flag goes up and Ogbonna and West Ham are spared.

The VAR check takes about eight years but the decision is eventually confirmed. Boos around the ground for a two-minute check that my blind nan could have made in real time, to be honest.

Antonio lines up a long throw to really test Liverpool’s abilities to defend balls into the box.

Kudus gets there, but it comes to nothing. Not enough men in the box I don’t think.

PENALTY TO LIVERPOOL! NO! OFFSIDE!

A chaotic few moments as Quansah bodies Paqueta on the edge of the box. The Liverpool man is just too strong for the defender.

Liverpool dash up the other end and Gakpo is almost in but loses out. There was a call for a foul by Van Dijk, too… would have been interested if that ended up with an away goal.

Liverpool are finding it hard to break down West Ham so far. That hasn’t been said about the Hammers too often this season.

Kudus tries to help his side out by tracking back but fouls Gakpo on the edge of the box. This is Alexander-Arnold territory.

It is Trent… over the bar.

A good laugh on TNT commentary after Darren Fletcher suggested Andy Robertson coud have taken it instead.

I wonder who he’s watching. Bowen will be one… Elliott maybe?

Surely not Ward-Prowse…

Maybe he just wanted his football fix.

There is a really weird feel about this game. It’s so quiet.

Areola is called into action as Gravenberch goes low across goal but it’s neither a shot nor cross and the French goalkeeper gathers.

Corner for Liverpool now. In, away, and Mac Allister kicks air. I wonder if he’s still feeling the pain of that earlier tackle.

A good little period for West Ham, with a corner flicked on but eventually cleared and Antonio looking threatening.

It ends with Bowen shooting from distance. Elliott gives is away in his own half playing it square, but Alisson bails him out with a save.

Luis Diaz goes down in the box and he’s not best pleased with the challenge. Play goes on, however. Correct decision I think.

Oh, a great chance for Liverpool. Robertson’s cross finds Gakpo but his header is more of a flick on than towards goal. Elliott is running in round the back post, but fires a right-footed effort into the side netting.

The best chance of the game in what has been a tepid start.

Mac Allister goes down under a challenge from Paqueta and he’s hurt. A bit of a nasty one really, similar to that of Nicolas Jackson on Takehiro Tomiyasu this week. Anthony Taylor has seemed to miss the impact of it, though.

Alexander-Arnold sends the free kick in and Van Dijk just gets there ahead of Zouma. The contact isn’t great, though, and the effort is over the bar.

It’s West Ham’s time to come forward and Bowen is involved. Antonio is brought down in the box and wants a penalty, but a quick check tells us there’s nothing going.

Emerson will take a West Ham corner, which is an area the hosts can threaten if the Everton game is anything to go by.

It comes to nothing and Liverpool break but Alexander-Arnold gives the ball away.

A roar can be heard around the ground as I’m Forever Blowing Bubbles comes to an end.

Early possession for Liverpool, with Zouma heading away Robertson’s cross.

West Ham will happily sit off the ball, we know that. Expect 60 plus per cent possession for the away team today.

Gravenberch’s effort across goal goes out for a home goal kick.

Unlike at Goodison on Wednesday, the Premier League anthem is not booed to a pulp.

Anthony Taylor blows the first whistle of the game, and we are underway for the lastest round of Premier League action.

The teams are on their ways out in the capital.

A strange feel about this one. It’s turning into a season of what could have been for both of these sides.

Let’s hope they can entertain today.

Lewis Steele, Mail Sport, at the London Stadium:

The atmosphere here at the London Stadium is a bit flat, to be honest. Both teams are deflated after bruising runs of form – West Ham with just one win in the previous eight and Liverpool crashing out of the Europa League and losing two of the last three in the Premier League to all but rule them out of the title race.

Let’s hope the match is not flat, though. Jurgen Klopp has made several big calls with his starting XI but the likes of Cody Gakpo, Ryan Gravenberch and Harvey Elliott are capable players and all performed at Fulham last weekend.

David Moyes has given his final thoughts on the game, speaking to TNT Sports:

I’d like us to be a lot more compact in the last game and we’re going to have to defend much better than we did. Ove the years we’ve been pretty good at it and we’ll need to today.’

Jarrod has been a huge goalscorer for us this season, probably our main player that way. I’ve still got hope that he’ll get 20 goals and that means he’s still got a few to get this season now and hopefully he can start today.

The belief levels are always high. The realistic levels are that we’ve got some really good teams, teams that have spent billions below us and above us so it makes tat really difficult.

We’ve given it a good go, we’ve got three weeks to go in the season, hardly been out of the top six or seven so our plan today is to make sure we’re still in that position come the end of today’s play.

Ally McCoist has been speaking of Van Dijk’s criticism on TNT Sports, and backed up the Liverpool man.

He suggested the Everton defeat was very unLiverpool-like. That’s a new word for you.

It’s absolutely fair because their form has been questionable. The difference with the Palace game is that they missed a few chances but so did Palace. But at least they created chances, they had more about them in that defeat.

The defeat the other night was so unlike Liverpool. In a derby game they looked like they were outfought, outrun, outthought and it was a really poor performance.

‘These things [poor results] can happen. You miss chances but that was a worrying performance for me the other night.

Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk was the man to step up to the media after defeat to Everton, and certainly did not hold back.

He questioned his team-mates’ desire to win the league, said they ‘don’t deserve’ to, and demanded more.

You can read his full rant below. Fair play, I say.

There is perhaps no Liverpool fan with a voice bigger than Jamie Carragher.

The Reds legend went on a pretty stern rant after Liverpool lost to Everton in the week, criticising the set-up for the title run in, Nunez, the lot.

You can read the best bits below.

There are some pretty glum faces on show as the Liverpool players arrive at the London Stadium.

One wonders what’s going through their heads.

A big game for them today.

It’s a bit of a weird situation, isn’t it?

I don’t have any stats to hand, but it feels as though Liverpool just miss so many chances. Whether that is swayed by Nunez’s struggles I’m not sure, but something isn’t right.

There have been reports that Michael Edwards hasn’t been best pleased with Liverpool’s business in his absence. Mane and Firmino essentially replaced by Diaz and Nunez, the midfield struggles of last yeah, etc. etc.

Maybe the Reds will do business this summer. Maybe one or two will leave. What is for sure, though, is that Klopp is clearly unhappy enough to make the changes.

Let me know your take in the comments.

The big news for West Ham is that Jarrod Bowen is back fit and ready to start. That is huge for them.

David Moyes has, however, made only two chances. Bowen comes in for Ward-Prowse, meaning Paqueta will likely go central, and there’s also a chance in goal, with Alphonse Areola replacing Lucasz Fabianski between the sticks.

A big call to change so few after the Crystal Palace humilation. A ‘go out there and put it right’ sort of thing, maybe.

The big call in the Liverpool team is that both Mohamed Salah and Darwin Nunez have been relegated to the bench. Klopp is clearly not happy with his side’s finishing in recent games. so he’s switched up both the front line and the midfield. Curtis Jones and Dominik Szoboszlai also drop to the bench.

Five changes in total – Konate, Szoboszlai, Jones, Salah and Nunez out, Quansah, Endo, Gravenberch, Elliott and Gakpo in.

Areola, Coufal, Zouma, Ogbonna, Emerson, Alvarez, Soucek, Paqueta, Kudus, Bowen, Antonio.

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

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

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

Admittedly, a lot of focus is on Liverpool today, but West Ham have their own let’s say situation, going on.

No one seems to know if David Moyes will be in charge next year. Officials seem to have met Ruben Amorim. He doesn’t want the job. They’re chasing Europe one week and getting thumped the next.

Last time out, the Hammers lost 5-2 to Crystal Palace, before that being knocked out of the Europa League and tasting defeat against Fulham. They’ve not actaully won since the start of the month.

Now is a good a time as any to bounce back, I suppose.

Nonetheless, that is next season, and we are here to focus on today.

Klopp’s Liverpool have seen their season crumble before their eyes in the last few weeks. It started with an FA Cup defeat to rivals Manchester United, and has since seen them crash out of the Europa League and lose recent Prem gaames against Crystal Palace and, er, rivals, Everton.

Their title hopes seem all-but-over, which means a potential Quadruple will end up being just a Carabao Cup, but they will want to end the season, and Klopp’s reign, on a high.

We’ll have team news in around, oooh, 12 minutes.

Klopp has been in charge of Liverpool for eight years. It’s going to be weird when he leaves, especially for Liverpool fans.

There were always going to be questions asked about his replacement. Slot is going to be the man, it seems, and he’s come with mixed reviews, but what will be, will be.

Klopp himself broke his silence on Slot’s impending appointment in the build-up to this game.

‘I am not involved in the process, just to clarify that,’ he said. ‘(But) I like a lot about it if he is the one. He wants to take the job. Come on, let’s go for it. Excited.’

There is only one place to start today. It looks like Liverpool have got their man.

The Reds and Feyenoord have verbally agreed for Dutch manager Arne Slot to take over from Jurgen Klopp from the start of next season.

Mail Sport reported on Friday morning that the two clubs were close to finding an agreement and that deal, which could reach up to £9.42million, was brokered late in the evening.

The Dutchman will be the person to lead the new era for the Premier League side. Who knows what to expect?

Read the full story from Lewis Steele and Sami Mokbel below.

Good morning one and all and welcome to Mail Sport’s live coverage of this afternoon’s Premier League game between West Ham and Liverpool. Virgil van Dijk is gutted we are here.

The Reds are looking to salvage what is left of their season after seeing Jurgen Klopp’s farewell tour hit pretty much every bump in the road over the last month or so, and some pretty big ones at that.

West Ham are still chasing Europe.

We will kick off at 1:30.