Liverpool vs Bournemouth Prediction: Sinisterra to get one over old boss Slot on Saturday

Nottingham Forest inflicted the first defeat of the Arne Slot era on Liverpool at Anfield last weekend, and AFC Bournemouth head to L4 this Saturday (15:00) looking to emulate the achievements of the Tricky Trees. Their hosts, however, bounced back superbly in midweek, taking AC Milan apart 3-1 in the Champions League at San Siro on Tuesday, and will be confident of righting their wrongs in the Premier League against the Cherries.

Read below for my Liverpool vs Bournemouth prediction, complete with all the latest team news and match odds.

Team News

Slot made two changes to his starting XI for the midweek win in Milan, swapping out Andy Robertson and Luis Diaz for Kostas Tsimikas and Cody Gakpo. The duo both impressed down Liverpool's left-hand side, but Robertson and Diaz are expected to return to the lineup on Saturday, putting the Greek and Dutchman's places under threat.

Gakpo could still start even with Diaz back on the left, with Diogo Jota yet to be dropped down to the bench. Should the Portuguese forward be left on the bench for the beginning of this weekend's match, it will be interesting to see if Slot turns to Gakpo, or Darwin Nunez - yet to start a game for the Reds this term - to fill the centre-forward position.

The Liverpool head coach is unlikely to make too many changes with Wednesday's Carabao Cup clash with West Ham United on the horizon, which should provide opportunities for the likes of Conor Bradley, Jarell Quansah, Curtis Jones and Wataru Endo.

Football Odds

Bournemouth suffered their first Premier League defeat of the season last Saturday as Chelsea substitute Christopher Nkunku netted late on to secure a 1-0 win for the Blues on the south coast.

Club-record signing Evanilson, who joined from FC Porto last month, fluffed a golden opportunity to open his account for the Cherries as his first-half penalty was saved by Chelsea goalkeeper Robert Sanchez. The Brazilian has now failed to score in his first four matches as a Bournemouth player and with Turkish forward Enes Unal marking his return from injury with a brief cameo against the Blues, the pressure is now on Evanilson to deliver, although his starting spot should be secure for another week at least, unless head coach Andoni Iraola elects to move Antoine Semenyo to a central position.

Mark Travers is expected to drop back down to the bench with on-loan Chelsea shot-stopper Kepa Arrizabalaga back available following his ineligibility against his parent club, while Spanish defender Dean Huijsen, who joined from Juventus in the summer, could replace Marcos Senesi in the heart of the visitors' defence.

Mexican right-back Julian Araujo, bought from Barcelona in August, could join Huijsen in the backline at the expense of 33-year-old Adam Smith, who was booked last Saturday and may not possess the required energy to keep up with Diaz.

Colombian international Luis Sinisterra is another potential inclusion in Iraola's starting XI, with James Tavernier and Justin Kluivert's spots vulnerable if a change in the forward line is made.

Liverpool vs Bournemouth Odds

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Liverpool did the double over Bournemouth in last season's Premier League, beating the Cherries 3-1 at Anfield and 4-0 at the Vitality Stadium either side of a 2-1 Carabao Cup success on the south coast, and the Reds are 2/7, or a 77.8% chance, to beat Iraola's side for the fourth time in less than 14 months.

Bournemouth, meanwhile, are 8/1 (11.1%) to get one over their hosts for the first time since March 2023, when Philip Billing struck the only goal of the game at the Vitality, and the draw is 9/2.

Both teams to score is 4/6 and over 2.5 total goals is 4/11, while Mohamed Salah - who blanked for the first time this season against Forest - is favourite in the first (100/30) and anytime (5/6) scorer market, with Evanilson (3/1) Bournemouth's shortest-priced player to find the net at any point during Saturday's contest.

Anytime Scorer - Luis Sinisterra (BOU) @ 4/1

Slot should know all about Sinisterra after managing the 25-year-old during the 2021/22 season - his first at De Kuip and the Colombian's last - when Sinisterra struck 23 times across all competitions, including 11 in 18 Europa Conference League appearances, to secure a move to then-Premier League outfit Leeds United.

Sinisterra scored seven goals for Leeds in 2022/23, including five in the Premier League, but his campaign was disrupted by injury, as it also was during last season's loan spell at Bournemouth.

Nevertheless, he made enough of an impression for his move to be made permanent, and he's already off the mark this term, coming off the bench at Goodison Park last month to score the winner in a dramatic 3-2 victory over Everton.

The international break halted any momentum he might have been able to build up, and after returning from his duties in South America with his country, he was kept on the bench at home to Chelsea last Saturday.

However, with the Cherries on the end of a late defeat themselves, there may be an opportunity for Sinisterra to start at Anfield this weekend, and I'm backing the forward to take his chance with both hands.

Trent Alexander-Arnold shackled Milan's Rafael Leao superbly in Milan on Tuesday but he might find it tough against a hungrier opponent on Saturday, while Bradley, who came on at the hour-mark of Liverpool's loss to Forest - allowing the Reds vice-captain to move into midfield - was undone by the pace and skill of Callum Hudson-Odoi, who cut in from the left-hand side to fire past Alisson.

Whoever is playing at right-back against the Cherries will need to be on guard this weekend, with Sinisterra one of several dangerous attackers in Iraola's ranks. At 4/1, I like his price of finding the net on Merseyside again.

Bet Builder - Both Teams to Score (Yes), Luis Diaz (LIV) 1+ Shots on Target, Bournemouth Over 9.5 Shots @ 14/5

The first leg of this bet builder requires both teams to score, which has landed in two of the last three meetings between these sides, including Liverpool's league win against the Cherries last season. The Reds have scored 10 goals across their first five games under Slot, only blanking in last week's loss to Forest, so you'd be a brave person to back against the hosts netting at least once tomorrow.

Last Saturday was the first time Bournemouth had failed to score in a Premier League game this term having previously scored once at Forest and three times at Everton either side of one a home to Newcastle. It wasn't for the want of trying against Chelsea as the Cherries took 19 shots, forcing Sanchez into seven stops, one of course being from Evanilson's penalty.

That was the fourth time in as many league games this season that they have registered at least 13 shots, so I think 10 is more than achievable at Anfield, especially considering they took 13 at the same venue in August 2023, and 11 when they last met in January.

I expect the visitors to be persistent in their search for a goal, and to be rewarded with at least one against a side that has now failed to keep a clean sheet in their last two matches.

The third selection is for Liverpool's Diaz to hit the target at least once. The Colombian failed to trouble the Forest goalkeeper last weekend but did strike the post with a first-half effort and scored two at Old Trafford in the game before, as well as in a 2-0 victory over Brentford last month.

The 27-year-old was left out of the starting XI on Tuesday but I think he will return to the lineup on Saturday and should be able to trouble either Smith or Araujo down Liverpool's left-hand side.

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