Liverpool vs Bournemouth: Football Previews & Free Football Betting Tips
Liverpool vs Bournemouth kicks off the Premier League weekend on Friday, 15 August 2025. It’s an early tone-setter: the champions welcoming a Bournemouth side that finished last season strongly and proved awkward for the big guns.
Tactical snapshot: Liverpool under Arne Slot are a 4-3-3 that morphs into a 3-2-5 in possession, heavy on counter-press and full-back width. Andoni Iraola’s Bournemouth are likewise front-foot in a 4-2-3-1/4-3-3, pressing high then breaking quickly through the wide forwards.
Liverpool
- Predicted XI (4-3-3): Mamardashvili; Frimpong, Konaté, Van Dijk, Kerkez; Mac Allister, Szoboszlai, Wirtz; Salah, Ekitike, Gakpo
- Notes: Conor Bradley is sidelined; Luis Díaz has departed; squad refreshed with Jeremie Frimpong, Milos Kerkez, Florian Wirtz and Hugo Ekitike.
Roles: Frimpong’s overlaps and Salah stretch the right; Kerkez provides left thrust; Wirtz links midfield to the front line between the lines.
Bournemouth
- Predicted XI (4-2-3-1): Petrović; Aarons, Zabarnyi, Senesi, Truffert; Tyler Adams, Christie; Tavernier, Alex Scott, Kluivert; Evanilson
- Unavailable/concerns: Lewis Cook and Enes Ünal (knee).
Roles: Adams screens; Scott finds pockets to feed the attacking runners; Kluivert attacks the space behind full-backs.
Liverpool — last 10 competitive
Record: 5-1-4 | Goals: 18 for, 16 against | Clean sheets: 3
Per-game: 1.8 GF, 1.6 GA
Busy, high-event matches: four multi-goal wins but a couple of 3-goal concessions on the road keep things honest.
Bournemouth — last 10 competitive
Record: 3-4-3 | Goals: 15 for, 13 against | Clean sheets: 3
Per-game: 1.5 GF, 1.3 GA
Streak of resilient results with several draws; happy to trade chances but defensive floor has improved.
Liverpool — recent home competitive profile
Fast starts, good pressure after ball loss, and wave after wave of attacks with width. Most danger conceded comes from quick counters into the full-back vacated zones.
Bournemouth — recent away competitive profile
Compact out of possession, then direct play into the striker and the wide runners. Can be stretched by diagonal switches.
Liverpool
- Florian Wirtz — the connector; finds pockets, plays the last pass and presses the pivot on turnovers.
Bournemouth
- Justin Kluivert — an under rated player: good link-play outside the box and strong penalty-area instincts.
Pivotal duel: Virgil van Dijk vs Justin Kluivert — Van Dijk’s positioning has been very poor over the last six months, if he doesn’t track his runners then Liverpool are vulnerable. .
Liverpool 3–1 Bournemouth — Liverpool’s chance creation at Anfield plus fresh right-side thrust should edge a lively game, but Bournemouth’s transition threat keeps it interesting and Van Dijk could struggle.
Main pick: Liverpool to win & Over 2.5 goals — home edge and both sides’ high BTTS trends.
Value bet: Both Teams to Score — the stats point to goals at both ends.
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