SHOWCASE-Soccer-Five memorable Liverpool-West Ham matches

By Toby Davis LONDON, Dec 8 (Reuters) - Liverpool, looking to rebound from a dramatic 4-3 defeat at Bournemouth last weekend, face West Ham United, who are just above the relegation zone and licking their wounds following a 5-1 thrashing by Arsenal, on Sunday. We look back at five memorable clashes between the sides (Premier League unless stated). March 1981 LIVERPOOL 1 WEST HAM 1 (League Cup final) Around 100,000 fans were packed into Wembley but they had to wait a long time for the match to explode into life and when it did it was hugely controversial. Goalless until the 118th minute, Liverpool's opener sparked angry West Ham protests. Alan Kennedy scored but Sammy Lee was lying prone in an offside position in front of West Ham keeper Phil Parkes. West Ham were fuming that referee Clive Thomas allowed the goal but they got immediate retribution as Ray Stewart scored from the penalty spot in the 120th minute. Liverpool won the replay at Villa Park 2-1. April 1984 LIVERPOOL 6 WEST HAM 0 (First Division) Liverpool's fabled bootroom ensured the departure of the club's most successful manager, Bob Paisley, in 1983 was little more than a smooth transition as Joe Fagan was promoted from within and seamlessly steered the ship on a steady course. They were within touching distance of the title when they hosted West Ham in April 1984 and two goals from Ian Rush and Graeme Souness and further strikes from Kenny Dalglish and Ronnie Whelan completed a resounding win. Fagan ended the season having guided Liverpool to the league title and European Cup and League Cup trophies as they became the third English club to win three successive league crowns. May 1989 LIVERPOOL 5 WEST HAM 1 (First Division) Liverpool's 1988-89 season will forever be overshadowed by the Hillsborough stadium disaster but on the pitch they rode an emotional rollercoaster that took them within a whisker of becoming the first team to win the double twice. The Merseysiders clinched the FA Cup three days before hosting West Ham at Anfield looking for a 13th win in 14 league matches. John Aldridge, Ian Rush and John Barnes found the net and Ray Houghton scored twice in a thumping victory that left title rivals Arsenal needing to win by two goals in the final game of the season at Liverpool to win the league. Sadly for Kenny Dalglish's side, Arsenal were up to the task. May 2006 (FA Cup final) LIVERPOOL 3 WEST HAM 3 (Liverpool won 3-1 on penalties) The last FA Cup final to be played in Cardiff before it reverted to the newly-rebuilt Wembley provided the stage for Steven Gerrard to once again highlight his incredible ability to steal the show. Liverpool were the outgoing European champions and had finished nearly 30 points clear of West Ham in the Premier League but the Londoners took the match to their opponents and led 2-0. Gerrard pulled Liverpool back into the encounter at 2-2 but, with the Hammers restoring their advantage and the clock ticking past 90 minutes, the England midfielder took aim from 30 metres and netted with a fearsome effort. Liverpool went on to win on penalties with Gerrard, unsurprisingly, scoring from the spot. August 2015 LIVERPOOL 0 WEST HAM UNITED 3 Liverpool's then-manager Brendan Rodgers had survived into the new season despite finishing the previous campaign poorly, including a 6-1 thrashing at Stoke City. However, the writing was on the wall for the Northern Irishman as early as August as West Ham arrived at Anfield and showed that many of the previous season's issues had not been resolved. Manuel Lanzini, Mark Noble and Diafra Sakho scored for the visitors while Rodgers lasted four more league games before being replaced by Juergen Klopp. (Editing by Tony Jimenez)