In what may be one of the trickiest tests of their Premier League title mettle yet, Liverpool make the long journey south to meet Bournemouth in Saturday afternoon's fascinating Premier League contest.
Arne Slot's men return to domestic duty on the back of a 3-2 Champions League loss to PSV Eindhoven, while their hosts were also involved in a five-goal thriller last time out, albeit one where they hit Nottingham Forest for five without reply.
Match preview
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One of a few Liverpool Dutchmen to make an emotional return to home soil on Wednesday night, Slot witnessed Eindhoven native Cody Gakpo draw first blood in Wednesday's European affair, but that successful spot kick was not a sign of things to come.
Indeed, a much-changed Reds side were slain for the first time in European competition this season, although their last-16 spot had already been sealed before the final matchday, and their first-placed ranking was confirmed thanks to Barcelona's failure to overcome Atalanta BC.
As the Merseyside giants wait to learn their opponents for the next continental stage, their Premier League title pursuit continues at full throttle following last weekend's routine 4-1 thumping of Ipswich Town, where Mohamed Salah eclipsed Arsenal icon Thierry Henry in the all-time Premier League scoring charts.
Still six points clear of the Gunners with a game in hand - which will take place in just a couple of weeks at Everton's soon-to-be former home Goodison Park - Liverpool have managed to avoid defeat in each of their last 18 Premier League contests, unsurprisingly the longest ongoing run in the division.
Furthermore, the league leaders remain the only team in the competition with their unbeaten away record intact - every other side has lost at least twice on the road so far - but Slot's men will take nothing for granted at a ground where Arsenal and Manchester City have already been bested this season.
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No Evanilson? No Enes Unal? No problem for Andoni Iraola's brilliant Bournemouth, whose hopes of bringing continental football to the Vitality Stadium had seemingly suffered a fatal blow when their two senior centre-forward options suffered severe injuries.
However, the Cherries have laughed in the face of adversity and condemned title outsiders Nottingham Forest to an astounding 5-0 defeat in gameweek 23, where Dango Ouattara made the net bulge three times while Justin Kluivert and Antoine Semenyo also got in on the act.
If thrashing Newcastle United 4-1 on their own turf was not magnificent enough, Bournemouth's season hit another new zenith at home to the Tricky Trees, where their fabulous victory took them level on points with sixth-placed Chelsea and just one outside Manchester City in the top four.
Unbeaten in 12 games across all competitions - including their last 11 in the Premier League - Bournemouth's total of 25 points since the end of November is more than any other team in the division, and the Cherries are also bidding to keep their fourth straight top-flight clean sheet at home on Saturday.
That will be easier said than done against a Liverpool side who have triumphed in each of their last four head-to-heads - including a routine 3-0 success at Anfield in September - but Reds fans may head down to the South Coast with a greater sense of trepidation than in seasons gone by.
Team News
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Prior to their trip to the Netherlands, Liverpool welcomed long-serving defender Joe Gomez back to full training following his hamstring injury last month, and the Englishman could therefore be in line for his first minutes of 2025 here.
However, Diogo Jota (muscle) will play no part in this one, and the availability of Curtis Jones is also clouded in uncertainty due to his knock, but Slot could still afford to leave out a good chunk of his big-hitters in midweek with eyes on this game.
One of several established stars set to return to the first XI, Salah's next Premier League goal will take him level with Frank Lampard in the all-time charts; however, after scoring in each of his first six appearances against Bournemouth, he now has just one goal from his last five.
As mentioned, Bournemouth are still missing Evanilson (foot) and Unal (knee) for the long-term, while Marcos Senesi (thigh), James Hill (thigh), Julian Araujo (thigh) and new signing Julio Soler (unspecified) are still in the care of the doctors.
The trio of Alex Scott (knee), Luis Sinisterra (hamstring) and Adam Smith (unspecified) are not believed to be too far away from comebacks, but even if any of them are given the green light to take part, none will be seen from the first whistle.
Iraola will surely see no need whatsoever to shuffle the pack after last weekend's masterclass, where Tyler Adams also laid on two assists from midfield; Bournemouth have averaged 2.8 goals per game this season when the American has started, compared to just 1.3 when he does not.
Bournemouth possible starting lineup:
Kepa; Cook, Zabarnyi, Huijsen, Kerkez; Christie, Adams; Brooks, Kluivert, Semenyo; Ouattara
Liverpool possible starting lineup:
Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Konate, Van Dijk, Robertson; Gravenberch, Mac Allister; Salah, Szoboszlai, Gakpo; Diaz
We say: Bournemouth 1-2 Liverpool
While Liverpool's standout names are well-rested after being given the night off in midweek, Bournemouth will have also enjoyed six days of uninterrupted preparation for the weekend's blockbuster, where Iraola's men are to be taken extremely seriously.
However, the injury-hit hosts are still lacking quality options for change off the bench, while Slot's men have no problems in that regard, and substitutions could very well make the difference for the Reds again as they end Bournemouth's spectacular run.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Ben Knapton
