Florian Wirtz starts as 'big baby' benched by Arne Slot: Liverpool's predicted XI vs West Ham - opinion

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Rousing The Kop expect Arne Slot to make several changes when Liverpool face West Ham United in a Premier League clash, including Florian Wirtz coming back into the side.The Reds head into the fixture aiming to make it four wins from four across all competitions.Liverpool beat Nottingham Forest last time out and have moved level on points with fifth-place Chelsea as a result. CHANGE MY MIND: Liverpool will drop points vs West Ham if Wirtz doesn’t play 👀 He's our most important player right now, not Szoboszlai Photo by Christian Kaspar-Bartke/Getty Images However, with Manchester United still three points ahead in fourth, Arne Slot’s side cannot afford any slipups this weekend against a struggling West Ham.Florian Wirtz starts as Mohamed Salah benched for Liverpool vs West HamEven though Liverpool did eventually beat Forest, it was a poor all-round display.One of the few positives to come out of the fixture was the performance of Rio Ngumoha.By contrast, the man he replaced, Mohamed Salah, was once again poor and has now gone nine games without a goal in the Premier League.Sam Allardyce called Salah a ‘big baby’ for his reaction to being subbed against Forest, but given how much of an impact Ngumoha had off the bench on Sunday, it would make sense for the Egyptian to be dropped this weekend in place of the 17-year-old.Hugo Ekitike will obviously keep his place up front, but Cody Gakpo, who Jamie Carragher thinks struggled against Forest, should lose his place.Liverpool do not have a lot of natural left-wing options right now, but as Slot expects Florian Wirtz to be back, the German needs to feature off the left.This will allow Dominik Szoboszlai to feature in his favoured number 10 role, something he hasn’t done a lot this season.Szoboszlai has been called Liverpool’s best player, and Jermaine Pennant thinks the Reds are worse when he’s not played in midfield.The Hungarian has had to cover at right-back a lot this term, but with Jeremie Frimpong spotted at the training ground on Thursday, let’s hope he’s fit enough to start against the Hammers.It would be nice to see Trey Nynoi handed a start at the base of midfield, but it’s likely to be the usual pairing of Alexis Mac Allister and Ryan Gravenberch.Liverpool predicted XI vs West Ham – GRV MediaThe backline and goalkeeper should remain the same, barring Frimpong’s return.Join Our NewsletterReceive a digest of our best Liverpool content each week direct to your mailbox