Liverpool vs Bournemouth Robertson injury news, confirmed line-ups & prediction
Liverpool will look to put their recent wobble behind them when they host Bournemouth in the Premier League on Saturday.
Having previously seemed almost invincible, Jurgen Klopp’s men have fallen to three defeats in their last four games across all competitions — going down to Atletico Madrid, Watford and Chelsea.
In Bournemouth, they face a side struggling for consistency with just one win in their last five games — Eddie Howe’s men are firmly entrenched in the Premier League relegation battle.
Can Liverpool re-assert their dominance or will the Cherries prolong the agony for the Reds? Read on for our preview, predictions, team news and TV coverage information.
When is Liverpool vs Bournemouth and where can I watch live?
Competition: Premier League
Venue: Anfield
Date: Saturday, 07 March 2020
Kick-off: 12:30 PM (UK time)
TV coverage (UK): BT Sport 1 HD
Last five meetings: Liverpool vs Bournemouth
07 Dec 2019: Bournemouth 0-3 Liverpool (Premier League)
09 Feb 2019: Liverpool 3-0 Bournemouth (Premier League)
08 Dec 2018: Bournemouth 0-4 Liverpool (Premier League)
14 Apr 2018: Liverpool 3-0 Bournemouth (Premier League)
17 Dec 2017: Bournemouth 0-4 Liverpool (Premier League)
Aggregate Score: Liverpool (WWWWW) 17-0 Bournemouth (LLLLL)
Ones to watch
Liverpool: Fabinho
Before his ligament injury in November, many were touting Fabinho as the best holding midfielder in the Premier League. The Brazilian hasn’t quite been as effective since returning but he’s still had his moments.
However, the Reds are really struggling without injured captain Jordan Henderson and with the England international sidelined once again for this one, Klopp really needs a big midfield performance from Fabinho, who will now be tasked with showing even more leadership.
Key stat: Fabinho has averaged 2.73 tackles per 90 minutes in the Premier League this season.
Bournemouth: Philip Billing
While Fabinho will be working hard to restore some order to the Liverpool midfield, Philip Billing will look to put in a characteristically combative performance in the middle for Bournemouth.
The Denmark international has become a ball-winning machine for Howe — a quality which will be of paramount importance here if Bournemouth are to stand any chance of competing with Liverpool.
Key stat: Billing has won more aerial duels (87) and made more tackles (63) than any other Bournemouth player in the Premier League this season.
Confirmed Liverpool line-up:
Captain Jordan Henderson remains sidelined and Klopp will surely be starting to worry about his side’s form in the England international’s absence.
Naby Keita is doubtful while Nathaniel Clyne and Xherdan Shaqiri are both out.
Klopp will likely restore the likes of Mohamed Salah, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Roberto Firmino to the starting XI after the FA Cup defeat to Chelsea. One player who won’t come into the line-up is Alisson, who was confirmed on Friday to have sustained a hip injury that will also rule him out of the second-leg meeting with Atletico Madrid in the Champions League.
“[Alisson] had a little incident in training before the Chelsea game,” said Klopp.
“We all thought it was nothing and it was clear he would not play anyway. The plan was that he would be on the bench.
“[There was a] scan the next day and they found something, so now he is out. He is not available for tomorrow and then the next week.”
Left-back Andy Robertson is not in the squad due to a fitness issue, but Klopp said pre-match he should be fit for the Atletico game.
🔴 Today's team for #LIVBOU… https://t.co/Yk8D7Hc4Ta
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) March 7, 2020
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Bournemouth
Harry Wilson is ineligible to play against his parent club, adding to a lengthy list of absentees for Howe.
The Cherries will also be without Arnaut Danjuma, David Brooks, Charlie Daniels, Chris Mepham and Lloyd Kelly, who are all injured.
📝 TEAM NEWS 📝
🔺 King out with hamstring injury
🔺 Stanislas comes in out wide
🔺 Team unchanged elsewhereHere's how we line up for our @premierleague clash with Liverpool.
Live blog 👉 https://t.co/kERDkrz4Hv#LIVBOU // #afcb 🍒 pic.twitter.com/Jb1cDMkXYc
— AFC Bournemouth (@afcbournemouth) March 7, 2020
Squawka prediction
Bournemouth have a wretched recent record in this fixture, losing each of the last five meetings without scoring a single goal.
Liverpool may have lost their invincible edge recently but make no mistake, Klopp will have his side fired up for this as he seeks to seal the Premier League title as soon as possible.
We can’t see anything other than a comfortable Liverpool win in this one.
