Liverpool face Bournemouth on the South Coast tomorrow afternoon following their 3-1 win over Tottenham in the Carabao Cup and the Cherries' own victory against Real Sociedad in their first-ever European game. Here are the LFC Transfer Room's predicted XIs and the latest team news before kick-off.
Liverpool v Bournemouth Match Preview
Liverpool face Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium tomorrow afternoon (14:00 BST kick-off).
The biggest talking point in the build-up to the match has been around Andoni Iraola's return to his former club. He spent three successful years on the South Coast with Bournemouth before joining Liverpool.
Speaking during his pre-match press conference on Friday, Iraola discussed his feelings about returning to face his former side:
"From a personal side, I'm really looking forward to see them, players that I love and staff I enjoyed working with. I wish them all the best, but we need to go there and beat them and be as ruthless as possible."
Reuters/Phil NobleLiverpool Predicted Line-Up
On Friday, Iraola also confirmed Liverpool's relatively clean bill of health. The long-term absentees are the only players set to be unavailable: Conor Bradley, Federico Chiesa, Hugo Ekitike, and Giovanni Leoni.
Therefore, here is the LFC Transfer Room's predicted Liverpool starting XI for tomorrow afternoon's clash:
Alisson Becker | Despite Giorgi Mamardashvili's superb performance against Tottenham in Liverpool's last match, it is hard to not see Alisson between the sticks on the Reds' return to Premier League action.
Milos Kerkez | Kerkez performed admirably against Tottenham and feels likely to start again against Bournemouth.
Virgil van Dijk | Van Dijk, whose international future was confirmed yesterday, was not even included in the squad against Tottenham. Therefore, he should be fresh and ready to face Bournemouth tomorrow.
Jeremy Jacquet | Jacquet only played the second half against Tottenham, coming on for Joe Gomez as the Englishman's return from injury is managed. Jacquet should be fresh for this one, having only played 45 minutes.
Ronald Araujo | Despite Frimpong having his best performance in a long time for Liverpool against Tottenham, it would make sense to deploy the defensive-minded Araujo away from home - especially with the potential of a big atmosphere on Iraola's return to his former club.
Alexis Mac Allister | It could be argued that Mac Allister, since being left out from the start against Newcastle, has become Iraola's most important midfielder. Since his return to the starting XI, Liverpool have looked much more balanced. This is in huge part thanks to Mac Allister's much-improved form compared to last season. His form is so improved, in fact, that fans are starting to wonder why he was not offered the contract extension he openly desires.
Dominik Szoboszlai | Much has been said about Szoboszlai's suitability for Iraola's midfield, but the player himself believes that any flaws in the setup will be ironed out with more time playing under the head coach's system. After scoring a goal-of-the-season contender during his short substitute cameo against Tottenham, Szoboszlai will surely be eager to perform again on the South Coast.
Florian Wirtz | Wirtz, like Van Dijk, was not included in the squad against Tottenham, also suggesting that he is in line to start against Bournemouth. He will be hoping to put in a big performance, as the doubts surrounding him are not going away.
Cody Gakpo | Gakpo made his full return from the fitness issue he picked up against Ipswich, against Tottenham, and scored a trademark goal to boot. It is hard not to name him in what is meant to be Liverpool's strongest XI. The Dutchman could be on the way to having his greatest ever season at Liverpool if he continues in his current form.
Bradley Barcola | Barcola has steadily built up his fitness over the last couple of matches. A start against Bournemouth in a maximum-strength Liverpool XI could be the perfect foundation for him to find his first goal(s) as a Liverpool player.
Alexander Isak | Isak has not been on the scoresheet since his brace against Ipswich, so he will be hoping to score tomorrow. If he does so, that would make it four goals in five Premier League matches - a fantastic return to round off a much improved start to the season compared to last.
Bournemouth Team News
The Cherries are still without Eli Kroupi, Amine Adli, Veljko Milosavljevic, and Julian Araujo due to injury.
On Thursday, Bournemouth won their first-ever match in Europe against Real Sociedad 2-1. Liverpool played last on Tuesday, so they are two days better off in terms of recovery. This will be the key challenge for Marco Rose's side.
Bournemouth Predicted Starting XI: Petrovic, Diakite, Hill, Silva, Truffert, Christie, Scott, Kluivert, Rayan, Tavernier, Evanilson.
Match Score Prediction
Bournemouth have never played in Europe before, and that will surely have some sort of impact on their recovery ahead of this Premier League clash. Furthermore, they are facing a buoyant Liverpool side led by ex-head coach Andoni Iraola, who has himself spoken about the advantage he has in knowing the strengths and weaknesses of all his former players.
Yet, the same can be said in return. Bournemouth's players will know what to expect from their old boss. Therefore, the LFC Transfer Room predicts:
Liverpool 2-1 Bournemouth
Let us know your score predictions in the comments below, and click here to see more of the latest Liverpool FC news.
