Bournemouth vs Liverpool 12:30, Saturday 11th March Vitality Stadium, Bournemouth Premier League Referee: John Brooks Bournemouth and Liverpool progress beyond the two-thirds stage of their Premier League seasons this weekend, as they meet on the south coast in Saturday’s early kick-off. The Cherries sit bottom of the table on goal difference, with Gary O’Neil’s side having seen an unlikely 2-0 lead away at Arsenal turn to a crushing 3-2 defeat last weekend. Their visitors are riding the high of the unforgettable 7-0 home victory over historic rivals Manchester United, and a strong run since mid-February has seen Jurgen Klopp’s side recover to arguably favourites to clinch the final spot on the Premier League’s top four. The sides last met August, with hosts Liverpool taking their first victory of the league season by nine goals to nil at Anfield. The previous meeting was a 2-1 win for the Reds in both sides’ final league match before the suspension of the 2019-20 Premier League season due to the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic – the Reds had all but won the league by that stage, with their victory opening up a 25 point lead, whilst it kept Bournemouth in a relegation zone that they would ultimate not escape. For the most recent meeting at the Vitality Stadium, we go back to early December of that season – the Cherries had enjoyed a decent start to the season but had seen their form collapse (with four consecutive defeats) in the run up to the match, whilst Klopp’s side had been imperious and had dropped just 2 points from their opening fifteen matches. The game was settled true to form, with Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Naby Keita, and Mo Salah netting either side of the break in a 3-0 victory. Bournemouth’s modern history is best traced to the 2008-09 season, which brought the appointment of Eddie Howe as manager, saw them finish fourth from bottom of the entire Football League, and culminated in a takeover by a Jeff Mostyn-led consortium. Howe’s side secured promotion to League One at the end of 2009-10 and remained for three seasons, before (with Howe having retuned from spending part of 2011 managing Burnley) achieving promotion to the Championship at the end of the 2012-13 season. The Cherries’ rise continued through the next two seasons, with a steady 10th place finish (then a historic best) followed by a Championship title in 2014-15 – the title securing their first ever appearance in the top-flight. After staying up in 2015-16, Howe’s Bournemouth enjoyed a solid three seasons (including a top half finish in 2016-17) in the Premier League before being relegated at the end of the 2019-20 season. The Bournemouth that arrived back in the Championship, led by long-time assistant manager Jason Tindall, appeared a well-run club set for a run at promotion – their autumn form underlined this, and they spent the first half of the 2020-21 campaign in the automation promotion hunt. Their form plummeted during the winter though, with a period of ten games yielding just 8 points. Jonathan Woodgate replaced Tindall in February and the side hit a run of form earning them 28 points from eleven games, but they ended the season with a trio of defeats and were beaten 3-2 on aggregate by Brentford in the Playoff Semi Final. Woodgate’s contract ended at the end of the season, and he was replaced by former Premier League midfielder Scott Parker. Parker oversaw a successful promotion campaign in 2021-22, with Bournemouth falling just 2 points short of his former club, Fulham, in a tightly contested Championship title battle. In the wider context, their 2020 relegation can’t really be viewed as a ‘failing’, and their 2022 promotion pointed towards a continuation of the brightest period in the club’s history. Despite an opening day victory over Aston Villa, Parker’s return to the Premier League picked up largely where his previous stint (relegation with Fulham in 2020-21) had left off. Bournemouth fell to heavy defeats to Man City, Arsenal, and Liverpool in their next three games and, amidst disagreement with the owners, Parker was dismissed at the end of August. The Cherries’ appointed former Portsmouth, Middlesbrough, and West Ham midfielder (also briefly Liverpool U23’s assistant) Gary O’Neil as Parker’s replacement, and form picked up as they went unbeaten in six and moved into the top half. Since mid-October, however, they’ve taken just 8 points from fifteen matches – five months on, they prop up a tight bottom half of the table and are deep in a relegation battle. Bournemouth look set to be in that relegation battle for the remainder of the season, at best, whilst worst-case scenarios see them as one of the sides cut adrift. Their upcoming fixtures look short on ‘six pointers’ but it will be key to stay in touch with fellow strugglers until potentially crucial matches with West Ham, Southampton, and Leeds in the second half of April – they visit Goodison Park on the final day of the season. The Reds, meanwhile, find themselves somewhat reinvigorated and on a charge towards the top four – another defeat akin to losses to Forest, Leeds, and Wolves could really burst that bubble ahead of a tough run of league fixtures (City, Chelsea, and then Arsenal). All around the club know that significant changes are required in the summer, and – particularly given the 5-2 ‘half time’ deficit to Real Madrid – Champions League qualification is seen is key to a smooth transition for Klopp’s squad. Saturday’s result may not be conclusive to Bournemouth’s ultimate aims for the season, but taking home what should be expected from the south coast will be seen as important to the Reds.
Free Gary Lineker
5 A great header by Vav Dijk is cleared off the line by Lerma equally brilliant for a corner. The corner is cleared.
9 Very near to a Bournemouth goal there but its side netted.
12 We do put the ball in the net but the flag is up. Still 0-0.
23 Nothing much happening. Hopefully Tepid can bring us a goal.
Is he in midfield.....?
In news Gary Lineker will be attending the Leicester v Chelsea match this afternoon. I trust that will get some anti Tory chanting doing the rounds.
28 1-0 sighMove down their right, VVD didn’t deal with it very well and lets him get a cross in that’s tucked home. Poor that. We’ve let our control slip
