Bournemouth vs Liverpool live: Latest team news with Mohamed Salah set for Premier League return

Bournemouth have been struggling to win games this season, coming out on top just once in their last 13 league outings.

However, goals have not been a problem for Andoni Iraola’s side, and that’s despite losing Antoine Semenyo to Manchester City for £65m. They have scored four goals in the two games since he left, and have actually only failed to score four times so far this season.

When the two sides met on the opening day of the Premier League season, Liverpool let a two-goal lead at Anfield slip when Semenyo scored twice to cancel out goals from Hugo Ekitike and Cody Gakpo. Just as Bournemouth thought they would be leaving Anfield with a point, Federico Chiesa and Mo Salah scored in the last two minutes to secure a 4-2 win.

The Reds have scored three or more goals against the south coast side 10 times since December 2017, and given that the two sides have conceded 70 goals between them and kept just 14 clean sheets, we should expect goals.

Read The Independent’s full prediction below:

The Cherries are without in-form Marcus Tavernier for today’s clash, with Adam Smith coming into the team and Alex Jimenez moving forward.

Bournemouth XI: Petrovic; Smith, Hill, Senesi, Truffert; Cook, Scott; Jimenez, Kroupi, Adli; Evanilson.

The teams are in… and the big news is that for the first time since November, Mohamed Salah starts for Liverpool in the league.

Hugo Ekitike isn’t able to start back-to-back matches, with Cody Gakpo looking set to lead the line.

Liverpool XI: Alisson; Frimpong, Gomez, Van Dijk, Kerkez; Mac Allister, Gravenberch; Salah, Szoboszlai, Wirtz; Gakpo.

Just a few minutes away from hearing confirmation on today’s line-ups.

We’ll bring it right to you as it lands. Stay tuned!

Liverpool manager Arne Slot has confirmed that he could be without five members of his first-team squad for the match against Bournemouth, with both Federico Chiesa and Ibrahima Konate likely to be absent.

The Reds come into the weekend off the back of an impressive 3-0 win over Marseille in the Champions League in midweek, with Joe Gomez deputising for Konate, who was absent due to a family bereavement.

“I’ve spoken to him a few times and these are private matters and they should stay that way,” said Slot on the Frenchman.

“It’s very obvious when something like that happens the player needs time to be there for his family and for himself.@

While Slot has to contend with the long-term absences of Alexander Isak, Giovanni Leoni and Conor Bradley, the Dutchman also added that he could be without Chiesa this weekend, with the Italian “maybe 50-50” to feature.

“Federico wasn’t able to be on the bench on Wednesday. There was a recovery session yesterday, [it’s] difficult to say if he’s available for Bournemouth. Maybe 50-50,” said Slot.

In better news, Slot added that “nobody picked up a knock or problem after the game” against Marseille, with the 47-year-old adding that he expects all the same players to be available this weekend.

Here’s our exclusive interview with former Liverpool goalkeeper Loris Karius, speaking to Will Castle:

Loris Karius had come to terms with his footballing career being over when, following his Liverpool release in 2021, he was left without any desirable club prospects at the prime goalkeeping age of 28. “I was retired,” Karius tells The Independent, “because I didn’t do anything for seven months. It sounds dramatic. In my mind, I was pretty much retired.”

You wouldn’t blame him for falling out of love with the game. Three years prior, Karius had endured one of the cruellest nights a sportsman could possibly conceive, sparking a downward spiral that looked terminal. The infamy of his 2018 Champions League final capitulation in Kiev, later discovered to have been catalysed by a concussion, came to unfairly but understandably define his time on Merseyside. There, they struggle to remember him beyond his worst moment.

But while his legacy remains tainted by that one fateful night in Ukraine, Karius is writing a new story in his homeland. The German stopper’s “retirement” was short-lived, and he is now quietly in the midst of a quite remarkable redemption arc at Schalke 04 – traditionally Germany’s third biggest club who now find themselves in the second tier – with both sharing the common goal of clawing their way back after a dramatic fall from grace.

Arne Slot has said he would be “uneasy” about leaving Mohamed Salah out of the Liverpool team again – but is willing to do so if he thinks it is the right thing for the side.

He explained: “I always find it uneasy if I leave a player out and even more a player that has meant a lot for this club. You can work with a player for a long time and you have had success with them, but part of my job is making the decision that I think is the best for the team.

“But that is always an uneasy decision. Not only with Mo but every single player I leave out because of the work they put in. Their quality is enough to play, so it is always uneasy not to play players.”

In case you missed yesterday’s shock development…

Tottenham have made an approach to Liverpool for left-back Andy Robertson and are in preliminary talks about a deal.

Liverpool are considering the offer for their vice-captain, who is out of contract in the summer, and are yet to decide whether to let the 31-year-old leave.

Liverpool, who are grateful for the outstanding service Robertson has given them over the last nine years, will consider the Scotland skipper’s wishes as well as the best interests of the club as they weigh up allowing him to move.

Bournemouth XI: Petrovic; Smith, Hill, Senesi, Truffert; Cook, Scott; Jimenez, Kroupi, Adli; Evanilson

Liverpool XI: Alisson; Frimpong, Konate, Van Dijk, Kerkez; Gravenberch, Mac Allister; Szoboszlai, Wirtz, Gakpo; Ekitike

Federico Chiesa is “50-50” to return after picking up a knock in the warm-up ahead of the Marseille clash, forcing him off the bench.

Ibrahima Konate is likely to be absent as he deals with a family bereavement.

Alexander Isak remains out for Liverpool, while Conor Bradley is sidelined for the season after his knee injury at Arsenal.

But beyond injuries, Liverpool will have Mohamed Salah available again for the first time since December, after the Egyptian returning from Afcon duty.