AFC Bournemouth vs Liverpool Prediction: Reds can burst Cherries’ bubble

Over the past 10 Premier League games, only Newcastle United and Arsenal (also 22) can match the points tally of AFC Bournemouth and Liverpool, who meet each other in what is expected to be a cracking contest at Vitality Stadium on Saturday (15:00).

Below is my AFC Bournemouth vs Liverpool prediction, alongside all the latest team news and match odds.

Team News

It will be the same squad again for AFC Bournemouth this weekend with head coach Andoni Iraola revealing that there are no returnees from injury.

Luis Sinisterra (thigh) appears to be the closest after recently joining in bits of training, but Saturday will come too soon for the Colombian.

Evanilson (foot), Enes Unal (knee), Marcos Senesi, James Hill and Julian Araujo (all thigh) are longer-term absentees, while January arrival Julio Soler is away on international duty with Argentina U20s.

Football Odds

Arne Slot confirmed on Friday morning that Joe Gomez, Diogo Jota and Darwin Nunez were all set to train later in the day after recent injury and illness absences.

Gomez hasn't played since suffering a hamstring injury in Liverpool's 5-0 thrashing of West Ham United on December 29 but looks set to return to their squad on Saturday, while Jota could return after a four-game absence with a muscle complaint. Nunez, meanwhile, missed Wednesday's 3-2 defeat to PSV in Eindhoven due to illness but could be an option to start on the South Coast.

Alisson Becker, Virgil van Dijk, Ibrahima Konate, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Dominik Szoboszlai, Alexis Mac Allister, Curtis Jones, Ryan Gravenberch, Luis Diaz and Mohamed Salah all remained on Merseyside in midweek but are all set to return this weekend, with Jones hoping to recover from the muscle injury that has kept him out of action for the past two matches.

AFC Bournemouth vs Liverpool Odds

Bournemouth are unbeaten in their last 11 Premier League games, seven of which they have won, but are still 18/5 to pick up all three points on Saturday at home to leaders Liverpool, against whom they have suffered four straight defeats. Those odds offer a 21.7% probability of success, which pales in comparison compared to the 58.8% implied for Liverpool, who can be backed at 7/10.

The draw is priced at 16/5, both teams to score at 1/2, and over 2.5 total goals at 4/9.

Leading Premier League marksman Salah, whose strike in last Saturday's 4-1 thrashing of Ipswich Town was his 19th in the English top flight this season, is shortest-priced in the anytime goalscorer market here at 1/1, followed by teammates Nunez (7/5), Diaz and Cody Gakpo (both 13/8).

Justin Kluivert, who hit a hat-trick in the Cherries' 4-1 victory at Newcastle United on January 18 and moved onto 11 league goals with a strike against Nottingham Forest last weekend, is first up in the anytime market for the hosts at 12/5. Dango Ouattara, who followed up Kluivert's treble with three of his own in the 5-0 annihilation of Forest, can be backed at 11/4 to score at least once on Saturday.

Match Result & Both Teams to Score - Liverpool & Yes @ 7/4

Both Bournemouth and Liverpool have been steely at the back this season, conceding 26 and 21 times respectively in the Premier League. The Cherries, who boast the division's third-best defence, have been particularly resolute of late, keeping four clean sheets in their last seven games, while the Reds, owners of the league's meanest defence alongside Arsenal, have been breached just once across their last three away outings, shutting out Brentford and West Ham United post-Christmas.

So, why back both teams to score on Saturday? Well, that's pretty simple - Liverpool (54) have scored seven more goals than the next-best attack, Manchester City, while Bournemouth, who have struck 41 times, have only blanked in four of their 23 games, and just once in their last 16.

Liverpool are one of four teams to have denied Iraola's side from scoring in the league this season but it wasn't for the want of trying as the Cherries had a goal ruled out by the VAR in the fifth minute of their 3-0 defeat an Anfield in September, and racked up the same number of shots (19) as their hosts that day, forcing Caoimhin Kelleher into seven saves.

At Vitality Stadium, meanwhile, only Chelsea (0-1) and Crystal Palace (0-0) have kept out Bournemouth, and they are in rampant form in front of goal having stuck four past Newcastle and five past Forest in the last couple of weeks.

The likes of Kluivert, Ouattara and Antoine Semenyo should give the Reds a tough time on Saturday, but ultimately, I think this may be a match too far for a Cherries side that has been plagued by injuries in recent weeks. They've coped admirably without several key players but Liverpool should pose their toughest test since, well, Liverpool away back in September, and despite a decent performance on that day at Anfield, the South Coast still left with nothing.

Liverpool's main men all enjoyed a break in midweek and that should mean they are fit and firing on Saturday to claim a vital victory in their quest for the Premier League title.

Bet Builder - Justin Kluivert (BOU) 1+ Shots on Target, Ryan Christie (BOU) 2+ Fouls, Alexis Mac Allister (LIV) 2+ Fouls @ 7/2

It's been great to see Bournemouth and Scotland star Ryan Christie given his flowers in recent weeks after some sensational displays in the middle of midfield this season. Jamie Carragher was among those to single out the 29-year-old's form, and anyone who has paid even the smallest attention to the Cherries under Iraola, particularly the last few months, can't help but have been impressed by Christie's tenacious performances in the Premier League.

His high-energy levels have been crucial to Bournemouth's high press, allowing the Cherries to win the ball upfield, but as also alluded to by Carragher, tactical fouls have been a key feature of their games, and Christie has led the side in that department.

The former Celtic man is averaging 1.7 fouls per game and has picked up eight yellow cards this season, three of which have come in his last five appearances. He kept things clean against Forest last weekend but committed four fouls against Newcastle the week before and five against Chelsea in the game before that.

Christie has given away two free-kicks in six of his last seven league outings and so looks a solid bet to make a couple of fouls this weekend against a Liverpool side containing the talents of Gravenberch and Mac Allister in the midfield. He was booked inside the first minute at Anfield in September and made two fouls in total.

Talking of Mac Allister, I also fancy him to upend an opponent at least twice. The Argentine is even more prone to a foul than Christie, averaging 1.9 per game in 2024/25, and he's committed at least two fouls in seven of his last eight league appearances.

The third and final selection of this Bet Builder requires Bournemouth's leading scorer this season, Kluivert, to register a shot on target, something the Dutchman has managed in his last four top-flight games.

Kluivert has found the net 11 times in 22 Premier League appearances (18 starts) this term and is averaging 1.1 shots on target per game. He forced Kelleher into a save in the reverse fixture and he will fancy his chances of at least testing Alisson on Saturday.

Offers

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