Bournemouth x Liverpool: EPL Match Preview, Odds & Prediction

Get ready for the upcoming Bournemouth vs. Liverpool match in the English Premier League with a detailed preview, odds analysis, and prediction. Stay ahead of the game with all the latest information.

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Bournemouth x Liverpool: EPL Match Preview, Odds & Prediction

Bournemouth x Liverpool: EPL Match Preview, Odds & Prediction

On Saturday afternoon, Liverpool will face Bournemouth in an intriguing Premier League match in the south of England. The match might prove to be one of the most challenging tests of their championship defence so far.

Arne Slot's squad returns to domestic play after suffering a 3-2 Champions League defeat to PSV Eindhoven. Nottingham Forest's opponents were also in a nail-biter last time, but they scored five goals without receiving a response from their Bournemouth.

Previous Matches and Head-to-head

Slot returned home on Wednesday night feeling emotional. He saw Cody Gakpo, a native of Eindhoven, score the opening goal in Wednesday's European match, but the goal was far from indicative of the game's outcome.

Despite securing their berth in the round of 16 before the last matchday and confirming their first-place ranking owing to Barcelona's defeat over Atalanta BC, a Reds squad that had undergone significant changes suffered their first defeat in European play this season.

With last weekend's routine 4-1 thrashing of Ipswich Town under their belts, the Merseyside giants are full steam ahead in pursuing the Premier League title. Mohamed Salah surpassed Arsenal icon Thierry Henry in the all-time Premier League scoring charts. They wait to learn their opponents for the next continental stage.

Despite having a game in hand, set to take place at Goodison Park, Everton's soon-to-be former home, in a couple of weeks, Liverpool still lead the division with six points. 

In addition, no team in the competition has an undefeated road record (all other teams have lost twice). However, Slot's men will not take anything for granted at a ground where both Arsenal and Manchester City have already lost this season.

No sweat for Andoni Iraola's masterful Bournemouth, who seemed to have taken a devastating blow to their dreams of bringing European football to the Vitality Stadium with the injuries to their two starting centre-forwards.

Despite the odds, the Cherries prevailed in game week 23, crushing title contenders Nottingham Forest 5-0. Dango Ouattara scored three goals, Justin Kluivert two assists, and Antoine Semenyo one assist.

As if their 4-1 home win over Newcastle United wasn't spectacular enough, Bournemouth reached a new peak in their season with a fantastic win over the Tricky Trees. This win brought them level on points with sixth-placed Chelsea and put them only one point behind Manchester City in the race for the top four.

The Cherries aim to maintain their fourth consecutive top-flight clean sheet at home on Saturday. Bournemouth has gone undefeated in 12 games, including their last 11 in the Premier League. With 25 points since the end of November, they have the most points in the division.

That may be easier said than done, especially considering Liverpool's perfect record in head-to-head matches (including a simple 3-0 victory at Anfield in September). Still, Reds supporters may be more anxious as they journey to the South Coast than in previous seasons.

Bournemouth x Liverpool Team News

Joe Gomez, a long-serving defender for Liverpool, returned to full training last month after suffering a hamstring injury; he may be in pos a position to play in his first game of 2025 here before the club travels to the Netherlands.

Even though Diogo Jota (muscle) will not play and Curtis Jones's fitness is doubtful because of his injury, Slot might still rest some of his key players in midweek in preparation for this match.

Salah, one of many returning starters, will tie Frank Lampard for most Premier League goals scored with his next goal; however, after scoring in all of his first six appearances (including the match against Bournemouth), he has scored only once in his past five.

As previously stated, Bournemouth will be without long-term injured players Unal (knee) and Evanilson (foot), while new acquisitions Julio Soler (unspecified), James Hill (thigh), Julian Araujo (thigh), and Marcos Senesi (thigh) are all under medical supervision.

None of the three injured players—Alex Scott (knee), Luis Sinisterra (hamstring), and Adam Smith (unspecified)—will be ready to go at the first whistle, even if their returns are expected soon.

Following last weekend's masterpiece, in which Tyler Adams also laid on two assists from midfield, Iraola will likely not see the need to make any changes to the starting lineup. With Adams in the lineup, Bournemouth have scored an average of 2.8 goals per game this season, but without him, they have only managed 1.3.

Our predictions

Both Teams to Score @ 1.52 on Sky247.ng

Although Liverpool's star players had a night off in the middle of the week, Bournemouth had six days to relax and prepare for the big game this Saturday, when Iraola's squad will be taking no prisoners.

But the hosts, who have been hit hard by injuries, still lack many good substitutes, while Slot's men have no such issues; once again, the Reds' replacements might be the deciding factor in ending Bournemouth's incredible run.

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