Bournemouth vs Liverpool Prediction: Van Dijk could do damage

AFC Bournemouth and Liverpool both drew 1-1 in the 22nd round of Premier League fixtures, and the two teams meet in the 23rd on Saturday (17:30 GMT, Sky Sports Main Event) at Vitality Stadium.

Below are my Bournemouth vs Liverpool predictions, supported by all the latest team news and match odds, as the Cherries seek to avoid a sixth consecutive defeat against the Reds.

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Team News

James Tavernier (hamstring), who opened the scoring in Monday night's 1-1 draw at Brighton before coming off in the 71st minute, has joined Will Dennis, David Brooks (both ankle), Enes Unal (groin), Tyler Adams, Justin Kluivert (both knee) and Ben Gannon-Doak (thigh) in the Bournemouth treatment room.

Alex Toth could make his debut for Andoni Iraola's side after joining earlier this week from Hungarian giants Ferencvaros, but if he is to feature, it's likely to be from the bench.

Football Odds

Ibrahima Konate could return to the Liverpool side after missing their midweek win at Olympique Marseille (0-3) in the Uefa Champions League due to personal reasons.

Alexander Isak (calf), Conor Bradley and Giovanni Leoni (both knee) are definitely sidelined for Arne Slot's side, while there are doubts over the availability of Federico Chiesa, who suffered a problem in the warm-up on Wednesday.

Bournemouth vs Liverpool Odds

Bournemouth, who have only won one of their last 13 Premier League games, are 11/4, or a 26.7% chance, to record their first victory over Liverpool since March 2023 (1-0).

Meanwhile, while the Reds are 9/10 (52.6%) to do the double over the Cherries, having secured a 4-2 win on the opening day of the season in August.

Saturday's visitors have drawn their last four league matches, and a fifth consecutive stalemate is priced at 3/1.

Player to Have 2 or More Shots - Virgil van Dijk (LIV) @ 5/1

Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk is averaging 0.6 shots per Premier League game this season, but he's recorded 2+ shots in four of his 22 appearances, including August's reverse meeting with Bournemouth at Anfield, where he had two headed efforts in the first half, the second of which was saved.

The 34-year-old might fancy his chances of registering another couple of attempts against the Cherries on Saturday after seeing how easily the South Coast side have given up shots to opposition defenders in recent weeks.

Today's Football Fixtures

On Monday night, all four of Brighton's starting back line, as well as substitute defender Olivier Boscagli, recorded at least one shot, including centre-backs Jan Paul van Hecke and Lewis Dunk (one apiece).

Before that trip to the Amex, Bournemouth suffered a penalty shootout defeat at Newcastle United in the FA Cup. During regulation time, Magpies centre-back Sven Botman shot three times, adding a fourth to his total in extra time.

Bournemouth have conceded at least one shot to an opposition centre-back in their last six games across all competitions, including three to Tottenham Hotspur's Cristian Romero in a 3-2 victory over the Lilywhites on January 7, and four days before that success, in a defeat by the same scoreline, at the same venue, to Arsenal, Gunners defender Gabriel Magalhaes got on the scoresheet from a set-piece situation.

So, this all leads me to believe that the Cherries are vulnerable when defending free-kicks and corners, something which the 6ft5in Van Dijk can profit from this weekend.

Bet Builder - Florian Wirtz (LIV) 1+ Fouls & Ryan Gravenberch (LIV) 2+ Tackles @ 9/5

Liverpool playmaker Florian Wirtz has flourished in the Premier League post-Christmas, scoring three goals in his last five top-flight fixtures.

The 22-year-old has got stuck in the other way, too, committing a foul in four of those five outings.

Wirtz is averaging 0.7 fouls per 90 minutes in the Premier League, while in the Champions League, he's averaging double (1.4 p/90), recording four of his seven fouls in Marseille on Wednesday.

Bournemouth midfielder Alex Scott is averaging two fouls won per 90 in the 2025/26 Premier League, winning eight free-kicks across his last three competition appearances, and he's someone who could draw Wirtz into making a foul this weekend.

I'm also backing the Germany international's teammate, Ryan Gravenberch, to record a couple of tackles.

Gravenberch is averaging 1.6 tackles per game in this season's Premier League, registering five across his last two appearances against Fulham (two) and Arsenal (three).

The 23-year-old missed the opening-day victory over Bournemouth as he was serving a suspension, but in his last game against the Cherries, a 2-0 victory at Vitality Stadium last February, he recorded seven tackles, adding to the two he had made in a 3-0 win at Anfield earlier in the 2024/25 campaign.

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We will be Top Price on Liverpool to beat Bournemouth with selected bookmakers using Oddschecker for the comparison. (Available from 09:30 Saturday).

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