STAR FOOTBALL PREVIEW Sat: Bournemouth v Liverpool

Liverpool have started to hit their stride at last in recent weeks and will be aiming to continue their ascent towards the top-four when they travel to Bournemouth on Saturday.

Bournemouth will have been dreading this fixture since August when, in Scott Parker’s last match in charge, the Cherries were thrashed 9-0 by Liverpool at Anfield.

Gary O’Neil is now in charge and, although their survival prospects are still looking relatively bleak, he has at least given them a chance of avoiding immediate relegation back to the Championship after looking dead-and-buried following that 9-0 humiliation earlier in the season.

In their last Premier League outing, Bournemouth came desperately close to a result against title-chasing Arsenal but squandered their two-goal lead and lost 3-2 with Reiss Nelson scoring a stoppage-time screamer to win the points for the Gunners.

That now leaves them at the bottom of the Premier League table but, due to how tight this relegation scrap seems to be this season, the Cherries are still only one point adrift of safety and could drag themselves out of the bottom-three with a win at the weekend.

Jefferson Lerma and Hamed Traore missed that 3-2 defeat to Arsenal through injury, but both are expected to be back in contention for the weekend which should come as a boost to the Cherries.

AFC Bournemouth v Liverpool
Premier League
12:30 BT Sport 1 / BT Sport Ultimate

HEAD-TO-HEAD RECORD
(Maximum 10 matches)
AUG 2022 PREMIER LEAGUE Liverpool 9-0 Bournemouth
MAR 2020 PREMIER LEAGUE Liverpool 2-1 Bournemouth
DEC 2019 PREMIER LEAGUE Bournemouth 0-3 Liverpool
FEB 2019 PREMIER LEAGUE Liverpool 3-0 Bournemouth
DEC 2018 PREMIER LEAGUE Bournemouth 0-4 Liverpool
APR 2018 PREMIER LEAGUE Liverpool 3-0 Bournemouth
DEC 2017 PREMIER LEAGUE Bournemouth 0-4 Liverpool
APR 2017 PREMIER LEAGUE Liverpool 2-2 Bournemouth
DEC 2016 PREMIER LEAGUE Bournemouth 4-3 Liverpool
APR 2016 PREMIER LEAGUE Bournemouth 1-2 Liverpool

After a season of struggle and disappointment, Liverpool will now be hoping that there is light at the end of the tunnel at last after an improved run of league form in recent weeks.

They comprehensively thrashed arch-rivals Manchester United 7-0 last week in a performance that suggested, in rather emphatic fashion, that the Liverpool of recent seasons under Jurgen Klopp is starting to come back.

Liverpool are now just three points adrift of the Champions League places with a game in hand on fourth-placed Tottenham Hotspur (the Reds are now currently 10/11 with starsports.bet to finish in the top-four).

Considering how easily the Reds dismantled Bournemouth earlier in the season, and off the back of that thumping 7-0 win over Manchester United, I think this fixture has goals written all over it. At even money with starsports.bet, I am backing a Liverpool win and over 2.5 goals.

Cody Gakpo, who arrived from PSV in January, is also starting to hit his stride in the Liverpool attack, scoring two against the Red Devils at the weekend, and I am also backing him to find the back of the net against Bournemouth at 13/10 with starsports.bet.

JOE CITRONE

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