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Liverpool return from their week off by making the long trip to Dorset to face Bournemouth on Sunday afternoon. The match takes place at the Vitality Stadium and gets underway at 4:30pm.
Bournemouth
Bournemouth’s remarkable form throughout November and December has seen them rise to 12th in the Premier League and almost completely eradicate any lingering relegation concerns. Andoni Iraola was under pressure, yet he’s been given time to turn things around on the south coast and the players have got to grips with his agressive style of attacking football.
Match has ended
The Cherries were beaten by Spurs last time out, yet they created enough chances to take at least a point from the contest. They were also victorious in the FA Cup against Championship opposition and they will take plenty of confidence into this fixture.
Although they’ve faced the likes of Sheffield United and Fulham, the hosts have beaten some decent sides during their upturn in form including Newcastle and Manchester United. They also held Aston Villa to a 2-2 draw here at the beginning of December.
Dominic Solanke has been the star man for the Cherries and although some of his teammates have also chipped in, he currently has nine more goals than any other Bournemouth player. Solanke has been subject to interest from other PL clubs, however, he appears happy at the Vitality Stadium for the time being.
The hosts’ fitness levels are excellent and they have to tendency to score most of their goals in the second half of games. Their matches have been very entertaining lately and they’ve netted 2+ in each of their last four home fixtures.
Bournemouth don’t have too many absentees ahead of this contest although Dango Ouattara is away on AFCON duty over the next couple of weeks.
Liverpool
Liverpool are looking to preserve their lead at the top of the Premier League table and they will be forced to do it without the talismanic Mo Salah. Nevertheless, the Reds proved equally as effective without the Egyptian as they triumphed over Arsenal in the FA Cup two weekends ago. They were also victorious in the EFL Cup as they came from a goal down to beat Fulham 2-1.
Jurgen Klopp’s side haven’t been in PL action for a number of weeks with their last game on New Year’s Day as they overcame Newcastle 4-2. The scoreline flattered the Magpies as Liverpool fired in 23 shots and recorded an xG above 6.0.
Although they tend to be far superior at Anfield, Liverpool’s away form has been decent and they have won each of their last three on their travels. Despite that good form, Bournemouth are expected to put up far more resistance than Burnley, Sheffield United or Crystal Palace (although the latter almost snatched a point). Their record on the road is 5-4-1 and it is the second strongest in the top flight.
As well as Salah, the visitors will be without Wataru Endo, who is at the Asian Cup. Joel Matip, Andy Robertson, Kostas Tsimikas and Thiago Alacantara are long-term absentees whereas Trent Alexander-Arnold isn’t expected to return from injury until at least the second week of February.
Thankfully for Reds fans, the club have decent depth with the likes of Ryan Gravenberch, Curtis Jones and Diogo Jota all expected to start this game.
Head to Head
Liverpool have dominated this head-to-head in recent seasons and have been successful in four of the last five meetings. They won both meetings last season including a 2-1 victory here at the Vitality.
Bournemouth are capable of causing an upset and they duly won 1-0 here in March with Phillip Billing netting the winner in the first half.
Cherries fans will be desperately hoping to erase any memories of their 9-0 loss to Liverpool in August 2022. This game resulted in the dismissal of manager Scott Parker.
Seven of the last eight meetings between these sides at this venue have featured three or more goals.
Key Betting Stats
- Liverpool have kept just two away clean sheets so far this season. Both of these came against the current bottom two.
- Liverpool away games have averaged 2.7 goals per game.
- Liverpool have picked up more cards than the opposition in seven of their 11 away matches
- Bournemouth have scored an average of just 1.22 goals per game at the Vitality, however, they’ve netted 2+ in each of their last four.
- Five of Bournemouth’s last six home matches have featured 3+ goals.
- Exactly 50% of Dominic Solanke’s 12 goals have come at the Vitality Stadium
Match Prediction
Liverpool are missing key players and this could be a deceptively tricky fixture for the Reds. Bournemouth will be up for this and they have dangers all over the field. Expect an open and entertaining 90 minutes.
Winning Combo
Over 3.5 Goals
11/10 with Bet365
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