Premier League: Expect Goals When Reds and Cherries Meet

Bournemouth vs Liverpool

Premier League leaders Liverpool can stretch their lead at the top of the table to five points when they take on Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium on Sunday.

With Manchester City and Aston Villa taking a weekend off and Arsenal five points back Jurgen Klopp’s Reds can put some space between them and the chasing pack.

But they face a Bournemouth side, rejuvenated under Andoni Iraola, which has been is superb form over the past to months.

One thing we do know is that both teams are full of goals, and there will be plenty of Premier League 2024 highlights for neutrals to get stuck into. 

Liverpool’s last outing in the Premier League was a 4-2 New Year win over Newcastle United, while Bournemouth lost away to Spurs in their last league game on New Years Eve.

Both teams have been successful in Cup action since then, and now their attention turns to the league.

Talking Points

Solanke’s chance to show Liverpool what he can do 

One of the standout performers in the 2023-24 campaign is Bournemouth’s in-form striker Dominic Solanke who, at 26 years of age, is in the form of his life and proving he is a top quality striker.

He won the Premier League Player of the Month for December, but Solanke has worked hard to get to this level.

He signed as a 19-year-old for Liverpool in 2017 and made 21 appearances over the next two years, scoring one goal, and Bournemouth stepped in when it became clear Solanke’s chances at Anfield would be very limited.

While the famed front three of Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane, and Roberto Firmino fired Liverpool to the 2020 league title, Solanke set about building a career at Bournemouth, and he scored 29 goals in the Cherries’ promotion season in 2022.

This season, with 12 goals, he is joint-third in the chase for the Golden Boot, level with Heung-Min Son and just two goals behind Salah and Erling Haaland. He is now up among the most lethal strikers in the English top-flight, and Bournemouth fans will be willing Solanke to score against his former employers.

That would be some story.

Solanke was rested for the Cherries’ 3-2 FA Cup win over QPR last time out, while Marcus Tavernier and Justin Kluivert, who provide the main man with support from the flanks, were both on target. Those two are set to line up against the Reds, though there will be no Antoine Semenyo who is away at the African Cup of Nations.    

Three from four for Klopp’s attack line

The latest Premier League 2024 betting odds make Liverpool second favourites at 3.50 to win the title, and this is the Reds best chance since they lifted the Premier League trophy in 2020.

Of course, Manchetser City are the team to beat, but Arsenal are hoping to come back stronger in the New Year and it would be wrong to rule out the surprise package of Aston Villa.

Mohamed Salah’s departure for AFCON is a worry for Reds fans who have seen their Egyptian star hit his very best form over the first half of this campaign. While Manchester City are unaffected by AFCON, Liverpool have lost their best player so this could turn out to be a pivotal month in the title race.

Klopp will try to ensure it isn’t and he has four other highly talented attackers who can fill the three front line spots against the Cherries.

Darwin Nunez, who is having a strong second season (though he hasn’t scored as many goals as he would have liked) and Luis Diaz have been Klopp’s go to men, with Diogo Jota and Cody Gakpo ready for action when needed.

Gakpo can play a little deeper, but with the return of Alexis Mac Allister and the news that attacking midfielder Dominik Szoboszlai is nearing recovery from a hamstring injury means that the attacking midfield berths could be full.

The other issue Klopp has is the knee injury which has sidelined Trent Alexander-Arnold. Without his main distributor and his top striker, the manager needs his chosen 11 to take their chances.          

History

Liverpool have won 14 of their meetings with Bournemouth, drawing one and losing two, and the Reds have already beaten Bournemouth twice this season, 3-1 at Anfield in the second match of the league season and then 2-1 at the Vitality Stadium in the fourth round of the Carabao Cup.   

But in terms of recent form, with five wins and one defeat, the Cherries have been on a superb run, comparative with Liverpool’s five wins and one draw.   

Betting Tip

The Cherries are at 3.90 to win with the draw at 3.77, and Liverpool are priced at 1.65 with SBOTOPare clear favourites to win. They will be pushed to the limit by this Bournemouth side which is brimming with confidence, and I am hoping for and expecting plenty of goals.

 

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