West Ham United travel to Anfield on Sunday afternoon, aiming to build on their impressive start to the 2023/24 Premier League campaign.
In their previous game, the Hammers came against the uncontainable Manchester City and despite opening the scoring through James Ward-Prowse, faced a second half onslaught from the champions as goals from Jeremy Doku, Bernardo Silva and Erling Haaland rallied them to victory.
This was their first defeat of their season having beaten Chelsea, Brighton and Hove Albion and Luton Town in three of their four matches, which propelled them into sixth place and handed their supporters a dose of excitement for the remainder of the season.
While it is too early to say whether the Hammers will be involved in an assault towards Europe, the early signs are promising and against Liverpool, David Moyes will go there with full confidence knowing his side are more than capable of pulling an upset out the hat.
What is the latest West Ham team news?
West Ham will be hoping that Jarrod Bowen has recovered from his illness in time ahead of Sunday's visit to Anfield.
The Englishman, who has been instrumental once more at the start of this season, hasn't trained all week and was left out of their matchday squad for the 3-1 win over BSC Backa Topola in their Europa League opener on Thursday night.
David Moyes also revealed that left-back Aaron Cresswell felt a pull in his hamstring which explains why he was substituted at half-time, however, Emerson was likely going to return to the first XI regardless.
“Jarrod Bowen has had a virus so we’ll need to see how he is”, Moyes said. “I’m hoping he’ll be OK. I’ll check him. He’s not trained this week, nothing at all, so I need to see how he is.
“Aaron Cresswell felt his hamstring last night so we’ll see how he is today, but otherwise we’re okay.”
With Bowen fighting to be fit, after joining from Ajax for £38m this summer, Mohammed Kudus could retain his place in the starting XI after making first his start for the club against TSC.
How did Mohammed Kudus perform vs TSC
A constant thorn to his Serbian opponents with his searing pace, tremendous ball-carrying skills and the end product to match, Kudus capped off his outstanding full debut by diverting a powerful header past the hapless Nikola Simic, wheeling away in celebration after scoring his first goal.
This performance was a glowing indication of the sought-after attributes that the Ghanaian winger can bring to this West Ham side, perhaps trumping Bowen with the relentless pace in which he carries the ball, breezing past his markers and slaloming out of tight spaces.
Lauded as a "weapon" by Joe Cole on BT Sport, the winger certainly used his left foot as a weapon of mass destruction on the night.
As per SofaScore, Kudus recorded two key passes, three successful dribbles and an 83% pass completion – an indication that he isn't afraid to take risks in possession and this risk-taking against Liverpool will be needed, especially on the counter-attack.
After producing on the European stage for West Ham, the 23-year-old demonstrated that he is no stranger to producing the decisive moments in big games.
During his time at Ajax, he scored a stunning goal against Liverpool in the Champions League, announcing his name onto the big stage in style and if he can produce similar on Sunday, Moyes will have no choice but to start his £90k-per-week asset in every game moving forward.
After all, he did rank in the top 5% against wingers across Europe's top five leagues over the past year for successful take-ons, non-penalty xG, pass completion and total shots per 90, via FBref. Therefore, his credentials in this West Ham side can't be questioned.
While Bowen would be a big miss, Kudus has proven through his performances in the Champions League for Ajax that he is more than capable of filling his boots and perhaps even surpassing the Englishman with his sensational displays.