Liverpool v Bournemouth
Saturday 9th February 1500hrs
Football – England – Premier League
Pick Liverpool to win and Over 2.5 goals
Bookmaker Ladbrokes
Odds: 4/7 (odds taken 18.30 GMT, Friday 8th February)
Liverpool have been knocked off the top for the first time in over two months but have a chance to reclaim first place when taking on a Bournemouth team who have shown in recent weeks they are capable of springing an upset.
Premier League Betting at Ladbrokes
Liverpool Preview
It was all going perfectly well for Jurgen Klopp and his Liverpool team in their quest to win a first ever Premier League title. They were looking pretty imperious at the top of the table with a four-point lead and then had the opportunity to increase that by a further three. The Reds didn’t quite manage that but would have been content to hold a five-point lead. Fast forward to their preparations for this game and it’s a totally different outlook than the one they would have hoped as they sit second to Manchester City, albeit on goal difference and they have a game in hand. The reason for that is down to two consecutive draws at home to Leicester and then away to West Ham. It’s the first period of the season where Liverpool’s title challenge has come in for some doubt as they were ahead in both matches only to throwaway the lead. Klopp has dismissed talk of faltering under pressure and believes it’s too early to talk about a title run-in with so much football left to play. That may well be the case but considering it’s the first proper title race in a number of years in the Premier League, that talk is not going to go away anytime soon. Liverpool can return to the top of the table with a win on Saturday, for 24 hours at least.
Key-Facts – Liverpool v Bournemouth
- Liverpool are undefeated at Anfield this season and have dropped just four points
- Bournemouth have conceded the third most away goals(27)in the Premier League
- Jurgen Klopp’s men thumped Bournemouth 4-0 when the teams last met in December
Bournemouth Preview
Bournemouth are comfortable in mid-table and will battle it out with a handful of other teams in an attempt to finish in the top half of the table. It’s probably where you would place the club if you had to handpick a position for them but it’s still an admirable achievement when you see some of the teams below them in the league, and they fact they are level on points with Everton whom they have played a game less than. Their recent form has included an excellent 4-0 win over Chelsea in what has been one of their best results and performances during their Premier League stay. It was also a welcome win against one of the top six clubs having come close on a number of occasions as well as suffering a few heavy defeats. It wasn’t as positive last weekend however, going down 2-0 away to Cardiff and it’s been their away form which has been the only real cause for concern. That defeat takes them to eight consecutive losses on the road in the league and they face another hugely difficult match on Saturday against a Liverpool team unbeaten at home.
Liverpool v Bournemouth Betting Preview
Liverpool were far too good for Bournemouth when the two teams met at the Vitality Stadium in December. That game finished 4-0 and was at a time when the Reds were in probably their most devastating form of the season. It’s fair to say that’s not the case heading into Saturday’s match but if they could have selected their opponent for this one following two tricky draws, Eddie Howe’s men would have been high on the list due to their away day blues. Liverpool’s home form is, as you would expect, excellent. Leicester and Manchester City are the only two teams to have taken anything from them at Anfield this season and their tally of seven goals conceded is the best home defensive record in the league.
City supporters will be hoping for more dropped points from Liverpool but I firmly expect them to be disappointed. Bournemouth have been deplorable on their travels and have allowed the third most away goals in the Premier League. This is the perfect opportunity for the hosts to get back on track and they can do so with ease. They can take advantage of their visitors poor defensive record by winning the game with at least three goals scored in the match.
