Liverpool open the month of February with a trip to Bournemouth in Premier League play on February 1st. The Reds are fresh off claiming the top spot in the Champions League and are hopeful of increasing their lead at the top of the EPL Table which currently stands at 6 points.
Injury Update
Liverpool have been relatively healthy all season, but not so much for Saturday. Darwin Nunez could miss the game with an illness that kept him from playing vs PSV. Diogo Jota has missed a couple of weeks with an unspecified injury and Joee Gomez has been out for the last 8 matches with a hamstring issue. The good news is, that all three players trained with the club on Friday, but Arne Slot admitted that each player would be a game-time decision.
Beware Of Bournemouth
The Cherries are having a breakout season. They are unbeaten in their last 12 matches in all competitions (8 wins and 4 draws). They sit 7th on the table with 40 points compared to 53 for Liverpool. The Cherries have also shown a propensity for knocking off the big clubs on their home field, having taken down Manchester City and Arsenal at home this season. However, Liverpool won the first matchup at Anfield this season by a 3-0 final. Bournemouth are let in scoring by Justin Kluivert who has 11 goals in League play this season.
A Word From Slot
Arne Slot knows that facing Bournemouth will be a tough challenge and admitted as much in his press conference.
“I expect a physical game,” he said.”If you can’t compete with them in that aspect, then you need luck to win the game. And then you need a special moment or a special save, or a lot of special saves from Ali [Alisson Becker] to win the game. If we’re able to compete with them on a physical level, then the margins for us to have a chance to win the game go up a lot of course. But if we cannot compete with them physically, which I think we definitely can, because we are a team that’s really fit as well. I agree with you, they’re just above us, probably [that] has to do also with [the fact] we have a bit more ball possession than them. I think it’s one of the few games we’ve played this season that we were outrun, only by a small margin, but we were outrun against Bournemouth. I hope that it’s going to be different tomorrow.”
LFC Globe Verdict
In my opinion, Bournemouth and Nottingham Forest have been two of the feel-good stories in the EPL so far this season. They are both normally fighting to stay above the relegation line. Now they are in the top half of the table. Liverpool should be rested after having 9 new faces in the PSV match. They will have to be at their best to get all three points. If Nunez and Jota are available, that would provide a big boost.
Where To Watch
Kickoff is set for 15:00 GMT. The game will not be broadcast in the UK due to blackout restrictions, but it can be seen in the United States at 10:00 AM EST on the USA Network. Canadian viewers can stream the action on Fubo.tv.
