Liverpool are set to play their first home game of the 2023-24 Premier League season with a match against Bournemouth on Saturday.
In the first league match of this season, Mohamed Salah shone as the standout performer in their opening-day clash against Chelsea.
The Egyptian forward provided a superb assist to Luis Diaz for the club’s opening goal, tested Robert Sanchez with multiple shots on target, and had a goal disallowed by VAR due to offside.
However, despite Salah’s impressive individual performance, Liverpool only managed a 1-1 draw, continuing their trend of not starting the Premier League season with a victory for the second consecutive year.
This view of @LuisFDiaz19’s goal 😍 pic.twitter.com/tEwCdghXTk
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) August 14, 2023
Bournemouth, the visiting team, had a similar start to their new league campaign, salvaging a late equalizer through Dominic Solanke against West Ham United in Andoni Iraola’s managerial debut.
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Meanwhile for Bournemouth, the 25-year-old Solanke is a potential game-changer for the team this season. The opening weekend suggested he could live up to those expectations.
Solanke will need to be at his best to avoid another 9-0 beating that his side suffered against the Reds last season.
Liverpool are likely to carry frustration into this game following Chelsea’s successful capture of highly-regarded midfielders Romeo Lavia and Moises Caicedo.
Jurgen Klopp’s side will be eager to secure three points in this encounter.
Liverpool vs Bournemouth: Head-to-head
The 2022-23 season saw Liverpool start sluggishly, with no wins in their first three league games (2 draws, 1 loss) until they hosted Bournemouth in the fourth game at Anfield.
A historic 9-0 victory in that match contributed to Liverpool’s seven-game winning streak against Bournemouth, which was interrupted by a disappointing 1-0 loss at the Vitality Stadium in March, breaking their strong head-to-head dominance.
Manager Andoni Iraola might be happy with sharing points, as he did in a 1-1 draw against West Ham last weekend. However, Bournemouth’s recent record at Anfield doesn’t inspire confidence.
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What a way to score your first @premierleague goal for the club 👊
Harvey Elliott with a curling first-time effort against Bournemouth last season at Anfield 🔴#LIVBOU pic.twitter.com/48GWRzsn0D
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) August 17, 2023
They have suffered four consecutive defeats in their recent top-flight visits to Liverpool, conceding a total of 17 goals while only scoring once.
Moreover, consecutive away defeats towards the end of the 2022-23 season are also a sign of concern.
Iraola’s cautious strategy might help the Cherries in overcoming their defensive shortcomings away from the Vitality Stadium. Notably, only Nottingham Forest (44) conceded more away goals than Bournemouth (41) last season.
Liverpool vs Bournemouth: Team News
Klopp is expected to maintain the same starting lineup that faced Chelsea at Stamford Bridge a week ago, as Thiago Alcantara and Stefan Bajcetic remain sidelined due to injuries.
Darwin Nunez delivered a lacklustre performance after coming on for Diogo Jota in the second half. This performance is likely to ensure that the Portuguese forward continues to secure his spot in the starting eleven.
Bournemouth will be without the services of Marcus Tavernier, Alex Scott, and Ryan Fredericks. Meanwhile, Lloyd Kelly and Adam Smith are racing against time to be included in the matchday squad.
Liverpool vs Bournemouth: Potential starting line-ups
Liverpool’s possible lineup (4-3-3): Alisson Becker; Trent Alexander-Arnold, Virgil van Dijk, Ibrahima Konate, Andy Robertson; Alexis Mac Allister, Dominik Szoboszlai, Cody Gakpo; Mohamed Salah, Luis Diaz, Diogo Jota.
Bournemouth’s possible lineup (4-2-3-1): Neto, Zabarnyi, Senesi, Kerkez; Anthony, Cook, Brooks; Rothwell, Billing, Ouattara; Solanke.
Our Prediction: Liverpool 4-1 Bournemouth
In three out of Liverpool’s last four home league encounters against Bournemouth, they have managed to score a minimum of three goals, and we expect this pattern to continue on Saturday.
However, Klopp’s defensive line has shown susceptibility to conceding goals easily, leading us to believe that the visiting team might also find the net.
