Bowen, Aguerd, Mavropanos: West Ham injury list & expected return dates ahead of Liverpool clash

West Ham will be desperate to return to winning ways in the Premier League this weekend, but face the unenviable task of hosting title hopefuls Liverpool in Saturday’s lunchtime kick-off. The Hammers have lost back-to-back matches in the top flight in recent weeks, as well as crashing out of the Europa League at the hands of the imperious Bayer Leverkusen, and now know that their hopes of continental football hang by a thread.

On Sunday, David Moyes’ side were beaten 5-2 by a rampant Crystal Palace, finding themselves 4-0 at Selhurst Park after half an hour. That humbling left West Ham eighth in the table, with many of the sides around them having played two games fewer than the Irons.

For their part, Liverpool know that anything other than a win in East London is likely to have devastating consequences for their title challenge. The Reds are currently second in the table, three points adrift of leaders Arsenal heading into Wednesday night’s Merseyside derby against Everton. Crucially, however, Manchester City still hold all the cards in the race of the Premier League trophy, and if Pep Guardiola’s men can win all of their remaining fixtures between now and the end of the season, they will retain their crown. Dropped points for Liverpool on Saturday would only worsen their predicament.

But how will West Ham line up against the Reds at the London Stadium? We’ve taken a closer look at their current list of absentees, as well as any potential return dates where available, to try and get a better idea...

Jarrod Bowen

Bowen missed out on Sunday’s defeat to Crystal Palace due to a lower back injury, but the hope will be that he can make his return against Liverpool this weekend. Speaking after last week’s Europa League clash with Bayer Leverkusen, Moyes said: 'I've not seen him yet today. Jarrod was really touch and go going into last night's game, and it took an injection for him to play. We'll have to see how he is ahead of Sunday.'

Nayef Aguerd

According to his manager, Moroccan defender Aguerd has been sidelined with a rolled ankle. Like Bowen, that was enough to keep him out of the trip to Selhurst Park, but the centre-back is likely to face a late assessment and could be passed fit ahead of Saturday’s clash with Liverpool.

Konstantinos Mavropanos

Mavropanos has been out of action for a short while, but was name-checked by Moyes as a player who was battling to be back in time to face Crystal Palace. Evidently, that didn’t happen, but he should stand a good chance of featuring in some capacity on Saturday.

George Earthy

And finally, Earthy sustained a head injury in the recent 2-0 defeat to Fulham. It is unclear as to when he will be available for selection again, but the teenage midfielder is said to be recovering well. Speaking last week, Moyes said: 'He's great. He was in the other day. He looks fine, but he's going through the [concussion] protocols. He won't be available on Sunday.'