Sports Blog 17/08/2015: Match Preview – Liverpool vs Bournemouth, Monday 17th August 2015

Bournemouth’s Premier League baptism of fire continues on Monday night, as they travel to Anfield to face Liverpool at 8pm on Sky Sports 1.

The Cherries were somewhat unfortunate to lose their opening game against Aston Villa. They were lively in the first half with Bournemouth coming close a few times, the most egregious miss coming from Marc Pugh just before the break. However, Tim Sherwood’s Villa managed to nab the winning goal just after the 70 minute mark, with new signing Rudy Gestede heading home and breaking Bournemouth hearts in the process.



Despite this leaving the Cherries on a Relegation index spread of 10-13, well within the danger zone, Eddie Howe’s mean shouldn’t be too despondent. They had 58% of possession against an experienced, and increasingly rejuvenated, Premier League side, and for a top flight debutantes have done some decent business over the summer. They paid £8 million for defender Tyrone Mings from Ipswich and got a bit of experience in the free transfer form of Sylvain Distin.

More impressively they signed African Cup of Nations 2015 winner Max Gradel from Saint-Etienne (at a Super Mega Player Goal Minutes spread of 8-11) as well as African Cup of Nations 2015 Player and Goal of the Tournament winner Christian Atsu on loan from Chelsea (currently injured but sure to feature once fit). Add onto this last season’s freely scoring Callum Wilson, who got 23 goals in his first year at club (and 9/1 to score first with a Super Mega PGM of 12-16) and Bournemouth have a surprising amount of quality for the league’s main minnows.



However, Liverpool are going into their first home game of the season, a fixture they haven’t lost since 2002, eager to prove the naysayers wrong after their limp league performance last year. A very late, if very special, goal from Philippe Coutinho gave the Reds an opening weekend victory over Stoke, helping to put to bed (well, sort of) the nightmarish memories of their 6-1 dismantling at the Britannia Stadium on the final day of last season.

Their Monday night game against Bournemouth should, in theory, be a brief moment of respite in what is going to be a tough few weeks, with Arsenal, West Ham and Manchester United their next 3 opponents, before an October that sees them face Everton, Tottenham, Southampton and Chelsea. It’s an unforgiving schedule that already sees Liverpool needing to take all 3 points from the Cherries if they are to sustain any kind of title push (something they sit on the edges of with a Premier League Index spread of 7-10 and 25/1 fixed odds to lift the title).



Liverpool’s two big summer signings, costing over £50 million between them (i.e. everything the Reds’ got for Raheem Sterling and then some), will need to perform better than they did in the opening game, however, for any title hopes to become a reality. Despite having 16/1 fixed odds to be the season’s top scorer, and the best Super Mega PGM spread of 48-56 for Monday’s game, Christian Benteke could only manage 5 touches in the box against Stoke; Robert Firmino, meanwhile, was only allowed the final 15 minutes to show his stuff.

Yet for all Bournemouth’s promise and Liverpool’s frustrations, the signs are still pointing to a home win on Monday night, with our Spreadex traders offering a Liverpool/Bournemouth Goal Supremacy spread of 1.15-1.35 with a Total Goals spread of 2.8-3.