West Ham manager Manuel Pellegrini wants to get his side's season back on course by beating Liverpool on Monday - and do his old side Manchester City a favour at the same time.
Premier League leaders Liverpool are two points clear in the title race but have a game in hand over rivals City, who beat Arsenal 3-1 on Sunday .
Pellegrini won the league in 2014 during a three-year spell at City.
"If we win I will be very happy for our club first," he said.
"We need a good performance against the leaders.
"After that, if we can give a hand to Manchester City, it's not our problem, but of course I am a fan of Manchester City also."
West Ham are 12th in the league and have lost their last three games in all competitions after a 1-0 win over Arsenal on 12 January.
Pellegrini confirmed that defender Winston Reid, out for almost a year with a knee injury , is not expected back in action this season....
WestHam vs Liverpool Match preview
West Ham entertain the league leaders after two straight Premier League (PL) defeats, which have come as part of a ten-game league record that nonetheless reads: W5, D1, L4. Less encouragingly though, they have failed to find the net in nine of their 11 league defeats this season.
Overall, it’s just one draw in the last nine PL home matches for West Ham (W5, D1, L3), and the London Stadium has been an entertaining venue for the neutral at least, with league matches there averaging 2.917 goals per time this term. Relevantly, half of West Ham’s PL home matches this season have seen four goals or more.
Liverpool finally dropped points against a team outside the current top six in the last round (W16, D1), but saw their lead at the top of the league increase to five points. The second-best away team in the league so far (W9, D2, L1), the league leaders will be heavy favourites again.
However, in a somewhat frustrating period, the Anfield boys have scored more than one goal in just one of their last five matches (in all competitions), making the fact that they have kept a clean sheet in six of 12 PL away matches all the more important.
Players to watch: Marko Arnautović has three goals in four matches, though full-fitness is not guaranteed. Sadio Mané, meanwhile, has scored in two straight matches for Liverpool, and notched a brace in the reverse fixture.
Stat attack: None of the last eight H2H encounters have seen more than three yellow cards.
West Ham’s last five PL home matches have seen 87.5% of the goals come in the second half.
In 12 PL away matches, Liverpool have been in front at half-time in six - never letting points slip from there.
West Ham have conceded four goals in four straight matches against the ‘Reds’.
Head-to-head matches: WEST HAM - LIVERPOOL
12.08.18 PL Liverpool West Ham 4 : 0
24.02.18 PL Liverpool West Ham 4 : 1
04.11.17 PL West Ham Liverpool 1 : 4
14.05.17 PL West Ham Liverpool 0 : 4
11.12.16 PL Liverpool West Ham 2 : 2
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