Liverpool take on Bournemouth for the third time this season as they meet at the Vitality Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
The Reds have prevailed in both meetings thus far, with their previous outing seeing Jurgen Klopp’s side progress into the Carabao Cup quarter-finals following a 2-1 victory on the south coast.
Liverpool swatted aside Andoni Iraola’s Cherries in the reverse Premier League fixture towards the start of the 2023/24 campaign, but Bournemouth have evolved considerably under their new Spanish boss.
Despite tasting defeat at Tottenham on New Year’s Eve, Sunday’s hosts remain one of the division’s form teams. Liverpool, meanwhile, saw their lead at the top of the table trimmed to two points last weekend as Manchester City dramatically triumphed at St James’ Park.
Here’s 90min’s preview of Sunday’s Premier League clash.
Bournemouth vs Liverpool H2H Record (Last Five Games)
Current Form (all competitions)
|
Country |
TV channel/live stream |
|---|---|
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United Kingdom |
SKY GO Extra, Sky Ultra HD, Sky Sports Premier League, Sky Sports Main Event |
|
United States |
Telemundo, NBC Sports App, nbcsports.com, USA Network, Telemundo Deportes En Vivo |
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Canada |
fuboTV |
The Cherries have lost a couple of players to AFCON, with Dango Ouattara and Antoine Semenyo both set to miss Bournemouth’s upcoming fixtures.
Dominic Solanke is an injury doubt, but it’d be a surprise if the striker didn’t feature against his former club.
Lloyd Kelly is fit and available again, while Milos Kerkez, Adam Smith and Ryan Fredericks are all doubts. Tyler Adams should be able to be called upon soon following a long-term absence, but Marcos Senesi is suspended.
Bournemouth predicted lineup vs Liverpool (4-2-3-1): Neto; Aarons, Zabarnyi, Kelly, Kerkez; Cook, Scott; Tavernier, Billing, Kluivert; Solanke.
The Reds are without Mohamed Salah and Wataru Endo, who are both on international duty, while Dominik Szoboszlai is set to miss out once again with a hamstring injury.
Trent Alexander-Arnold isn’t expected to miss much time with his latest injury setback, but this fixture has come too soon for the England international.
Joel Matip has been lost for the remainder of the season, with Andy Robertson and Kostas Tsimikas both likely to return in February. Doubts remain over when Stefan Bajcetic and Thiago Alcantara will make their respective comebacks.
Liverpool predicted lineup vs Bournemouth (4-3-3): Alisson; Bradley, Konate, Van Dijk, Gomez; Mac Allister, Jones, Gravenberch; Elliott, Nunez, Diaz.
While the Reds are without two core starters on Sunday who have been crucial to their success this season, Bournemouth, too, could be hamstrung by injuries.
The Cherries shouldn’t have lost too much momentum over the break and they pose obvious tactical challenges to the visitors. Alexander-Arnold would have been key to breaking Bournemouth’s press with his passing range, which means Virgil van Dijk will have a big role to play on the south coast.
Ultimately, though, this Liverpool side has consistently found ways to win despite sub-par performances and key absences. It might only take an efficient 15-minute spell for the visitors to prevail.
Prediction: Bournemouth 0-2 Liverpool
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