Liverpool 5-2 West Ham: What Nuno saidpublished at 17:46 GMT 28 February
17:46 GMT 28 February
Media caption,
West Ham boss Nuno Espirito Santo, speaking to BBC Match of the Day: "The first half was hard to explain that we were losing 3-0 at half-time. It was frustrating to concede from set pieces. We created situations. We said at half-time that anything can happen and we went and scored early. In terms of football, there are a lot of positives."
On four of Liverpool's goals taking deflections: "Some days it's like this. This is the game. It's hard to explain.
"The players have been playing good. In terms of football and the game, our organisation is good. We had chances. I'm positive and confident things will change."
Did you know?
West Ham United have conceded five goals in the opening five minutes of Premier League games this season, more than any other side. Only Watford in 1999-00, Blackburn Rovers in 2003-04, Charlton Athletic in 2003-04, Newcastle United in 2010-11, Burnley in 2018-19 and Manchester United in 2024-25 have conceded more (all conceded six).
West Ham's El Hadji Malick Diouf provided his fifth Premier League assist of the season, the most of any defender so far this term.
Analysis: Lop-sided scoreline does not reflect Hammers' displaypublished at 17:37 GMT 28 February
17:37 GMT 28 February
Aadam Patel Football reporter
Image source, Getty Images
West Ham will travel back to London and wonder how this game ended 5-2. For what it is worth, the final xG tally was 1.75 for Liverpool and 1.84 for the Hammers.
Nuno's side played well in phases, but simply did not win the key moments - and it is hard to have many excuses when you concede five goals.
But West Ham, who were unbeaten in February until this defeat, will take some solace from the fact they gave Liverpool a much better game than the scoreline suggested.
In a week where the Hammers confirmed they will need to sell players this summer even if they avoid relegation, after revealing a £104.2m loss for the last financial year, this was ultimately a damaging defeat.
And the sight of some travelling supporters heading for the exits before half-time summed up the bleakness of their situation. West Ham are in serious danger of going down - but there is still time to turn things around.
You can also listen to today's 5 Live Premier League commentaries on most smart speakers. Just say "ask BBC Sounds to play Liverpool v West Ham" or "ask BBC Sounds to play Newcastle v Everton", for instance.
Sutton's predictions: Liverpool v West Hampublished at 11:18 GMT 28 February
11:18 GMT 28 February
I keep hearing how West Ham have turned a corner, and they have improved recently, but I still thought last week's draw at home to Bournemouth was a poor result.
The Hammers were helped by Nottingham Forest and Tottenham both being beaten, but a win would have been massive for them.
Liverpool were very unconvincing at Forest, but they did nick the win.
Some of their fans are still whinging about Arne Slot and he is always being compared with Jurgen Klopp, but they are actually on a decent run of results and showing a bit of spirit too.
They are right in the mix for the top four but now they need to keep winning - I expect them to do that on Saturday.
Liverpool v West Ham: Key stats and talking pointspublished at 19:45 GMT 27 February
19:45 GMT 27 February
Paul Birch BBC Sport journalist
Relegation-threatened West Ham travel to Liverpool in search of what would be only their fourth top-flight win at Anfield.
When scrapping in a relegation battle, Anfield is arguably the last ground West Ham would want to visit to try to pick-up some much-needed points.
The Hammers have won just three of their 63 top-flight visits to Liverpool and only one of those – in August 2015 – has come since 1963.
Encompassing home games, their overall record against the Reds is also poor, with a solitary victory in their past 19 encounters.
At least boss Nuno Espirito Santo has a win at Anfield on his CV having masterminded his then Nottingham Forest side to their first win at Liverpool in any competition since 1969 with a 1-0 top-flight victory last season.
However, the eight defeats the Portuguese has suffered in the Premier League against the Reds is his most against any side.
At least the Hammers come into this match in form. The 11 points they have accrued over their past six league games is as many as they had mustered from their previous 18.
They were left extremely frustrated by their goalless draw with Bournemouth last Saturday, during which they had 20 shots and an xG of 3.27 that was comfortably the highest by a Premier League side not to score in a game this season.
They did, though, find comfort at the other end of the pitch as they recorded a second clean sheet in three matches, equalling their tally across their previous 35 league games.
Liverpool increase unbeaten run but not hitting top form
Liverpool extended their run to just two defeats in 20 matches with a victory at Nottingham Forest last weekend, but they were again unconvincing.
The Reds had to rely on a Premier League record-extending 48th winning goal in the 90th minute or later to secure the three points that keeps them in the mix for a Champions League spot.
It was their third injury-time winner this season - the most of any side - and only one short of their record for a Premier League campaign set in 2008-09.
However, given Arne Slot's struggles with the club's injury list, players losing form and an increasingly restless fanbase, a win is a win.
After back-to-back 1-0 victories, they are now targeting three wins without conceding for the first time since Slot's first three games in charge of the club.
Following their Anfield defeat by Forest, who were 19th in the table at the time, in November, the Reds will be desperate to avoid losing two Premier League home games in a season against sides starting the day in the relegation zone for the first time since 1992-93.
One further statistical quirk involving these sides: Liverpool have scored the lowest share of their goals in the opening 45 minutes of top-flight games this season - just 31% (13 of 42) - while West Ham have scored a Premier League high 59% of theirs in the second half of games (19 of 32).
'If I get the best version of myself I'm unplayable' - Summervillepublished at 08:33 GMT 27 February
08:33 GMT 27 February
Media caption,
'He helped me a lot to improve' - Summerville opens up on Nuno relationship
West Ham's Crysensio Summerville says "top manager" Nuno Espirito Santo's "straightforward" coaching has helped him find his top form.
The 24-year-old only scored one goal in an injury-hit first season at the club after moving from Leeds in the summer of 2024 but has scored six goals in his last eight games in all competitions and is thriving under Nuno's tutelage.
"Obviously you have to come to to your full fitness first," he told BBC Sport's Betty Glover.
"You need to get used to the game, to the intensity as well. I think the people, my teammates, the physios, everyone helped me a lot to get there. I know if I get the best version of myself, I'm unplayable. I hope I can be consistent about it.
"I think the coach is a top manager and top person as well. When he first joined I had a lot of conversations with him and he's just straightforward. He asked me how he can get me on top of my game and get me even higher on the levels, how he can help me improve my game statistics as well. I think when we work he gets something out of me."
The Hammers are on a run of three wins and two draws in their last six games and are just two points from safety despite being seven points adrift in early January.
"I think we improved a lot from like how it was in the start of the season and hopefully we can keep this going," Summerville added.
"We know where we are and we know that we have to fight and it's until the last game we to do this for the fans as well, because I think we belong in the Premier League.
"We know how it's going to be, it's going to be a fight. We know that we don't belong here like where we're at. So it's going to be a fight until the end. I think we improved a lot from what it was at the start. I think we have to take all the positives from the last couple of games, and now we see it game by game.
"Every game for us is a final, and I think that needs to be the mentality."
Nuno on Felipe, conceding late goals and keeping clean sheetspublished at 14:12 GMT 26 February
14:12 GMT 26 February
West Ham boss Nuno Espirito Santo has been speaking to the media before Saturday's Premier League game against Liverpool at Anfield (kick-off 15:00 GMT).
Here are the key lines from his news conference:
Nuno starts with an update on Pablo Felipe, who is out with a calf problem: "He didn't join us yet as he's starting his own programme, so he's improving day by day. It all depends on him, so hopefully soon because we miss him."
On West Ham's recent form: "Unfortunately, some results are not coming, which we need. But in terms of performance, they are improving in different aspects and getting a clean sheet always motivates us." He added: "We cannot spend too much time and sorrow thinking what could be, we have to react and bounce back."
He says fighting for survival is tough but his side are motivated: "It's a big challenge and it can bring the best out of us. That's the main motivation. We have to keep chasing, and it's going to be a fight. Being a chaser is the reality. It's been that way for a while, but we're in the fight."
When asked about clean sheets, he said: "When we speak about our defensive organisation it comes from all the team, not only the back line. It comes from our striker, the way we organise, the way we intend to press. I think we are growing in that aspect of the game, which improves our defensive organisation. But I think players have been knowing each other better, realising that it is a team effort to achieve a clean sheet in the Premier League."
On West Ham conceding late goals recently while Liverpool have a tendency to score late goals: "Minute one is important, and then you have to play the game action after action. What I ask is for total focus during the game... We are trying to correct conceding late goals, because it has impacted us. We're improving, but we will go into the match thinking of minute one not the end of the game."
When asked what's changed since they last played Liverpool he said: "We know that we played at home against Liverpool now it's at Anfield. We know how tough it'll be. So new things, I always think that the game is new things happening require new questions, new answers, new challenge, but we are ready to play the game... The boys work hard and well, we still have tomorrow, but the atmosphere is good, so we are confident realising how tough it is going to be, but we want to challenge it."
'The Great Escape is on and we look ready to fight' published at 08:21 GMT 24 February
08:21 GMT 24 February
James Jones Fan writer
Image source, Getty Images
Going into the January transfer window, West Ham needed to do a lot of business.
The issues in attack were fixed with the important arrivals of Pablo and Taty Catellanos, both of whom have been crucial aspects of the Hammers' recent turnaround in form.
But the biggest issue were in defence. One clean sheet all season - ironically against Nuno Espirito Santo's Nottingham Forest back in August - was not good enough. At the very least, West Ham needed to sign a solid and experienced centre-back.
Originally, the loan signing of Chelsea's Axel Disasi had many fans feeling underwhelmed. The Frenchman hadn't played a Premier League game since April 2025 and was languishing in Chelsea's "bomb squad" with no sign of being handed any further first-team chances at Stamford Bridge. Despite that, he was the man chosen to help shore up West Ham's defence and help the club stay in the top flight.
But since his arrival, West Ham have kept three clean sheets in four. It would have been four in a row had we been able to hold on at the death against Manchester United last week, but Benjamin Sesko's 96th-minute equaliser broke London Stadium hearts.
So Disasi's arrival has immediately made us more solid defensively and he has gone about proving many doubters wrong, not just at West Ham but Chelsea, too.
The defensive improvements have also coincided with Mads Hermansen returning to side after being dropped just four games into his West Ham career at the beginning of the campaign. He has kept all four of West Ham's clean sheets this season and, upon his return, shown signs that he is now there to stay.
So both problem areas in Nuno's squad were fixed in January and now we look more like a proper, Premier League-worthy team.
The Great Escape is on and we look more than ready for the fight.
Chris: Simply not good enough. The result means we now probably have to find at least two unexpected wins. I'm not giving up but we will need to find some unlikely wins from somewhere.
James: If you can't win, make sure you don't lose. With other teams faltering, I felt West Ham have enough to stay up if they can just get the wins over the line and build on this clean sheet.
Vigsy: Two points dropped after a dominant first half coughed up no goals. An open second half but profligate shooting by both sides resulted in the stalemate. Cherries will be far happier with the point than us.
Adam: A clean sheet is great - they've been few and far between but we really needed the win with our run-in.
Bournemouth fans
Paul: Substandard performance despite having almost 60% possession. Never really looked like scoring apart from Rayan's sublime solo effort. Take the point and move on.
Terry: Under par. We always seem to be lethargic after a break, but an away point is a good point. Rayan was SO unlucky, but MOTD said nothing as usual - if that had been Erling Haaland, Hugo Ekitike or Cole Palmer it would have been shown a million times. Onwards and upwards. In AFCB we have faith.
Bob: As usual, a poor performance against a team placed third from the bottom of the league. Indicates a 14th or 15th-placed finish because no improvement can be expected from this XI.
Analysis: Clean sheet the biggest positivepublished at 22:40 GMT 21 February
22:40 GMT 21 February
Ben Collins BBC Sport journalist
Image source, Getty Images
West Ham came into Saturday's game on their best run of form all season and almost took the lead inside the opening minute, with new loan signing Axel Disasi going close from a corner.
The Hammers finished with twice as many shots as Bournemouth (20-10), their most in a Premier League game this season, but only three were on target and they carried little threat beyond set-pieces.
After scoring six goals in his previous seven games, Crysencio Summerville was being watched by Netherlands assistant coach Ruud van Nistelrooy and he posed the biggest problems from open play, beating two men before testing Djordje Petrovic from distance in the first half.
Otherwise, the hosts did not begin to open up the Cherries until the latter stages, with Taty Castellanos flashing an overhead kick narrowly wide before Callum Wilson came on with 18 minutes left to give the Hammers' new Argentina striker some company up front.
Wilson almost broke the deadlock moments later, only for Petrovic to claw out his touch at the near post, and Wilson finished with more touches in the opposition box than any other player (seven).
Summerville then found Jarrod Bowen during the six minutes of added time and the England forward blazed over on the stretch.
So on the day the Hammers fans unveiled a tifo tribute to their former goalkeeper and coach Ludek Miklosko, who announced 14 months ago that he had withdrawn from cancer treatment, it was a clean sheet that provided the biggest positive.
Current keeper Mads Hermansen has kept two clean sheets in three Premier League games, as many as West Ham had in their previous 35, and they will be crucial in their bid to avoid relegation.
West Ham 0-0 Bournemouth: What Nuno and Bowen saidpublished at 21:15 GMT 21 February
21:15 GMT 21 February
West Ham boss Nuno Espirito Santo speaking to BBC Match of the Day: "We could have won. We played a good game and we were compact and solid in defence and we created a lot of situations. The feeling is that it was a good game that we performed but unfortunately we did not achieve the result that we want and need. We have to keep believing and improving.
"We had two early situations really where we were really close to achieving a goal. If we had taken either it would eventually have changed the history of the game.
"The important thing is that we keep creating and believing that things are going to come. In the previous games we created a lot of situations and the players had space and time to do better but we cannot say anything about that."
On the clean sheet: "That is the first step that is in our mind, to keep being solid and compact. There are still things that need to click. We realise as long as we are solid and compact as a team we can create situations for a goal."
West Ham captain Jarrod Bowen speaking to Sky Sports: "I thought we played with an energy, we created some chances, and it's a point. At this stage of the season, where we are, we could have turned that into three points. We could have scored after a minute from a corner, another one from a corner, Tomas [Soucek] had one that was blocked that was going in, my on at the end.
"So there were a lot of chances we could have turned into goals, that would have led to three points which would have been ideal. We take every point in the situation we are in and we take the positives from the performance."
On an opportunity missed or a point gained: " I think you can look at it in both ways. Where we are we need points and results, but you also need performances to go with it. We didn't lose the game, which is good, because this season we have had good performances and lost games through mistakes or through losses of concentration. We take the point from the game, obviously we had the chances to go and take three, but where we are we need results."
On another clean sheet: "In this league you can't expect to score two or three goals every week, if so it is impossible to collect results. We have tweaked some things tactically and we look a lot better. Defending starts from the nine and it goes to the wingers and midfielders and so on. We seem in a better structure."
On how things feel on the inside: "We all have to continue stepping up. We know outside noise happens and individually it is how you deal with that and as a group we can take criticism from each other. We need everyone to be taking responsibility. We have to fight out way out of it. We have characters and people who can grab each other by the scruff of he neck when we need to."
Did you know?
West Ham had 20 shots against Bournemouth, their most in a Premier League match this season. It was their most without scoring in a home league game since December 2022.
West Ham v Bournemouth: Team newspublished at 16:35 GMT 21 February
16:35 GMT 21 February
Image source, BBC Sport
West Ham have made one change to the starting XI they had for their last Premier League game, with Soungoutou Magassa replacing Freddie Potts in the side that drew 1-1 at home to Manchester United.
West Ham XI: Mads Hermansen, Aaron Wan-Bissaka, El Hadji Malick Diouf, Axel Disasi, Konstantinos Mavropanos, Tomas Soucek, Mateus Fernandes, Soungoutou Magassa, Crysencio Summerville, Jarrod Bowen, Valentin Castellanos.
Subs: Kyle Walker-Peters, Max Kilman, Callum Wilson, Adama Traore, Jean-Clair Todibo, Ollie Scarles, Mohamadou Kante, Ezra Mayers, Alphonse Areola.
Bournemouth have made two changes to the side which won 2-1 at Everton last time out, with Tyler Adams and Junior Kroupi coming in for Ryan Christie and Alex Toth.
Bournemouth XI: Djordje Petrovic, James Hill, Adrien Truffert, Marcos Senesi, Alex Jimenez, Alex Scott, Amine Adli, Rayan, Evanilson, Tyler Adams, Junior Kroupi.
Subs: David Brooks, Ryan Christie, Adam Smith, Marcus Tavernier, Bafode Diakite, Enes Unal, Alex Toth, Veljko Milosavljevic, Christos Mandas.
You can also listen to today's 5 Live Premier League commentaries on most smart speakers. Just say "ask BBC Sounds to Aston Villa v Leeds" or "ask BBC Sounds to play West Ham v Bournemouth", for instance.
West Ham United v Bournemouth: Key stats and talking pointspublished at 19:36 GMT 20 February
19:36 GMT 20 February
Two of the league's form teams meet at London Stadium on Saturday (17:30 GMT), albeit with West Ham United and Bournemouth experiencing rather different campaigns.
The Hammers, in 17th place, have won three of their last five in the league, drawing with Manchester United last time out. The 10 points they've earned in that timeframe is as many as they acquired in their previous 15 matches.
Hammers can flee the bottom three
Significantly, this round of fixtures presents them with the chance to move out of the drop zone for the first time since early December, should they win and Nottingham Forest lose to Liverpool (depending on goal difference).
Crysencio Summerville continued his sparkling form with an extra-time winner in a tense FA Cup fourth round win over Burton Albion, taking him to six goals in his last seven games.
Nuno Espirito Santo made 10 changes for that clash against League One opposition but had to call upon Summerville from the bench to put the tie to bed, perhaps indicative of his side's reliance on a small pool of goalscorers.
Even in the Premier League the Irons have been using the full extent of their squad in a bid to find a winning formula. Following a busy winter transfer window, they've used more different players than any other side in the league this season, with 32, yet only Everton have had fewer different goalscorers than West Ham's nine.
Cherries blossoming
Bournemouth are unbeaten in their last six league games, with four wins and two draws moving them from 15th to ninth since the turn of the year.
The Cherries' first-ever Premier League win came against West Ham at Upton Park in August 2015. In recent years though, they're winless in their last 10 meetings with the Hammers in all competitions – the last five in the league have all been draws.
Andoni Iraola's side came from behind to beat Everton 2-1 last week, with Brazilian forward Rayan on the scoresheet for the second successive game. Add to that an assist on his debut and the 19-year-old is aiming to become the first teenager in the history of the competition to record goal involvements in each of his first four games.
That superb second half turnaround at the Hill Dickinson Stadium was typical of the Cherries' resilient attitude this season. Only Aston Villa and Sunderland have rescued more points from losing positions in the top-flight this season than Bournemouth's 14.
In Rayan and Junior Kroupi – the top scorer left at the club after Antoine Semenyo's move to Manchester City – Bournemouth boast an exciting young forward line, but it's one of their former heroes they'll need to watch out for on Saturday, even if he is no longer first choice in east London.
Callum Wilson, who hit 67 goals in his six seasons in Dorset, netted twice in a 2-2 draw at the Vitality Stadium in November. He has a particular fondness for this fixture, scoring in it nine times (seven for Bournemouth, two for West Ham).
Sutton's predictions: West Ham v Bournemouthpublished at 18:55 GMT 20 February
18:55 GMT 20 February
West Ham are still in the bottom three but they have shown they are up for the fight in the past few weeks.
Yes, they conceded a late equaliser against Manchester United in their last league game, but they keep on picking up points and that must have given them belief they can stay up.
Bournemouth are on a good run now too, with three wins in their past four league games but, along with Brighton, they are the Premier League's draw specialists this season - both have had 10 so far.
It finished 2-2 when these two sides met on the south coast in November and I can see the points being shared this time too.
