WHEN AFC Bournemouth crashed to a 9-0 loss on their last trip to Anfield, few people would have been backing them to return to Liverpool the following year with their Premier League status still intact.
That the Cherries survived the drop with a few games to spare was a testament to the work done by Gary O'Neil after Scott Parker had lobbed a few verbal grenades into both dressing room and boardroom during a tumultuous start to last season.
But O'Neil was scandalously rewarded with his P45 at the end of the campaign as AFC Bournemouth's bigwigs decided to take a punt by handing the job to former Rayo Vallecano coach Andoni Iraola.
It remains to be seen whether that decision will backfire, with O'Neil moving to Premier League rivals Wolves, but the Iraola reign started relatively well in a 1-1 draw with West Ham last week.
Liverpool were also held to a stalemate in their opener at Stamford Bridge, which was a decent result given Chelsea will be a far more formidable opponent this season after the arrival of Mauricio Pochettino.
But it felt a bit like a missed opportunity for Jurgen Klopp's side after they raced into an early lead and had another goal ruled out by VAR, ruining my bet of another opening-day goal for Mo Salah.
The Egyptian took the huff when he was subbed in the second half but Klopp now has plenty of options in attack and doesn't have to rely as heavily on his top scorer.
The big change this summer has come in midfield with Jordan Henderson, Fabinho, Naby Keita, James Milner and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain all moving on.
So far, only Alexis Mac Allister and Dominic Szoboszlai have been brought in to fill the void, with Liverpool frustrated as Chelsea gazumped them to land Moises Caicedo then repeated the trick for Romeo Lavia.
More new faces are sure to arrive before the window closes but on the evidence of last weekend, Klopp will have to stiffen up his midfield if the Reds are to mount a championship challenge again.
How the bookies view it
It's no great surprise to see Liverpool as massive favourites for this one at a best 1/4 with QuinnBet while AFC Bournemouth are 12/1 at William Hill. The draw is also pretty hefty at 6/1 with SkyBet.
Recent head to head
AFC Bournemouth got revenge for that 9-0 hammering at Anfield last season as they claimed a 1-0 win on the south coast in March. That ended a run of seven successive victories for Liverpool against the Cherries, who scored just once during that time.
Players to watch
Darwin Nunez looked quite lively off the bench last weekend and that could earn him a start for this game. The Uruguayan will be desperate to make up for a patchy debut season at Liverpool and is 11/8 at William Hill for anytime scorer.
Philip Billing scored the winner for AFC Bournemouth against Liverpool last season and the Dane is a major threat from midfield. He scored seven times last term and is 7/1 at Unibet for a goal at Anfield.
Anything else catch the eye?
This game should be a good watch as it's not in Iraola's style to park the bus. But BTTS is just 17/20 at Midnite and even over 3.5 goals isn't odds-against at a best 19/20 with 888Sport. Over 1.5 first-half goals is a bit better as that pays evens with Paddy Power.
Bournemouth won 10 corners last weekend against West Ham so they might be worth a tentative punt in that handicap here, with the Cherries +5 priced 21/20 with Bet365.
Trent Alexander-Arnold is usually pretty good value for an assist, especially at Anfield, and backing him to set up a goal here pays evens with SkyBet.
This English Premier League match between Liverpool and AFC Bournemouth will be played on Aug 19, 2023 and kick off at 15:00. Check below for our tipsters best Liverpool vs AFC Bournemouth prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
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