Liverpool vs. Bournemouth
Venue: Anfield Stadium
Kick off: 4PM
Liverpool will be looking to return to winning ways and regain top spot in the Premier League table this afternoon when they welcome Bournemouth to Anfield.
The title hopefuls have drawn back-to-back matches to surrender top spot, but host a Bournemouth side in inconsistent form.
All of the noise coming out of Anfield is insistent that Liverpool are not feeling the pressure of the title race, but recent results suggest otherwise.
The Reds were seven points clear at the top of the table not so long ago, but they will go into today’s match sitting in second place after Manchester City moved above them on goal difference with a midweek win over Everton.
A first top-flight title since 1990 remains in Liverpool’s hands as they still have an extra game to play, but Jurgen Klopp will know that his side cannot afford many more slip-ups after back-to-back draws against Leicester City and West Ham United.
Liverpool had not dropped a single point to a team outside the “big six” all season before those two games, and it is the performances as much as the results that will have worried the club’s fans.
The Merseysiders looked supremely confident throughout the first half of the season, but since the turn of the year they have now lost against Manchester City and Wolverhampton Wanderers, scraped past Brighton & Hove Albion and Crystal Palace and drawn with Leicester and West Ham.
In truth, they were lucky to get away with a point from the latter; even ignoring the fact that Sadio Mane’s goal should not have stood due to a clear offside in the build-up, West Ham created the better chances by far and could have quite easily won the game.
The dropped points against Leicester in their last home outing also raised causes for concern as their nine-game winning run at Anfield came to an end, although they are still unbeaten in their last 33 home league games stretching back to April 2017.
It was a 4-0 win over Bournemouth in December which began Liverpool’s recent spell at the top of the standings and they only need a draw to return there this weekend, although in practice only a win will be enough for the title challenge, even if Man City do face a difficult test against Chelsea on Sunday.
The Reds would be forgiven for having one eye on that showdown at the Etihad Stadium and even further afield with matches against Bayern Munich and Manchester United to come next week, but for now their full focus must be on returning to the form which has taken them this far.
Bournemouth may be the perfect opponents against whom to do that considering their rotten away form, and near the top of the priority list will be keeping a clean sheet – Liverpool have managed just one in their last six league games after keeping 12 in their first 19.
Indeed, at home Klopp’s side has conceded six times in their last five league games compared to just once in the previous 12, and if they are to get their title challenge back on track then restoring the faith in that defence may be the first port of call.
Some change certainly needs to happen sooner rather than later if Liverpool are to prevent the title slipping away from them, as they have dropped more points in their last five games than they had in their opening 20.
Eddie Howe however must be wondering exactly what to make of his Bournemouth side at the moment.
The Cherries recorded one of the most memorable results in the club’s history with a 4-0 drubbing of Chelsea recently, only to then follow that up with a 2-0 defeat at relegation-threatened Cardiff City.
Things must always be kept in perspective when it comes to Bournemouth, and in the grand scheme of their history sitting 10th in the Premier League table is a phenomenal achievement.
Liverpool possible XI: Alisson, Alexander-Arnold, Matip, Van Dijk, Robertson, Milner, Fabinho, Shaqiri, Firmino, Mane, Salah.
Bournemouth possible XI: Boruc, Cook, Ake, Daniels, Stanislas, Gosling, Lerma, Surman, Fraser, King, Solanke.