Title rivals preview: Bournemouth vs Liverpool
Arsenal could find themselves eight points off the top of the Premier League table at the end of the weekend, with pacesetters Liverpool travelling south to take on Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium.
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Both sides have spent a fortnight recovering from recent FA Cup third-round victories, as Liverpool beat Arsenal 2-0, while Bournemouth staged a spectacular comeback to thwart Championship strugglers Queens Park Rangers 3-2.
Bournemouth have undeniably picked up the pace under the leadership of Spanish tactician Andoni Iraola, embarking on a remarkable seven-match unbeaten streak (W6, D1) before their 3-1 defeat to Tottenham Hotspur.
That run of form saw the Cherries ascend to 12th on the Premier League table, four points adrift of tenth-placed Newcastle United with two games in hand.
That defeat at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on New Year’s Eve also snapped Bournemouth’s streak of scoring at least twice in seven consecutive fixtures.
However, they rediscovered their goalscoring form when they travelled to Loftus Road to take on QPR but failed to start as they meant to go on with the Championship side racing to a surprise 2-0 lead at half time.
Goals from Sinclair Armstrong and Lyndon Dykes had the West London fans in dreamland but it proved to be a game of two halves as Marcus Tavernier, Kieffer Moore and Justin Kluivert completed a terrific turnaround for Iraola’s side.
The come-from-behind victory over QPR saw Bournemouth set up a fourth-round clash against Swansea City later this month but they have more pressing issues to attend to with Liverpool visiting the south coast.
The Cherries are looking to avoid consecutive Premier League defeats for the first time since October and an unlikely victory on home turf will take them level on points with Wolverhampton Wanderers.
However, their form against the league leaders leaves little to be desired regarding their ability to pull off a stunning upset given they’ve been beaten in all nine of their Premier League games against teams starting the day at the top of the table, netting six goals in that sequence.
Liverpool had to live up to their ‘kings of comeback’ tag when they welcomed Fulham to Anfield for their Carabao Cup semi-final first-leg clash.
An uncharacteristic Virgil van Dijk error was the catalyst for Willian’s opening goal at Anfield and for a large chunk of the contest, it appeared Fulham would leave the fortress with an unlikely victory.
However, Jurgen Klopp’s decision to roll the dice and introduce Darwin Nunez and Cody Gakpo turned the tides in favour of the Reds as both players combined for the winning goal after Curtis Jones’ equaliser.
Liverpool will be hoping to finish off the Cottagers when both sides renew acquaintances at Craven Cottage in two weeks.
However, first on the agenda for Klopp’s side is opening up a five-point lead at the Premier League summit, particularly with neither Arsenal, Aston Villa, nor Manchester City in action this weekend.
Liverpool would also be keen to preserve their four-match winning streak across all competitions having won their last three away games in a row by a combined scoreline of 6-1.
They have already avenged last year’s 1-0 defeat in this fixture, following up a 3-1 win at Anfield back in August with a 2-1 EFL Cup victory at Vitality Stadium last month.
Match Preview
Bournemouth
Bournemouth haven’t had the best track record against Liverpool lately, losing eight out of their last nine matches. The only exception was a surprising 1-0 victory in the same fixture last season.
When facing teams that start the day at the top of the Premier League table, Bournemouth have struggled, losing all nine of those matches.
They have also conceded 30 goals and scored only six in these encounters, making them the team with the most 100% losing record in such games.
However, things have been looking up for Bournemouth at home. They’ve won three of their last four Premier League home games (D1), which is as many as they managed in the previous 16 beforehand (D4, L9).
Scoring goals has been a recent strength for Bournemouth. In their last four league games at the Vitality Stadium, they’ve scored nine goals, which is as many as they managed in their previous 11 home games.
In terms of points, Bournemouth have been on fire in their last eight Premier League games, securing 19 points (W6, D1, L1), which is more than any other side in the division.
Liverpool rank second with 18 points in the same period (W5, D3).
Liverpool
Liverpool have already triumphed at the Vitality Stadium earlier this season, winning 2-1 against Bournemouth in the EFL Cup.
The last time a team beat the Cherries twice away from home in the same season was Bristol City in 1999/00.
Liverpool could become the latest side to achieve that feat given that they’ve won each of their last three Premier League away games, and will be searching for a fourth in a row for the first time since March 2022.
Notably, they’ve kept two clean sheets in these three wins, matching the number of clean sheets from their previous 14 away league matches.
Going behind on the south coast may not phase Liverpool as much given the incredible resilience they have displayed this season.
They have rescued more points from losing positions than any other team in the Premier League (19 points), with 12 of those points earned in away matches.
The Reds have an impressive record when trailing, having lost just one of their last 14 league games in which they were behind (W6, D7), with that single defeat occurring away to Tottenham in September.
Due to Mohamed Salah’s participation in the Africa Cup of Nations this year, Liverpool will play their first Premier League game without him since a 2-1 victory at Southampton in May 2022.
Since Salah joined the Reds in the 2017/18 season, Liverpool have not lost any of the ten Premier League games without him (W7, D3), winning each of the last four in a row.
Team News
Bournemouth will be without Antoine Semenyo and Dango Ouattara owing to their AFCON commitment while Marcos Senesi is suspended for the weekend contest.
Milos Kerkez and Adam Smith are both out due to injuries, but there’s a chance Lloyd Kelly might be back.
For Liverpool, Salah and Wataru Endo are away for the AFCON and Asian Cup. Trent Alexander-Arnold won’t be playing either due to injury.
Dominik Szoboszlai might also miss the game, but he could return for the Carabao Cup semi-final second leg against Fulham later this week, along with Andy Robertson.
Bournemouth potential starting line-up:
(4-2-3-1): Neto; Max Aarons, Illia Zabarnyi, Chris Mepham, Milos Kerkez; Alex Scott, Lewis Cook; Marcus Tavernier, Philip Billing, Justin Kluivert; Dominic Solanke.
Liverpool potential starting line-up:
(4-3-3): Alisson; Conor Bradley, Ibrahima Konate, Virgil van Dijk, Joe Gomez; Curtis Jones, Alexis Mac Allister, Ryan Gravenberch; Diogo Jota, Darwin Nunez, Luis Diaz.
We Say: Bournemouth 1-3 Liverpool
With or without Salah, it would be a major shock if Liverpool failed to emerge from Vitality Stadium with maximum points in the bag.
