Nuno Santo: West Ham ready for Anfield challenge despite 'difficult' test

West Ham manager Nuno Santo on Friday confirmed that Pablo Felipe remains sidelined ahead of Saturday's Premier League clash against Liverpool.

Speaking at a pre-match press conference, Santo said Felipe is still undergoing individual recovery and is not yet ready to return to the squad.

Despite a recent string of disappointing results, the manager insisted that the team's overall performance is on the rise. Santo highlighted recent clean sheets as a major motivation for the squad, urging his players to stay resilient rather than dwelling on recent setbacks.

Santo described the club's current relegation battle as a "big challenge" that he believes will bring out the best in his players. He emphasized that defensive stability is a collective responsibility that must begin with the forwards.

Addressing the team's tendency to concede late goals, Santo said the coaching staff is working to fix the issue. He called for total concentration from his players from the opening whistle through the end of the match.

The manager acknowledged the difficulty of facing Liverpool at Anfield but insisted his squad is prepared for the task.

"We know it will be very difficult, but the team is ready to face the challenge," Santo said.

Nuno Espirito Santo’s pre-match briefing ahead of the clash at Anfield serves as a textbook study in psychological recalibration and strategic communication. Facing a superior opponent in a high-pressure environment, Nuno is attempting to instill a pragmatic resilience, pivoting the narrative away from West Ham’s recent poor form toward a focus on "collective performance" and incremental operational improvements.

The manager’s emphasis on defensive organization and the mitigation of late-game concessions reflects a granular tactical assessment of systemic risk. By publicly acknowledging the team’s "fatal flaw"—the tendency to concede late—and contrasting it with Liverpool’s proficiency in high-leverage closing minutes, Nuno is mandating a baseline of "total concentration." This is a clear strategic directive: tactical discipline is the non-negotiable prerequisite for any positive result.

Rather than issuing a broad mandate for an outright win, Nuno is prioritizing the foundational pillars of defensive integrity and sustained focus. This pragmatic approach seeks to rebuild squad confidence through achievable, small-scale objectives. In the face of an overwhelming competitive disadvantage, the strategy has shifted toward stabilizing the defensive posture and maintaining organizational discipline as the primary metrics of success.

The English Premier League has a massive following within the Vietnamese diaspora, and that passion is on full display across the United States. Whether it’s a group of fans gathered at a phở restaurant in Little Saigon or a TV tuned to the match in a local nail salon, big fixtures like West Ham versus Liverpool always generate intense interest and lively debate. This shared love for the game is a cultural mainstay for the community, existing right alongside the daily realities of the immigrant experience—from sending remittances back home to navigating the complexities of F2B, H-1B, TPS, and EB-5 visas.