Game Week 24 Predictions: Liverpool to beat Bournemouth

Bournemouth face league leaders Liverpool in a high-stakes clash. Can the Cherries stun the Reds, or will Salah and co. secure another vital win?

Liverpool's title charge will be tested at Bournemouth, how will the Kops fare at the Vitality Stadium? (Photo credit: Sporting News)

 Bournemouth vs Liverpool

Vitality Stadium

4:00 pm

It’s a crunch tie between the log leaders, who are threatening to run away with the title, and the giant killers, who have no respect for names; it’s Bournemouth vs. Liverpool at the Vitality Stadium.

Liverpool suffered their first loss of the Champions League season with a 3-2 defeat at Eindhoven, but it was an inconsequential one as the Kops still rose shoulders above everyone else to finish in top spot and would now be waiting for an opponent in the round of 16 after the playoffs.

Bournemouth is fearless and plays like a team that takes no prisoners. With Nottingham Forest flying high, who would have thought that the Cherries would decimate them the way they did? It was a 5-1 annihilation at the City Ground, and you wonder if Liverpool is safe.

Andoni Iraola’s men could move into the top 4 with a rare win over the Kops on Saturday, usurping the Champions and Chelsea, who both don’t play until Sunday, and Manchester City playing Arsenal at the Emirates offers the Cherries some hope that indeed, they could be in Champions League places soon.

Liverpool won’t make it easy for Bournemouth; it will be a cracker with both sides having firepower upfront to trouble each other, but can the Bournemouth defence stop Liverpool’s Mohammed Salah, who has now returned to scoring ways?

Arne Slot rested players in midweek to prepare for the Cherries, and that might help, but the entire Bournemouth side has rested enough for a whole week and could well be recharged enough for the big battle ahead on Saturday.

Evanilson and Enes Unal are both out on a long term while this fixture comes too soon for Alex Smith and Marcos Senesi. Luis Sinisterra has been training and could feature, but the likes of Julian Araujo and Alex Scott are ruled out.

Slot confirmed in his presser that Darwin Nunez and Diogo Jota are both back in full training and available for selection, while Joe Gomez is touch and go for this fixture. The Dutchman could have a fully fit squad to prosecute this game.

Dango Ouattara will still lead the line for the hosts; the forward bagged a hat trick against Forest last week, while Justin Kluivert and Antoine Semenyo will play off him to heap pressure on the Liverpool defence with their pace and trickery.

Liverpool remains the clear favourite to win this one; Mohammed Salah and Cody Gakpo will come in handy, with the latter being one of the hottest prospects in the league this season. This fixture will entertain, to say the least.

Verdict: Straight win Liverpool.