Bournemouth vs Liverpool Premier League preview, team news and prediction

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Winless in the league this year and desperately searching for their first Premier League win of 2026, Liverpool travel south to face Bournemouth in Saturday’s late afternoon kickoff.

The Reds return to domestic action buoyed by a convincing 3-0 Champions League victory over Marseille, while Bournemouth are coming off a 1-1 draw with Brighton & Hove Albion earlier in the week.

Although Liverpool have not tasted Premier League victory since their 2-1 triumph over Wolverhampton Wanderers at the end of 2025, they remain well-placed in the race for a 2026-27 Champions League spot, thanks in part to the stumbles of their rivals. However, a disappointing 1-1 draw with Burnley last weekend—Liverpool’s fourth consecutive league stalemate—has allowed Manchester United and Chelsea to close the gap to just one and two points, respectively. Brentford, Newcastle United, and Sunderland are also within three points of the fourth-placed Reds.

Liverpool have never drawn five straight Premier League games, and not since 1980 have they shared the points in five consecutive top-flight matches. Last weekend’s frustrating result against Burnley also reignited speculation about manager Arne Slot’s future, though their dominant Champions League display against Marseille has helped quiet those rumors for now, extending the reigning champions’ unbeaten run in all competitions to an impressive 13 matches. No team in Europe’s top five leagues is currently enjoying a longer unbeaten streak than Liverpool, who have also avoided defeat in their last 10 Premier League fixtures and have not lost away from home since a 3-0 defeat at Manchester City in November.

Bournemouth, in contrast, have managed just one Premier League win in 2026 and find themselves 11 places and nine points behind Liverpool in the table. Since the start of November, only Tottenham Hotspur have fallen to the Cherries, leaving Andoni Iraola’s side with just one win from their last 14 matches in all competitions after Monday’s agonizing draw at the Amex. Marcus Tavernier’s penalty looked to have secured victory over Brighton, but a spectacular injury-time bicycle kick from teenager Charalampos Kostoulas denied Bournemouth a rare away win.

Despite sitting 15th, Bournemouth are still closer to the top four than the relegation zone in terms of points, though that is little comfort to supporters also coming to terms with Antoine Semenyo’s recent move to Manchester City. To make matters more daunting, Liverpool’s 4-2 win over Bournemouth in the opening Premier League fixture of the season was their 12th victory in 13 top-flight meetings with the Cherries, who have now conceded 52 league goals to Liverpool—matching their highest total against any club, alongside Manchester City.

Liverpool’s only new injury concern from midweek is Federico Chiesa, who picked up an unspecified issue during Tuesday’s training session and was unable to play against Marseille, despite participating in the warm-up. It remains unclear whether Chiesa will be fit in time for Saturday’s match, but the Reds were boosted by the immediate return of Mohamed Salah to the starting lineup on Wednesday following his Africa Cup of Nations campaign. The 33-year-old is now in line for his first Premier League start since November 22. However, Alexander Isak (calf), Conor Bradley (knee), and Giovanni Leoni (knee) are still sidelined. Ibrahima Konate missed the midweek fixture for personal reasons but is expected to be available for the trip to Bournemouth.

On the Bournemouth side, both Marcus Tavernier and Amine Adli suffered injuries during the draw with Brighton. Manager Andoni Iraola has confirmed that Tavernier faces a spell on the sidelines with a hamstring injury. He joins Will Dennis (ankle), Enes Unal (groin), David Brooks (ankle), Tyler Adams (knee), Ben Gannon-Doak (thigh), and Justin Kluivert (knee) on the injury list, though Adli is expected to be fit for selection. Meanwhile, Bournemouth have reinvested the funds from Antoine Semenyo’s sale by signing 20-year-old Hungarian midfielder Alex Toth for £10.4 million, and he is likely to start on the bench this weekend.

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