AFC Bournemouth vs Liverpool Predictions

• Liverpool have scored two or more goals in nine of their 11 Premier League away games
• Bournemouth have conceded at least two goals in two of their last five league games
• Liverpool have scored at least two goals in 14 of their last 15 games against Bournemouth
• The Reds have hit 17 goals in their last five away league trips.

Bournemouth could be burned in acid test

Bournemouth’s unlikely bid to rub shoulders with Liverpool in the Champions League faces an acid test from the Premier League leaders on Saturday.

The Cherries’ back-to-back wins over Newcastle and Nottingham Forest have taken Andoni Iraola’s side to the dizzy heights of seventh and only one point away from the top four.

An 11-match unbeaten run in the league has been built on a rock-solid defence that has conceded only nine times since that streak began in November. But they may struggle to contain a Liverpool side that has hit 17 goals in their last five away league trips.

Well-rested Reds should match hosts’ intensity

Arne Slot wisely kept most of his big guns at home when a young squad travelled to Eindhoven for their midweek Champions League clash.

Preserving energy for this contest against one of the most intense Premier League sides will be one of the keys to victory for the title chasers. Slot has rotated a lot less than his predecessor Jurgen Klopp and that makes his starting XI pretty easy to predict here while Iraola is unlikely to change anything for form and injury reasons.

Bournemouth lost 3-0 at Anfield earlier this season, but the scoreline did not tell the full story as they had a goal disallowed for a tight offside and hit the crossbar late on.

Liverpool look likely to double up on goals

In their current form, they will probably score in Saturday’s rematch but Liverpool have enough quality and ruthlessness to grab a couple of goals themselves. The Reds have bagged two or more goals in nine of their 11 away league games this term and have regularly found ways to torment Bournemouth’s defence.

In the last 15 meetings of the clubs, the only time they failed to double up on goals was in a 1-0 defeat at the Vitality Stadium in the same season that they had thrashed Scott Parker’s men 9-0 at Anfield. Iraola has shown in his three previous games against Liverpool that he is no respecter of reputation with Bournemouth taking a slightly gung-ho approach to a couple of those affairs.

That will potentially play into the hands of Liverpool’s forwards, although how the Reds’ defence copes if Justin Kluivert maintains his excellent attacking form remains to be seen. Both teams to score looks highly likely but Liverpool’s appetite and attitude should get them over the line by grabbing one more goal than the hosts in an enthralling duel.