West Ham: Fabiański, Coufal, Dawson, Ogbonna, Cresswell, Rice (c), Souček, Bowen, Benrahma, Fornals, Antonio Subs: Martin, Fredericks, Johnson, Diop, Balbuena, Noble, Lanzini, Yarmolenko, Odubeko
Liverpool: Alisson, Alexander-Arnold, Phillips, Henderson (c), Robertson, Milner, Wijnaldum, Shaqiri, Thiago, Salah, Origi Subs: Adrian (GK), Kelleher (GK), Tsimikas, R.Williams, Jones, Oxlade-Chamberlain, N.Williams, Firmino, Minamino

Liverpool's defensive woes have been a matter of wide spread media comment, Sunday's visitors to the London Stadium are currently without ANY established centre backs in their squad, captain Jordan Henderson has filled in admirably for them, however fans from both sides are of the opinion that Michail Antonio, Angello Ogbonna, Craig Dawson and of course 'Mr Potato Salad' himself, Tomas Soucek, will be a 'difficult' proposition to deal with for any back line, let alone one that is down to the bare bones!

Ahead of Sunday's clash with West Ham at the London Stadium, visitors Liverpool find themselves bereft of 'proper' centre backs, the situation is so acute that Jurgen Klopp has confirmed that the League Champions are looking for a short term loan to help plug the gap until their influential players return to fitness.

Jesse Lingard's arrival on loan from Manchester United has raised many eyebrows among Hammers fans with many questioning the wisdom of expensively acquiring another midfielder, albeit a very talented one, as opposed to addressing the need for a back up striker to work alongside or in place of Michail Antonio and his dodgy hamstrings.

We must instantly declare that we in no way condone the use of hallucinogenics in this article, and the above mentioned title has nothing at all to do with mind bending drugs, however Hammers fans might feel that 'something' has been put in the water given the recent run of results!

Palace: Guaita, Ward, Cahill, Kouyate, Mitchell, Townsend, Milivojevic (c), McArthur, Eze, Zaha, Benteke Subs: Butland (GK), van Aanholt, Dann, Ayew, Clyne, McCarthy, Batshuayi, Kelly, Riedewald
West Ham: Fabiański, Coufal, Dawson, Ogbonna, Cresswell, Rice (c), Souček, Bowen, Fornals, Benrahma, Antonio Subs: Randolph (GK), Johnson, Fredericks, Balbuena, Diop, Noble, Lanzini, Yarmolenko, Odubeko

Having had their fingers incinerated by the purchase of Sebastien Haller from the Bundesliga, and just seen the fall out at Chelsea following Frank Lampard's dismissal due to him 'wasting' £116 Million on Timo Werner and Kai Havertz, BOTH from the Bundesliga.

Frank Lampard's 18 month tenure as Chelsea manager has come to an end following a run of dismal results, Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich, known for his lack of patience with managers, has pulled the trigger on the ex-Hammers' managerial stint half way through his original three year contract.

Hammers are looking to sign ex Everton striker Henry Onyekuru on loan from Monaco, the cash strapped Ligue 1 club are prepared to let the 23 year old join the Irons on loan for a fee of £1.3 Million, a deal that would include a £4.9 Million option to buy in the summer. The Nigerian youngster spent two years with Everton but didn't even play one league game before moving to Monaco in 2019. He has only played eight games for the French club and spent last season on loan in Turkey with Galatasaray.

West Ham: Fabiański, Fredericks, Diop, Balbuena, Johnson, Noble, Souček, Lanzini, Benrahma, Fornals, Yarmolenko Subs: Trott (GK), Coufal, Cresswell, Dawson, Ogbonna, Baptiste, Rice, Afolayan, Antonio
Doncaster: Balcombe, Halliday, James, Anderson, Wright, Okenabirhie, Lokilo, Taylor, Smith, Butler, John Subs: Jones, Amos, Richards, Williams, Simoes, Blythe, Ravenhill