Liverpool vs Bournemouth preview, team news, tickets and prediction

Liverpool play their first home game of the new season when they entertain Bournemouth at Anfield on Saturday afternoon.

The Reds kicked-off the 2023/24 campaign with a rather fortunate 1-1 draw against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge last weekend. Jurgen Klopp’s men opened the scoring through a superb team move that resulted in Luis Diaz scoring from a lovely Mohamed Salah pass. However, Chelsea dominated for much of the game and got a deserved equaliser when Axel Disasi levelled things up before half-time thanks to some poor Liverpool defending.

Chelsea were the better side in the second half and Liverpool had just 35% of the possession, their fifth lowest in the Premier League under Klopp, but the Blues couldn’t score that all-important second goal and wasted some good chances so the Reds travelled back to Merseyside with a solid point.

Klopp knows his side are still a work in progress after a busy summer that’s seen a number of important players depart. Jordan Henderson, Fabinho, James Milner, Naby Keita and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain have all left leaving Liverpool short of options in midfield. Dominik Szoboszlai and Alexis MacAllister have been signed from Leipzig and Brighton, but Liverpool need further reinforcements in the middle of the park as they are still short of numbers.

After missing out on Moises Caicedo and Romeo Lavia to Chelsea, Liverpool made a surprise swoop to sign Wataru Endo from Stuttgart in a deal that could rise to £20m. The midfielder underwent his medical on Thursday and was announced as a Liverpool player on Friday morning. He may not be the marquee name many Liverpool fans were hoping for this summer, but the Japanese international could prove to be a shrewd signing. The 30-year-old has vast experience, is a hard working defensive midfielder who also has leadership skills that Liverpool have lost following the exits of Henderson, Fabinho and Milner.

Liverpool are expected to bring in another central midfielder before the window closes with Mario Lemina the latest player to be linked. But for now Klopp will have to make do with the players he has available – although it remains to be seen whether he’ll throw Endo in from the start against Bournemouth this weekend as he’s only had one training session with his new team mates.

The Cherries head to Anfield after playing out a 1-1 draw with West Ham in their opening fixture of the new season. New boss Andoni Iraola will have been disappointed with how Jarrod Bowen opened the scoring for the Hammers but Dominic Solanke equalised in the second half to ensure Bournemouth took a point from their opening home game.

Iraola was pleased with how his team responded after the break against West Ham but he knows it’s going to be a much tougher test for his squad against Liverpool. Bournemouth were humiliated 9-0 in this fixture 12 months ago so they’ll be out to avenge that result on Saturday afternoon.

Team news

Liverpool will still be without the services of Thiago Alcantara as the Spaniard is still working his way back from a hip injury that’s hampered him since the end of last season. Stefan Bajcetic is also set to miss out once again this weekend as the young midfielder is recovering from an adductor problem. Both players have returned to training but the Bournemouth game is expected to come too soon for them.

Endo is available for selection but it’s highly unlikely Klopp will throw him straight into action having only completed his move to Anfield today. A place on the bench is probably the best the Japan star can hope for.

Curtis Jones is pushing for a recall in the middle of the park which means we could see Cody Gakpo dropping out after a disappointing performance at Chelsea last weekend. Darwin Nunez could also be recalled up front in place of Diogo Jota.

Alisson will continue in goal amid rumours linking him with a move to Saudi Arabia this month. Trent Alexander-Arnold and Andrew Robertson should occupy the full-back positions once again with Ibrahima Konate partnering captain Virgil van Dijk in defence.

MacAllister and Szoboszlai should keep their places in the Liverpool midfield while Salah and Diaz should start on the wings for the Reds this weekend.

As for Bournemouth, they have a number of fitness issues to contend with ahead of their trip to Anfield. Alex Scott is out with a knee injury while Dango Ouattara [ankle] and Ryan Fredericks [calf] are also missing.

Lloyd Kelly will face a late fitness test while Marcus Tavernier, Adam Smith and Lewis Cook will also need to be checked before their availability is known. However, Iraola is confident Marcos Sensei will be available despite limping off against West Ham last week.

Tickets

Despite their underwhelming campaign last season that saw Liverpool finish fifth and miss out on the Champions League, the Reds fans are still fully behind the squad this season and demand for tickets is as high as ever.

It’s extremely difficult to get hold of tickets for matches at Anfield and the official allocation sold via the clubs website is sold out. However, you can still buy tickets via reputable ticket reselling sites such as Seatsnet.com. Bournemouth are expected to bring a passionate away support with them after selling out their away allocation for the game.

The match won’t be broadcast live on television as it’s kicking off at 3pm on Saturday, so those without tickets will have to wait to watch official highlights on Saturday evening.

Prediction

Bournemouth will be determined not to see a repeat of last year’s 9-0 demolition at the hands of Liverpool. Obviously they are under a new manager now and there were some positive signs of improvement during their draw with West Ham last week, however, this is going to be a much sterner test for Iraola’s men this weekend.

Liverpool’s squad still looks a little light for them to be classed as genuine title contenders yet but Klopp’s side are on the right track and will be confident of picking up all three points on Saturday. Anfield is still a fortress and Liverpool will want to make a statement in their first home fixture of the new season.

Keeping clean sheets has been a problem for the Reds over the past year but this is a good opportunity for them to win to nil. And with the likes of Salah, Diaz, Jota, Nunez and Gakpo in attack, Liverpool should have too much firepower for the visitors.

Liverpool 3-0 Bournemouth