Bournemouth team news and predicted XI ahead of Liverpool clash

All the latest Cherries team news ahead of their home tie with Liverpool

March 09, 2023 at 1:50 pm GMT

Bournemouth continue their tricky fixture list with a home tie against Liverpool on Saturday lunchtime, looking to avoid a repeat of the 9-0 reverse that they suffered at Anfield earlier in the season.

Having been denied a valuable point against Arsenal by last minute goal, O’Neil’s side are in desperate need of points, with the Cherries currently bottom of the Premier League and boasting the worst goal difference in the division.

But they may struggle to get anything against Jurgen Klopp’s side, who themselves are just coming off a 7-0 hammering against Manchester United and look to be improving as the season goes on.

With games against Aston Villa and Fulham to come, it could be case of damage limitation at the Vitality on Saturday.

Here’s how we expect the Cherries to line up, and the latest on their lengthy injury list.

Predicted XI

Team News

O’Neil may be able to call upon the services of summer signing Marcus Tavernier, with the Englishman in the final stages of recovering from a hamstring injury that has sidelined him for several weeks.

There is more good news, too, with Lloyd Kelly, Jefferson Lerma, Hamad Traore and Illia Zabarnyi all potentially back in contention after various issues, handing the Cherries a timely boost ahead of their relegation run in.

But, having performed well for the most part last weekend, and having come seconds away from snatching an unlikely point against the Premier League leaders, none of those five may be risked from the start, with more important and, frankly, winnable affairs coming up after the visit of Jurgen Klopp’s side.

The game will come too soon for either David Brooks or Matias Vina, while Junior Stanislas is due to return to action next week so will also be absent. As a result, it could well be a largely unchanged cherries side picked to take on Liverpool.