Bournemouth vs Liverpool 07/12/19

7 December 2019

Bournemouth will face another uphill task in their efforts to overcome a severe crisis, as the Premier League (PL) toppers Liverpool arrive at the Vitality Stadium.

Four consecutive PL defeats put the hosts in difficulty ahead of this clash as they face a formidable challenge of undefeated Liverpool side they’ve lost to in all four of their previous top-flight H2Hs. All four of Bournemouth’s last league defeats have come via a single-goal margin, with three of them seeing the Cherries draw a blank in the first half. Also, they’ve suffered three losses in as many PL matches against the top-five teams, with two of those fixtures ending with the identical 3-1 scoreline. The one consolation for Eddie Howe’s side is that they’ve lost only once in their last five PL home games (W2, D2, L1), restricting their opponents to a maximum of one goal per match on three of those occasions.

Fresh from a 5-2 demolition of city rivals Everton, the visitors will be looking to maintain an unbeaten start to the PL season (W14, D1) and possibly stretch their winning league run to seven straight games. There’s a good chance the Reds can do it, as they’ve won both of their previous top-flight trips to Bournemouth via the same 4-0 scoreline. But, Liverpool’s away wins this term gives a little hope for a landslide victory, as six of their seven PL road success came via a single-goal margin. In fact, four of those triumphs have seen the Merseyside giants beat their rivals by the exact 2-1 scoreline. A potential worry for Jurgen Klopp could be his team’s inability to establish the same level of the goalscoring consistency on the road as they’ve managed at home. Only 35% of their total PL goals scored have come away from home (13 of 37), even though it is still league’s fourth-best record.