Liverpool-West Ham Live: Reds Suffer Hammer Blow, Lose 3-1

Brendan Rodgers and Mamadou Sakho

Final, 3-1 West Ham: It’s over at the Boleyn Ground. Liverpool loses its second consecutive Premier League game.

That’s all for now and thanks for joining us. Let’s discuss this one on Twitter @NESNsoccer and Facebook. Be sure to keep an eye out for some news, fan reactions, analysis and opinion that is on the way on NESN.com.

88th minute, 3-1 West Ham: Downing opens up Liverpool’s defense with a perfect through-ball, and Amalfitano slots his shot past Mignolet to seal the win for West Ham.

[tweet https://twitter.com/br_uk/status/513392386446065665 align=’center’%5D

79th minute, 2-1 West Ham: Kouyate is down again. It looks like a repeat of the groin problem he had in the first half.

76th minute, 2-1 West Ham: Collins comes on for Valencia, as West Ham looks to secure the lead with a defensive substitution.

75th minute, 2-1 West Ham: Liverpool makes its last substitution, replacing Borini with Lambert.

70th minute, 2-1 West Ham: Balotelli fires a powerful shot to the near post, which Adrian turns away.

69th minute, 2-1 West Ham: The Hammers make another change, bringing Amalfitano on for Song.

66th minute, 2-1 West Ham: Jenkinson is cautioned for tackling Moreno from behind.

61st minute, 2-1 West Ham: West Ham makes a substitution. Jenkinson comes on for Demel.

60th minute, 2-1 West Ham: Borini misses with curling shot from a similar position to Balotelli’s last effort.

59th minute, 2-1 West Ham: Balotlli curls a shot from 18 yards out, but Adrian makes the save.

54th minute, 2-1 West Ham: Balotelli’s through-pass sends Borini into the Hammers’ penalty area, and the Italian shoots on goal. Adrivan saves Borini’s low drive.

48th minute, 2-1 West Ham: Sterling roll a shot wide of Adrian’s goal.

46th minute, 2-1 West Ham: The second half is underway.

Liverpool made a substitution at halftime, replacing Lucas with Lallana.

Halftime, 2-1 West Ham: It’s halftime. Liverpool trails by one.

45th minute, 2-1 West Ham: There will be a minimum of six minutes of stoppage time in the first half.

43rd minute, 2-1 West Ham: Tomkins heads a corner kick wide, as West Ham continues to threaten.

42nd minute, 2-1 West Ham: Valencia shoots from distance, drawing another save out of Mignolet.

40th minute, 2-1 West Ham: Lovren is on the sideline having his head wrapped. It looks like the Croatian defender can return to the game.

35th minute, 2-1 West Ham: The heads of Lovren and Sakho collide, and Lovren is down on the field.

33rd minute, 2-1 West Ham: Valencia bounces a free kick into the Liverpool penalty area, and Mignolet dives to knock it out of play.

30th minute, 2-1 West Ham: Kouyate is down on the field, and it looks like he pulled his groin while attempting a cross.

28th minute, 2-1 West Ham: Kouyate is cautioned for a scything tackle on Moreno.

26th minute, 2-1 West Ham: Sterling fires a shot home from the top of the West Ham penalty area, and Liverpool has cut the Hammers’ lead in half.

[tweet https://twitter.com/premierleague/status/513375388006121472 align=’center’%5D

[tweet https://twitter.com/LFC/status/513375784883724288 align=’center’%5D

Balotelli’s spinning shot was blocked, and the ball came to Sterling, who shot past Adrian on the half volley.

[tweet https://twitter.com/BPL_Shop/status/513373633528758273 align=’center’%5D

22nd minute, 2-0 West Ham: Rodgers makes an early change, replacing Manquillo with Sakho.

It looks like a tactical substitution. Liverpool has changed its formation to a 3-5-2 with Sakho, Skrtel and Lovren in the center of defense. Moreno and Sterling now are playing as wing-backs.

17th minute, 2-0 West Ham: Balotelli and Adrian stand eye-to-eye after the Liverpool forward barged into the West Ham goalkeeper. Adrian reacted angrily to Balotelli’s challenge.

[tweet https://twitter.com/br_uk/status/513369246563188736 align=’center’%5D

The referee cautions both players.

16th minute, 2-0 West Ham: Downing dribbles forward and shoots from 25 yards out, but Mignolet saves it without a fuss.

13th minute, 2-0 West Ham: Valencia heads a shot on goal, which Mignolet collects easily.

It’s all West Ham early on, as the early goals clearly have rattled Liverpool.

12th minute, 2-0 West Ham: Cresswell shoots from distance, forcing Mignolet to make a diving save.

Seventh minute, 2-0 West Ham: Sakho doubles West Ham’s lead with a goal from a well-placed chip to the far post.

[tweet https://twitter.com/premierleague/status/513369766908948481 align=’center’%5D

Fourth minute, 1-0 West Ham: Reid’s action-packed start continues. The West Ham defender fouls Borini, and the referee cautions him for the challenge.

Second minute, 1-0 West Ham: It’s a disastrous start for Liverpool, as Reid scores the earliest of goals for the hosts.

[tweet https://twitter.com/whufc_official/status/513372748333465602 align=’center’%5D

Kickoff: Liverpool-West Ham is underway.

Noon: Here are the lineups:

Liverpool

Simon Mignolet (22), goalkeeper
Alberto Moreno (18), left back
Martin Skrtel (37), center back
Dejan Lovren (6), center back
Javier Manquillo (19), right back
Steven Gerrard (8), midfielder
Jordan Henderson (14), midfielder
Lucas Leiva (21), midfielder
Raheem Sterling (31), midfielder
Fabio Borini (29), striker
Mario Balotelli (45), striker

Substitutes

Brad Jones (1), goalkeeper
Mamadou Sakho (17), center back
Jose Enrique (3), defender
Kolo Toure (4), defender
Adam Lallana (20), midfielder
Lazar Markovic (50), forward
Rickie Lambert (9), striker

[tweet https://twitter.com/LFC/status/513350863537340416 align=’center’%5D

West Ham

Adrian (13), goalkeeper
Aaron Cresswell (3), left back
James Tomkins (25), center back
Cheikhou Kouyate (8, center back
Winston Reid (2), right back
Alex Song (30), midfielder
Diafra Sakho (15), midfielder
Mark Noble (16), midfielder
Guy Demel (20), midfielder
Stewart Downing (11), midfielder
Enner Valencia (31), striker

Substitutes

Jussi Jaaskelainen (22), goalkeeper
James Collins (19), defender
Carl Jenkinson (18), defender
Ricardo Vaz Te (12), midfielder
Morgan Amalfitano (21), midfielder
Mauro Zarate (10), forward
Carlton Cole (24), striker

11 a.m. ET: Brendan Rodgers leads Liverpool back into the Premier League fray Saturday.

The Reds visit the Boleyn Ground to take on West Ham in their fifth game of the 2014-15 campaign. Liverpool is hoping to bounce back from last Saturday’s loss to Aston Villa and bank three points from their visit to East London.

Liverpool won both of its games against West Ham last season, and Rogers hopes to use this term’s first game against the Hammers as a springboard for improvement. After the midweek win over Ludogorets in the Champions League, Rodgers said his team is not playing at the level it reached in the latter stages of 2013-14. A strong performance against West Ham could ease doubts over Liverpool’s ability to hold its place in the ranks of the Premier League elite.

Martin Skrtel could return to the starting lineup against West Ham. Skrtel suffered a knee injury against Tottenham in late August and has missed the Reds’ last two games. The Liverpool defender returned to practice this week. Joe Allen, Glen Johnson and Daniel Sturridge will miss the West Ham game due to injury.

Liverpool-West Ham kicks off at 12:30 p.m. Join us right here for all the action from the Boleyn Ground.