Can Liverpool get back on track against Bournemouth?
Published:Odds, preview and betting tips for Saturday’s early kick-off
Liverpool have been uncharacteristically slack in recent weeks.
The Reds were flying until a first-leg loss to AtleticoMadrid in the Champions League. And then a surprise 3-0 defeat at Watford costthem their unbeaten record in the league.
Dumped out of the FA Cup by Chelsea in midweek, Klopp’s men host a stuttering Bournemouth side in search of a much-needed feel good performance.
Can the league leaders get back to winning ways in front of the BT Sport cameras in Saturday’s 12:30pm kick-off? Or can the Cherries boost their survival hopes?
Liverpool v Bournemouth Match Odds
That’s backed up by the stats that have seen Liverpool win their last five league games against Bournemouth with an aggregate score of 17-0. You can find Liverpool to win to nil once more at 23/20.
Mo Salah has scored against Bournemouth in all five of his appearances against them, with seven goals in total. You can find him at 12/5 to open the scoring, or 4/6 anytime, with Sadio Mane 1/1 to score anytime.
Callum Wilson tops the Bournemouth scoring chart with seven league goals for the season and you can find him at 9/1 to score first, or 3/1 to score anytime, with Joshua King at 7/2 anytime.
At what point does a ‘blip’ become a crisis? It’s probablytoo early to call Liverpool’s recent downturn in form a crisis by any metric,especially given their huge 22-point cushion at the top of the Premier League.
However, after being knocked out of the FA Cup, next week’s Champions League tie against Atletico Madrid takes on even bigger significance.
Jurgen Klopp will want his players to be riding high on theback of a convincing win as they attempt to overcome a 1-0 deficit and one of themost stalwart defences in the world. They cannot afford to go into that gamewith their confidence further dented by another lacklustre display.
Shorn of captain Jordan Henderson in recent weeks, Liverpool need the likes of Fabinho to step up to the plate, though Bournemouth’s Phillip Billing seems unlikely to give the Merseyside club’s midfielders an easy ride.
Goalkeeper Alisson is also to set to miss out with a hip injury meaning Adrian will keep his place, despite gifting Chelsea a goal on Tuesday.
As for Bournemouth, their record against Liverpool speaks for itself. They’ve lost their last five league games to the league leaders, scoring no goals and conceding 17 in the process. Joint top-scorer Harry Wilson won’t be able to help improve that record on Saturday either – the 22 year-old is on loan from Liverpool and ineligible for the game.
The Cherries currently find themselves 18th in the table, with goal difference keeping them in the relegation zone. Although they’ve found some success against the teams around them – beating Aston Villa and Brighton in recent weeks – they suffered a damaging 3-0 defeat to Burnley, before drawing at 2-2 home to Chelsea last weekend.
In some respects that makes Bournemouth the perfect team forLiverpool to play against on Saturday. The Reds have dominated the Cherries inrecent encounters and although Eddie Howe’s men won’t roll over for the champions-elect– they may be looking ahead to more winnable battles against Crystal Palace andNewcastle in the coming weeks.
If Liverpool fail to overcome the south-coast side, it willraise more difficult questions ahead of Wednesday’s Champions League tie – arguablyLiverpool’s biggest game of the season so far.
View the latest Liverpoolv Bournemouth odds.
All odds and markets correct as of date of publication
