From Liverpool winger Stewart Downing has said that he wants his West Ham team to make it extremely hard for Liverpool when they visit Upton Park during the weekend. The table leaders will be coming to the ground on the back of eight straight victories, which makes them favourites for the title.
However, Downing is planning to upset the celebrations for Liverpool by getting one over his former team. The former Aston Villa man played for a couple of years at Liverpool before joining West Ham on a permanent deal. He was once a £ 20 million signing for the club.
However, he had a joined West Ham for around £ 6 million after a disappointing spell at Anfield, but he says that he is out to prove that the quality still remains with him. West Ham will also have several other reasons to beat Liverpool. Andy Carroll, who also owns played for Liverpool, will be coming with vengeance on his heart after making a £ 15 million permanent move to West Ham in the summer. He was once signed for £ 35 million by Liverpool. Downing accepted that Liverpool had a frightening forward line up, but West Ham are determined to keep a clean sheet against the table leaders.
“It’s nice to play against your old teams and I’m sure Andy and Joe Cole are looking forward to it. We’re in for that top 10 spot and it’s tight, so we want to do ourselves and the other teams a favour. [Liverpool’s] forward line is frightening at the minute. The goals are coming from everywhere, but we’ll make it hard for them at our place. When I was playing for Liverpool it was always hard against West Ham at Upton Park,” said Downing. West Ham’s form has substantially improved in the last few months after the return of Carroll.