West Ham has 3 players missing for Liverpool game in Premier League

West Ham travels to Anfield for a Premier League game against Liverpool this weekend, and the Hammers will be without three players

West Ham manager Nuno Espirito Santo(Image: MI News/NurPhoto)

West Ham will be missing three players when it travels to Liverpool in the Premier League this weekend.

The Hammers remain without injured duo Pablo Felipe and Lukasz Fabianski, while midfielder Freddie Potts is suspended against Liverpool after being sent off against Burton in the FA Cup. Felipe is sidelined with a calf injury, and hasn't played since a game against Burnley on Feb.7, while goalkeeper Fabianski is out with a back injury.

Even if he were fit, though, Fabianski would not play — the 40-year-old goalkeeper is behind both Mads Hermansen and Alphonse Areola in the pecking order. On the other side, Liverpool will welcome Jeremie Frimpong back into the squad but Florian Wirtz remains sidelined.

Frimpong has not figured for the Reds since January, when he was forced off with an injury in a Champions League game against Qarabag.

The Netherlands international should make his return to the side when the Hammers visit Merseyside on Saturday, but Wirtz will not be back, to the apparent surprise of Liverpool head coach Arne Slot.

Wirtz missed last week's game against Nottingham Forest after pulling up with an injury in the warm-up, and is not yet ready to return to action.

“Jeremie is [available] – he trained with us a few times this week so he is available," Slot said during a press conference on Friday ahead of Saturday's game.

Pablo is missing for West Ham

“I don’t expect Florian to be available so that’s a disappointment, of course. Every time a player is not available it’s a disappointment and it’s also something I didn’t expect after last week but that’s sometimes how things can evolve and unfortunately this time not in a positive way.”

After being asked whether he could estimate when Wirtz – who has found form in recent weeks – will be ready to play again, Slot responded: “No, at this moment of time, no – and usually when I say that I do know that but I don’t want to share it! But now I honestly don’t know.”

Slot added: “It’s definitely a shame. He has rhythm, of course, and in my opinion it’s already a big accomplishment of him that he stayed fit for such a long time because he had to make a step from where he played towards Liverpool, towards the Premier League, and that he stayed fit tells you a lot about the mentality and work-rate of a player, and the performance staff.

“But unfortunately last week and this week he’s not available – and that is indeed a disappointment for him, but also for us because he played really, really, really well lately.”

As for Liverpool's other absentees, it's very much a case of much of the same, with long-term absentees Conor Bradley, Alexander Isak and Giovanni Leoni still sidelined.

Wataru Endo is also unavailable after suffering a serious ankle injury against Sunderland earlier this month.