West Ham manager Sam Allardyce has added a central defender to his January wishlist, with Everton's John Heitinga a target, but at least one new striker remains the priority. Mladen Petric is set to be released, while Carlton Cole's future is dependent on who comes in. West Ham declined to comment on Morrison's contract.
Meanwhile, Arsenal have different fears over another talented young midfielder - a concern they will be without top scorer Aaron Ramsey for at least the next four weeks. Ramsey is waiting for the results of a scan on the thigh injury he sustained in the 3-1 Boxing Day win against West Ham. Ramsey could be out for six to eight weeks but Arsenal are hoping for confirmation the injury is just a strain.
Losing Ramsey for any extended period is a blow to Arsenal and manager Arsene Wenger as the 23-year-old Welshman has had the best season of his career, scoring 13 goals in all competitions. Arsenal play six games over the next month, starting tonight against Newcastle United at St James' Park. Ramsey's absence will put an even bigger burden on lone striker Olivier Giroud, who has not scored since November 23.
Wenger ideally plans to rest Giroud during the next week, as Arsenal face three games in six days. Giroud will most likely sit out either the New Year's Day clash with Cardiff City or the FA Cup tie against Tottenham and Wenger must decide between Nicklas Bendtner and the fit-again Lukas Podolski to deputise.
Podolski stepped off the bench to create and score a goal against West Ham, and is thought to be seen as a genuine option to replace Giroud.
Meanwhile, Pablo Zabaleta believes Manchester City can become the first Premier League side to win all their home games in a season, continuing their quest by making it 10 in a row against Crystal Palace (the game was played overnight).
"There's always a first time to do that," Zabaleta said of the pursuit of an Etihad Stadium clean sweep. The record for most home victories in a 38-game season is 18 - shared by Chelsea (2005-06), Manchester United (2010-11) and City in winning the title in 2011-12 (when they dropped two points against Sunderland at the Etihad Stadium). The last team to win all home games in the top flight were Sunderland in storming to the First Division title of 1891-92.
This season, City have beaten Newcastle United (4-0), Hull City (2-0), Manchester United (4-1), Everton (3-1), Norwich City (7-0), Tottenham Hotspur (6-0), Swansea City (3-0), Arsenal (6-3) and now Liverpool (2-1). Zabaleta feels City can win every home game, even against Chelsea who visit in February.
"Yes, of course," Zabaleta said. "Whoever we play, we play to win. We feel good and always want to show to the other teams that at the Etihad we are a very strong side. There's always a first time to do that. We have to keep working hard and keep very focused on what we are doing. It doesn't matter if we are playing home or away, we need to keep playing with the same intensity and when we play in our best form, we can beat anyone.
"We are in a good way for the title, one point behind the leaders [Arsenal]. There's still a long way to go and we cannot relax. "
