BOURNEMOUTH VS LIVERPOOL: PREVIEW

Following the thorough beating handed out to Manchester United, Liverpool travel to the Vitality Stadium to take on Bournemouth. Victory will move the Reds into the top four, whilst the Cherries are aiming to climb out of the drop zone with three points. Here’s the match preview. 

Last Sunday at Anfield was a beautiful tonic to all the harrowing defeats and crushing lows the club has experienced this campaign. Erik Ten Hag’s men came into the clash as the form team in Europe. They had only tasted one defeat in their last 22 matches across all competitions.

A Carabao Cup final win a few days earlier marked their first piece of silverware in five years as a new era dawned. With Liverpool in indifferent form, most pundits tipped United to notch their first win at Anfield since 2016.

Fast forward 90 minutes and Jürgen Klopp’s charges had dished out the Red Devils’ heaviest ever defeat. 8 shots on target, 7 goals. It was a ruthless display of hunger, defiance and a return to the usual verve associated with the Reds.

A brace each for the front three and a Bobby Firmino goal off the bench was not only welcome but symbolic. The Brazilian is on his way out as the iconic trio of him, Salah and Mané officially comes to an end, but this seems to be the birth of a new pronged forward line.

Darwin Nunez and Cody Gakpo look settled now, and at just 23 years old, could be integral parts of the team for the next five years. Mohamed Salah is the only surviving member of the old trio but he’s still breaking records by the game, with his appetite for goals and assists only increasing with age.

Liverpool have actually managed a bigger margin of victory than the 7-0 romp over United. Opponents Bournemouth were ripped apart earlier in the season as the Reds cruised to a 9-0 win at Anfield. Scott Parker was relieved of his duties after that landmark defeat.

Gary O’Neil was handed the reigns temporarily but impressed enough to be given the job till the end of the season. He was unbeaten in his first six league games in charge but the honeymoon phase quickly eroded. They’ve lost 13 of their subsequent 18 matches in all competitions.

They were unlucky last time out as they handed league chasing Arsenal an almighty scare at the Emirates stadium. The Cherries went 2-0 up before the Gunners came back to seal victory courtesy a 97th minute Reiss Nelson winner.

That defeat left them bottom of the table but just a point off safety. Their poor goal difference means they will remain bottom even with a point tomorrow. Infront of their home crowd, they will aim to cause Liverpool problems in a bid to avenge that heavy defeat.

Victory for Jürgen Klopp’s men will take Liverpool into fourth place (at least until Spurs play Forest later in the day) after months out of the top four. It’s been some turnaround for the Reds, but they must be wary of a Bournemouth side desperate to survive relegation.

In Klopp’s 11 fixtures against Bournemouth, he’s only tasted defeat once (a madcap 4-3 defeat back in 2016). The German has overseen 9 victories over the Cherries, including each of the last 7 encounters. This is a great opportunity for the Reds to heap pressure on their rivals for top four.

An eighth win in a row over Bournemouth won’t come easy. Any victory will have to be hard fought, but the Reds look ready to roll their sleeves up and salvage what is left of this campaign.

Team News

Calvin Ramsay (meniscus) is out for the season. Joe Gomez and Luis Diaz are however expected to resume training next week. Thiago meanwhile remains a few weeks away. Arthur Melo was pictured training with the first team this week but the manager didn’t provide any update on his fitness.

Bournemouth have a long injury list with up to 8 players a doubt for tomorrow. David Brooks, Hamed Traore, Illia Zabarnyi, Jefferson Lerma, Junior Stanislas, Lloyd Kelly, Marcus Tavenier and Matias Vina are all unlikely to be available.