Jurgen Klopp takes his Liverpool side to The Vitality Stadium to face Bournemouth on Sunday after a tough week for the German. Liverpool dropped points during back to back draws in their last two games and Klopp has been criticised for the heavy rotation of his squad over the two games. He will be confident of picking up a win on Sunday against a Bournemouth side who have struggled this season, but Eddie Howe will be determined to end a run of five games without a win.
English Premier League – Vitality Stadium – Sunday 17th December 2017 – 16:30 UK Time
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Draw Best Odd of: 10/3 at Skybet |
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Bournemouth
LiverpoolBournemouth
Bournemouth have struggled recently and now find themselves just two points outside the relegation places after a run of five games without a win has seen them slide to 14th in the table. In their last match they narrowly lost out to Manchester United as Romelu Lukaku scored the only goal of the game to end his goal drought. Bournemouth have no fresh injury concerns heading into the game with Brad Smith, Tyrone Mings and Adam Federici the only long term absentees.
Liverpool
Jurgen Klopp’s side turned in a disappointing performance during their 0-0 draw with West Bromwich Albion on Wednesday night and it is a case of four points dropped over their two home matches against Everton and WBA. Refereeing decisions have not gone Liverpool’s way over the games with Everton awarded a soft penalty late on in the first game and Dominic Solanke having a goal ruled out for accidental handball in their most recent match. Liverpool have a number of injury problems heading into Sunday’s match with Joel Matip, Nathaniel Clyne, Emre Can, Alberto Moreno, Daniel Sturridge and Simon Mignolet all likely to miss out.
Talking Points
1. Liverpool will be looking to avenge their dramatic 4-3 defeat to Bournemouth last season at The Vitality Stadium.
2. Mohamed Salah remains the top scorer in the Premier League with 13 goals and the Egyptian has been directly involved in 23 goals in 24 matches for The Reds.
3. Liverpool have made 65 changes in their starting line up in 17 matches this season, far more than any other side in the league.
Prediction
Liverpool will be desperate to get back to winning ways after two draws against bottom half clubs set them back in the past week. The Reds are unbeaten in 11 matches in all competitions and Klopp will be confident that his side can beat Bournemouth here. I think one thing is for sure in this game, and that is that there will be goals. It finished 4-3 last season and I wouldn’t be surprised to see over 3.5 goals in this one. I think Liverpool have too much quality in attack not to win this game and after two misfiring displays, I can see them being back at their best in this one.
Betting Tips
Liverpool start this game as 8/15 favourites, whilst a home win for Bournemouth is priced up at a massive 11/2, with the draw available at 10/3. I think a solid bet in this one could well be over 3.5 goals at 11/8. Six of Liverpool’s eight away matches this season have reached that point and considering this fixture finished 4-3 last season, I’m confident of this one reaching the 3.5 goals mark too. Mohamed Salah is 10/11 to score at anytime and if he starts, you fancy he will have a great chance of adding to his tally this season.