Hello and welcome along to The42′s coverage of this crunch Premier League tie between Liverpool and Bournemouth.
Sinéad Farrell here and I will be taking you through the coverage minute-by-minute.
There is significant pressure on Jurgen Klopp’s men to get a result at Anfield today and keep their noses in front of Manchester City, who are in action tomorrow against Chelsea.
We’ll have team news for you in the next few minutes along with any last minute changes before the 3pm-kick off, so do stay with us.
And as always, we want you to get involved so if you have any observations on the game let us know in the comment section below or send a Tweet to @Shin_Farrell.
Here’s how Liverpool will be lining out today:
Alisson; Milner, Matip, Van Dijk, Robertson; Fabinho, Wijnaldum, Keita; Salah, Firmino, Mané.
And here is the Bournemouth starting XI:
Bournemouth XI: Boruc; Smith, Cook, Aké, Rico; Ibe, Gosling, Lerma, Surman, Fraser; King.
Drink it in!
Xherdan Shaqiri taking a look at the surroundings in Anfield ahead of kick-off.
Eddie and the lads having a look around before the action begins.
While the attention will naturally be on how this result impacts on Liverpool’s title race against Man City, Bournemouth could sneak up to eight place on the table with a win this afternoon.
The Cherries are just behind Watford and Everton, who are going head-to-head at 3pm today.
Just under 10 minutes to go now. How do you see this one going?
Poll Results:
The 12.30pm kick-off between Man United and Fulham is over, with United climbing up to fourth on the table after a 3-0 win.
And we are underway in Anfield!
3 min: Liverpool 0 Bournemouth 0
Early scare for Liverpool as Alisson is called into action to keep out a shot from Fraser. Liverpool reclaim possession and work their way down into the opposition territory.
7 mins: Liverpool 0 Bournemouth 0
Shaqiri is a big loss for Liverpool due to an abdominal strain. Salah has been on the ball a few times already as has Roberto Firmino, but Fulham continue to press forward looking for cracks in the Liverpool cover.
11 mins: Liverpool 0 Bournemouth 0
MISS!
Salah takes a shot at goal from outside the box but it sails over the bar. It’s a good start for Jurgen Klopp’s men.
12 mins: Liverpool 0 Bournemouth 0
Salah again comes sniffing for a goal at the back post but the Cherries manage to clear their lines. The home side are starting to flex their muscles a bit now and apply pressure on the visitors.
15 mins: Liverpool 0 Bournemouth 0
A Liverpool goal is looking more and more likely.
Salah is looking particularly threatening, while James Milner is feeding the ball well to him.
18 mins: Liverpool 0 Bournemouth 0
Jordan Ibe makes up some good ground for Bournemouth and looks dangerous going forward. It takes a bit of pressure off the defence too, but Liverpool come back at them again.
23 mins: Liverpool 0 Bournemouth 0
CLOSE!!
Fraser tries to link up with Joshua King but he whips the ball just a little too high above his head in the box. Another example of how dangerous Bournemouth can be going forward.
GOAL! Liverpool 1-0 Bournemouth (Mane)
32 mins: Liverpool 1 Bournemouth 0
Well that was inevitable you, feel as Mane edges the home side in front inside the half-hour mark.
He got on the end of a James Milner cross to direct a powerful header past Boruc.
That puts Liverpool back to the top of the table for now, but there’s a long way to go yet!
GOAL! Liverpool 2-0 Bournemouth (Wijnaldum)
39 mins: Liverpool 2 Bournemouth 0
Wijnaldum doubles Liverpool’s lead with a lovely finish just before half-time and the home side are really starting to dominate now.
Robertson looped the ball over the Bournemouth defence to Wijnaldum, who popped it over Boruc and into the net.
45 mins: Liverpool 2 Bournemouth 0
MISS!
What does Salah have to do to get a goal? Another moment of magic from the Egypt international but Boruc manages to keep the ball out.
Two minutes of added time to be played in the first half.
HT: Liverpool 2-0 Bournemouth
Story of the first half – It’s been all Liverpool so far!
Georginio Wijnaldum celebrates his goal.
The ball sails in for Sadio Mane’s opening goal.
Roberto Firmino has a pop at goal.
Salah in control of the ball.
45 mins: Liverpool 2 Bournemouth
The second half is now underway! There is some talk on social media that perhaps Mane’s goal was offside?
The goal stands regardless for his fourth consecutive goal in a single Premier League season.
GOAL! Liverpool 3-0 Bournemouth (Salah)
54 mins: Liverpool 3-0 Bournemouth
One word for that Salah goal – delicious! Lovely pass in and the awareness of Roberto Firmino to backheel the ball to Salah who sweeps the ball into the bottom corner of the net.
Liverpool have been so clinical so far and Salah has been pressing for a goal all afternoon. What a way to put your name on the scoresheet.
57 mins: Liverpool 3 Bournemouth 0
MISS!
Sadio Mane should have two goals to his credit but he sends a free header wide.
He had plenty of time to direct the ball into the net but just couldn’t connect with it properly and Bournemouth can breathe a sigh of relief again.
Ice cool finish!
65 mins: Liverpool 3 Bournemouth 0
Solanke has been brought on for Bournemouth in place of Ibe, but they’re not making much progress up front as Liverpool continue to drive forward.
69 mins: Liverpool 3 Bournemouth 0
Salah tries to link up with Wijnaldum but the cross has just too much power on it. Meanwhile, Bournemouth defender Smith needs some treatment following a challenge from Andy Robertson but he’s back up again.
We’re heading for the final 20 minutes now and things are looking good for Liverpool.
74 mins: Liverpool 3 Bournemouth 0
As you would expect, the pace has dropped hugely in Anfield. There’s definitely a sense of job done in the air among the home support.
But substitute Mousset fires a shot at Alisson almost straight away after coming on to give the hosts a bit of a scare. There’s still 16 minutes left for Bournemouth to break the deadlock.
78 mins: Liverpool 3 Bournemouth 0
CROSSBAR!
Salah almost gets a second but his thunderbolt of a shot rattles off the woodwork. Once again, it’s Firmino and the Egypt international combining well, but Salah just can’t get the accuracy on that final shot to find the net.
Bournemouth come down on a promising counter-attack which results in a corner.
Mane in complete control!
82 mins: Liverpool 3 Bournemouth 0
Into the final 10 minutes now and it would take something miraculous to take away the three points from Liverpool at this point.
They’re still going in search of a goal with James Milner the latest Liverpool player to go in search of a goal but his shot is blocked in the penalty area.
85 mins: Liverpool 3 Bournemouth 0
SAVE!
Another opportunity that Liverpool should have put in the net.
They pounce on the counter after Bournemouth commit too far forward and Firmino finds himself with acres of space to run forward with the ball.
He gets himself into a one-on-one but his low shot ends up in the hands of Boruc.
91 mins: Liverpool 3 Bournemouth 0
SAVE!
Boruc is doing his best for Bournemouth and he keeps out a shot from Alexander-Arnold. Indeed, it is a comprehensive win for the hosts but Boruc is saving them from a total hammering.
Four minutes of added time to be played.
FT: Liverpool 3-0 Bournemouth
Liverpool 3-0 Bournemouth
Liverpool are back on top of the Premier League table.
That was a composed and efficient performance from Jurgen Klopp’s team as they reclaim pole position ahead of City’s clash with Chelsea tomorrow.
Mane, Wijnaldum and Salah all found the target in Anfield and it’s a case of job done for Liverpool.
Well that’s all from us folks, we hope you enjoyed the coverage. Until next time, goodbye!
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