Liverpool vs Bournemouth preview, H2H, team news, line-ups and prediction

Liverpool will kickstart their Premier League defence as well as their quest for a 21st English title crown when they host Bournemouth at Anfield on August 15 in the opening match of the 2025-26 season.

This marks only the second occasion that Liverpool will begin a Premier League season on a Friday — the first being their 4-1 victory at Anfield against Norwich City in the 2019–20 season, a campaign that ended with them crowned champions.

Liverpool have emerged victorious in each of their last five Premier League openers at Anfield and haven’t lost any of the previous seven — a run that stretches back to their 2-1 loss to Chelsea in August 2003.

In total, the Reds are unbeaten across their past 12 Premier League opening fixtures—a sequence comprising nine victories and three draws—netting 31 goals during that period.

Bournemouth have managed just a single point from eight Premier League trips to Anfield, suffering heavy defeats with a combined scoreline of 23-2 — a dismal record that will surely encourage Mohamed Salah.

The Egyptian holds the Premier League record for most goals on opening day (9) and has tallied 14 goal involvements in such fixtures, making him a consistent threat when the season kicks off.

Liverpool’s pre-season form has been a mixed bag, combining dominant attacking displays with recurring defensive concerns. Wins over Preston North End, Yokohama, and Athletic Bilbao – the latter arguably their strongest performance – were tempered by a 4-2 defeat to AC Milan on July 26, exposing vulnerabilities to counter-attacks.

While friendly results can often be deceptive, failing to keep a clean sheet in any of their four warm-up games will no doubt worry new head coach Arne Slot. This is especially so given Liverpool ended the 2024-25 season by conceding nine goals in their final four matches.

Offensively, however, Slot will be encouraged. The Reds struck 20 goals in their five pre-season fixtures, with marquee arrival Florian Wirtz already off the mark against Yokohama.

Next up, Liverpool face Crystal Palace in the Community Shield at Wembley on Sunday, before launching their Premier League title defence against Bournemouth just five days later. Reds fans will be desperate to get an up close view of their big money new signings, so this game will be a sell-out. Supporters can find out how to get Liverpool tickets for the game in the section further down this article.

Bournemouth will hope to become just the fourth side to defeat the reigning Premier League winners on the opening weekend of a new campaign.

Across 33 previous Premier League seasons, reigning champions have only suffered defeat in their opening fixture three times (W26, D4) — yet notably, all three losses have occurred within the last nine seasons: Leicester against Hull in 2016–17, Chelsea versus Burnley in 2017–18, and Manchester City away to Spurs in 2021–22.

The Cherries concluded the previous season in ninth position following a somewhat inconsistent run, though signs of progress have been evident under Andoni Iraola’s guidance.

They earned 28 points away from home during the 2024–25 league season, precisely half of their overall tally. Interestingly, Bournemouth suffered fewer losses on their travels than they did at the Vitality Stadium, recording five defeats on the road compared to seven on home turf. However, they also picked up seven wins and seven draws in away matches.

Their pre-season preparations began with a single fixture before jetting off to the United States for the Premier League Summer Series. The Cherries opened their schedule with a 2-1 triumph over Hibernian on July 15.

Iraola’s men then impressed in the first match of their U.S. tour, cruising to a 3-0 win against Everton thanks to goals from Philip Billing, Dango Ouattara, and Daniel Adu-Adjei.

They could not replicate that result in their next Summer Series outing, falling to a 4-1 defeat against Manchester United — a result that left them trailing the Red Devils by three points and with an inferior goal difference in the table.

The Spanish tactician expressed disappointment over missed chances during their final pre-season game against West Ham United but pointed to several encouraging aspects of the team’s display.

Speaking to Sky Sports, Iraola remarked, “We did a lot of very good things, but you need to score. They were much more effective than us — but I leave the match more satisfied than the previous one.”

The former Rayo Vallecano boss also sounded a hopeful note ahead of the new league season and their challenging curtain-raiser against Liverpool.

“There are some individuals who are in great shape for the start of the season,” he said. “However, we still have a few who are not quite at the level we need them to be. There are fewer than two weeks to go — we must get everyone to their peak so we can remain competitive.”

Liverpool vs Bournemouth match details

• Date: Friday, August 15, 2025
• Location: Liverpool, England
• Venue: Anfield Stadium
• Kick-off time: 08:00 PM BST
• Tickets: Fans can check out the current ticket listings for the game at Seatsnet.com.

Match stats and head-to-head

• Mohamed Salah has hit the net nine times on Premier League opening weekends and concluded the 2024–25 season as the division’s leading scorer.

• Liverpool have defeated Bournemouth in their last five encounters, with four of those fixtures featuring three or more goals.

• Last season, Liverpool secured 14 victories from their 19 home league outings, with 54.76% of their overall points gained at Anfield.

• Bournemouth are unbeaten in their opening league fixtures across the past seven campaigns (W3 D4), last tasting defeat in their 2017–18 opener at West Bromwich Albion.

• The Reds have never experienced a defeat against Bournemouth when playing at Anfield.

• Liverpool have emerged victorious in 19 of their 33 Premier League opening fixtures, drawing 10 and losing only four, while registering 61 goals and conceding 35 in those matches.

• The Merseyside club have claimed victory in each of their last five Premier League home openers and remain unbeaten in their previous seven—their most recent defeat being a 2-1 loss to Chelsea in August 2003.

• Liverpool are unbeaten across their last 12 Premier League curtain-raisers—a run of nine wins and three draws—netting 31 goals over that span.

• Bournemouth picked up 28 points on the road in the 2024–25 Premier League campaign—exactly half of their total points—and will now aim to maintain that solid away record as they head to Merseyside for the league opener.

• If Salah scores against the Cherries, he’ll become the first player in Premier League history to reach 10 goals on opening weekends.

• The Egyptian attacker also holds the record for most assists in Premier League season openers for Liverpool, having provided five, surpassing Roberto Firmino’s tally of three.

Team news

Liverpool’s recent outing against Athletic Bilbao gave both fans and staff a glimpse into what could resemble Arne Slot’s full-strength side, though injuries may yet disrupt those early plans.

Despite missing key figures, the Reds attacked with purpose, chemistry, and fluidity. However, the absence of Captain Virgil van Dijk was noticeable in the backline. The Dutchman missed out due to illness, while a minor knock sidelined Conor Bradley. Alisson Becker and Joe Gomez also remain out, having left the pre-season tour in Asia early due to injury and personal reasons, respectively.

With Gomez already injured earlier in pre-season and Jarell Quansah now sold to Bayer Leverkusen, Wataru Endo partnered Ibrahima Konaté at centre-half. That makes the potential signing of a new centre-back a topic of interest, with Marc Guehi reportedly under consideration.

Slot addressed injury concerns ahead of the Community Shield and the league opener versus Bournemouth. “Virgil normally not,” he said when asked if any players might miss those clashes. “Joe Gomez and Conor Bradley, it’s going to be tight. Alisson will be back in time as well.”

Slot fielded what many believe to be his strongest starting XI, with Anfield debuts for Hugo Ekitike, Florian Wirtz, Jeremie Frimpong, and Milos Kerkez — all of whom are expected to keep their places for the next game.

Bournemouth, meanwhile, are set to showcase several new faces. Djordje Petrović, signed following the exits of Kepa Arrizabalaga (sold to Arsenal after returning to Chelsea) and Mark Travers (now at Everton), is likely to be their No. 1.

Adrien Truffert, newly signed from Rennes, is expected to start at left-back following Kerkez’s move to Liverpool. Tyler Adams could be introduced into the midfield engine room, with David Brooks tipped to line up alongside Antoine Semenyo and Brazilian forward Evanilson up front.

At the back, Illia Zabarnyi featured in the friendly against Manchester United but may be left out, as he edges closer to a big-money transfer to Paris Saint-Germain.

Predicted starting lineup

Liverpool predicted starting lineup:

Mamardashvili; Frimpong, Konate, Van Dijk, Kerkez; Gravenberch, Mac Allister; Salah, Wirtz, Gakpo; Ekitike

Bournemouth predicted starting lineup:

Petrovic; Araujo, Mepham, Senesi, Truffert; Billing, Soler, Adams; Semenyo, Evanilson, Brooks.

Prediction

Arne Slot’s debut campaign at Anfield was nothing short of remarkable, breaking different records on both ends of the pitch.

With over £250m spent to bolster their team with key additions across several parts of the team, a title defence is very much the expectation next season, as well as a strong European title challenge after being knocked out by Paris Saint-Germain in the round of 16.

With other rivals like Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester City bolstering their squads as well, starting the league strong would be key to their title defence next season, beginning with the clash against the Cherries.

For Bournemouth, Anfield has been their hunting ground, and irrespective of their form, Liverpool seem to be relentless against them.

Last season, Iraola’s side took points from City, Chelsea, and Arsenal, but Liverpool were the only team that took a maximum of six points from them among the top four teams.

It’ll be a tough match for them, but a spirited Liverpool side will be keen on starting the league on a high with new signings eager to prove their worth in front of the Kop.

We’re predicting a 2-1 win for Liverpool.