Marko Arnautovic praises West Ham pair Noble and Kouyate

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West Ham United’s form has been a lot more encouraging than it was during the opening months of the Premier League season.

Marko Arnautovic has told West Ham’s official website that while all of the Hammers squad have done well lately, it is the work that Mark Noble and Cheikhou Kouyate do in the middle of the park that has really impressed him ahead of their trip to Anfield this weekend.

David Moyes’ men still find themselves in a precarious position in the top flight, with just four points separating the Irons from the bottom three heading into the final 11 games – though there are also a number of teams between them and the relegation zone.

However, West Ham seem to have a lot more momentum on their side having gone on a decent run since Moyes arrived at the London Stadium, having only lost three times in the league since the start of December. And ahead of the game against Liverpool, Arnautovic praised his teammates’ form, reserving particular credit for the midfield pair.

“I said when I came, in the beginning, that we have an amazing group of players and players with so much quality,” he told the club’s official website. “We know that Liverpool have an amazing front three, but they need to be careful about our forwards as well, as everyone is in good form, like Chicha, Manu and Joao.

“It’s the same for the people behind us like Mark [Noble] and Cheik [Kouyate] and the work they do for us in the midfield, which is amazing and has impressed me. I can add everybody because all the defenders always try to keep a clean sheet and expect us to score goals.

It will be a huge ask for West Ham to get a positive result away on Merseyside given the Reds’ form at home this season. They have won seven, drawn six and lost none of their 13 home games this term.

They have been beaten at home this season, but that came in the FA Cup as West Brom clinched a 3-2 win against a strong Liverpool side – and the Baggies are clearly in a much worse situation than West Ham right now.

But while West Brom may have won at Anfield, everyone of West Ham’s squad will undoubtedly need to be as good as Arnautovic has suggested if they hope to ensure that there will be some decent daylight between themselves and the bottom three after Saturday.