Liverpool travel to Bournemouth on Saturday, with Jurgen Klopp’s side riding high after demolishing fierce rivals Manchester United in their last Premier League outing.
Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp could drop Harvey Elliott for the Reds’ trip to Bournemouth on Saturday.
Klopp saw his side thrash fierce rivals Manchester United 7-0 on Sunday to get their Premier League season back on track. Liverpool are now back in the race to finish in the top four and sit just three points behind Tottenham.
The win over United was extraordinary and marked the second time they have scored seven goals in the top flight this term. The first occasion came against the Cherries in the reverse fixture, with the Reds winning 9–0 that day.
Despite matching their impressive goalscoring performance for the second time, Klopp may not reward all his starters from the win over United. However, Alisson had to start in goal, after keeping three clean sheets in a row.
Trent Alexander-Arnold should also continue at right-back after an impressive display keeping Bruno Fernandes quiet. Virgil van Dijk and Ibrahima Konate have stabilized the Reds’ defense in recent weeks and should once again partner each other in central defence.
Andy Robertson will be hoping to extend his record as the defender with the most Premier League assists if he lines up at left-back as expected. The Scot set up Cody Gakpo’s opener against the Red Devils to take himself to 55 assists in the top-flight.
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While the five should retain their spots, Elliott is set to be dropped from the starting lineup. The Englishman also grabbed an assist against United, but Klopp is set to favor prodigy Stefan Bajcetic instead.
Bajcetic has been one of the few bright spots in what has been a difficult campaign for Liverpool’s midfield. And Klopp is set to bring him back into the starting line-up for the trip south.
The other members of the midfield trio should remain unchanged, meaning Fabinho and Jordan Henderson will both start. After scoring six goals between them last Sunday, it’s no surprise that Mohamed Salah, Cody Gakpo and Darwin Nunez should lead the charge.
That means Diogo Jota and Roberto Firmino should start from the bench, with the former set to make his 100th appearance for the Reds in all competitions and the latter nearing 250 Premier League appearances.
Boss Klopp hopes to keep his feet on the ground despite their big win over United last week.
“There is a general feeling that we have to chase and we have to challenge pretty much everyone, but that’s just a little side story because the main thing is to go to Bournemouth and play a game there and not call the points until you have them.” he said.
“I’ve been in the business far too long so the last few days (I’ve seen) a lot of Bournemouth football. The way they play, things like this, can be really uncomfortable for any team.
“We might be fighting for the Champions League places – we’ll see how the results go in the next few weeks – but the fight to stay in the league is just as exciting. And I’m 100 per cent sure Bournemouth will fight like crazy , and that’s something we have to expect.”
Liverpool: Alisson; Trent Alexander-Arnold, Ibrahima Konate, Virgil van Dijk, Andy Robertson; Stefan Bajcetic, Fabinho, Jordan Henderson; Mohamed Salah, Cody Gakpo, Darwin Nunez