Liverpool vs. West Ham United | EFL Cup | Pre Match

Clashing in the EFL Cup for the second year running, Liverpool and West Ham United square off in Wednesday's third-round clash at Anfield, as the Reds get the defence of their 2023-24 title underway.

The two Premier League sides come into the affair having been on opposite ends of 3-0 scorelines at the weekend, as the hosts made light work of Bournemouth while Julen Lopetegui's men were outfought and outclassed by London rivals Chelsea.

Jurgen Klopp may never have achieved the elusive quadruple during his otherwise glittering spell in the Liverpool chair, but the German's final silverware act was to mastermind the Reds' second EFL Cup win in three years, and a record-extending 10th title overall.

By virtue of Virgil van Dijk's extra-time header against Chelsea in the 2023-24 final, Liverpool not only kept Mauricio Pochettino waiting for his first trophy in English football but also became the first team to hit double figures for triumphs in the EFL Cup, where their success has been unprecedented since the tournament's inception.

Now kicking off their bid for crown number 11, the Merseyside giants have seamlessly adapted to life under new manager Slot - barring their shock home loss to Nottingham Forest two weekends ago - which they have since responded to in perfect fashion.

After their latest come-from-behind victory over AC Milan in the Champions League, the Reds briefly stormed to the top of the pile in the Premier League thanks to their three-goal beating of Bournemouth, where Luis Diaz continued his blistering form with a brace before Darwin Nunez curled home a sublime third.

Liverpool have since been knocked off their perch by long-time title adversaries Manchester City, but it has been six years since they were last eliminated in the third round of the EFL Cup, and not since October 2020 - when Arsenal bested them on penalties behind closed doors - have they suffered defeat at Anfield in the competition.

The travelling West Ham faithful could be forgiven for heading to Anfield in more hope than expectation, although the former may also be in short supply in the Irons' ranks, as Lopetegui's meek men were the talk of the top flight for the wrong reasons at the weekend.

It was all far too easy for Chelsea to slice open their London rivals on Saturday lunchtime, where Nicolas Jackson clinically converted two efforts in the first half before turning provider for Cole Palmer; to rub salt into the wounds, a Mohammed Kudus response was disallowed for offside.

Whatever the former Sevilla, Real Madrid and Spain boss has tried to implement so far, it has yielded very little success at the London Stadium, as West Ham sit in an unspectacular 14th place in the top-flight standings with just one win to show from their first five engagements of 2024-25.

However, a second success arrived for the Irons in the EFL Cup back in August, as an 88th-minute Jarrod Bowen strike was enough to see off Bournemouth, and West Ham memorably also bested Arsenal in the fourth round last year before their Anfield annihilation.

Indeed, Liverpool barely broke a sweat in a 5-1 demolition of the Hammers in the 2023-24 quarter-finals, although West Ham did make partial amends for that embarrassment with a 2-2 home draw in April, ending a five-game losing streak against the Reds on a day where Klopp and Mohamed Salah's touchline spat stole the spotlight.