Chris Sutton has made his prediction for Liverpool’s clash against Bournemouth in the Premier League.
The Reds take on the Cherries at the Vitality Stadium in Saturday’s lunchtime kick-off. Jurgen Klopp’s side will be looking to follow up their famous 7-0 win over Manchester United with another victory on the south coast.
Liverpool are currently in fifth place in the Premier League table and are three points outside the top four. The Reds also have a game in hand on fourth-placed Tottenham Hotspur, and a win over Bournemouth would see Liverpool leapfrog the London club into the Champions League qualifying spots.
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The previous meeting between the two teams saw Liverpool claim a 9-0 win at Anfield back in August. While Sutton does not think a similar scoreline will occur this weekend, he is backing the Reds to win again.
Sutton explains how he thinks this game is vital to Liverpool’s chances of securing a top four finish in the Premier League. The former Blackburn Rovers striker has predicted the Reds to win 2-0 over Bournemouth.
Sutton wrote for the BBC: “The great debate now, of course, after Jurgen Klopp's side walloped Manchester United, is 'are Liverpool back?'.
“Is this the turning point for them, not to go and rescue their tie with Madrid, but to really push on to finish in the top four? We are about to find out.
“This is Liverpool's final league game in March, and they begin April by playing Manchester City and Chelsea (both away) and then Arsenal (at home) in the space of eight days. They really cannot afford any slip-ups on the south coast before then.
“It's going to be almost impossible for them to turn things around in Madrid on Wednesday, but their focus can't be on that anyway - they just have to concentrate on getting a win here.
“So, it is going to be interesting to see what team Klopp puts out. If you are a Reds fan, you are thinking he should go with the same line-up that he went with against Manchester United.
“The most important aspects of Sunday were the performances of Cody Gakpo, who showed what a brilliant finisher he is, and Darwin Nunez, who has had a difficult season and has not always taken his chances.
“If they play like they did in the second half against United, then they will definitely beat Bournemouth, but I don't think they will be racking up the goals again.
“I watched the Cherries against Arsenal and they defended deep and made it difficult for the leaders to get through them, but they carried a threat too.
“At the start of the season, I had Bournemouth down as being relegated, and then I thought the wheels had come off with the way they restarted the campaign after the World Cup.
“But they have shown enough in recent games to give themselves a chance of staying up. I think they will lose on Saturday, but it won't be without a fight.”
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