Bournemouth vs Liverpool

Liverpool’s bid to remove Manchester City from the Premier League throne takes them to the Vitality Stadium to take on in-form Bournemouth.

Despite signing off for 2023 with a disappointing 3-1 away defeat to Tottenham Hotspur, Bournemouth come into this clash in high spirits after overturning a 2-0 halftime deficit to beat QPR in the FA Cup third round. That loss to ‘Spurs’ halted Bournemouth’s longest-ever unbeaten run in the Premier League of seven matches (W6, D1). But with Newcastle United and Manchester United amongst the sides to fall at their feet in this period, the ‘Cherries’ seem capable of replicating last season’s success when they defeated Liverpool 1-0 in this fixture. A more dynamic game could be on the cards, considering Andoni Iraola’s charges have netted 2+ goals in their last four home league outings, with only half of them yielding a clean sheet.

In the meantime, Liverpool took full advantage of Arsenal’s downturn in form toward the end of 2023 to go alone at the top of the Premier League table. Jurgen Klopp’s high-flying side bookended an impressive 13-match unbeaten league streak (W8, D5) with a comprehensive 4-2 home triumph against Newcastle at the start of 2024 before ousting Arsenal from the FA Cup third round (2-0). A come-from-behind 2-1 win against Fulham in the League Cup last weekend solidified Liverpool’s confidence. They need another win here to maintain/increase a two-point lead on second-placed Manchester City. After pulling off just two victories in their first seven Premier League away games of 2023/24 (D4, L1), the ‘Reds’ have won their last three in a row.