The Premier League will return this week after the Champions League matches mid-week. Liverpool will face Bournemouth in Matchday 24 at the Vitality Stadium, Bournemouth's home ground.
The Reds top the table with 53 points while Bournemouth is in seventh place with 40 points, four points behind Nottingham Forest in third place.
This is where the match's importance for Bournemouth comes in - they aim to enter the top four and exploit any potential loss by higher-ranked teams, thus increasing their chances of qualifying for the Champions League or Europa League.
Iraola, Bournemouth's coach, wants to continue his unbeaten streak, having not lost in 11 Premier League matches and achieving significant victories against top teams like Arsenal, Manchester City, Manchester United, drawing and winning against Chelsea, and winning against Newcastle and Nottingham Forest.
Therefore, it won't be an easy match for the Reds, who also have a good record of 18 unbeaten matches in the Premier League, with their only loss this season against Nottingham Forest in September.
Arne Slot will return to his main lineup after resting most players in their last Champions League match. The players needed this rest to recover and prepare for the next stage.
Expected lineup to face Bournemouth:
Goalkeeper: Alisson Becker
Defense: Van Dijk, Konaté, Arnold, and Robertson
Midfield: Gravenberch, Szoboszlai, McAllister
Attack: Mohamed Salah, Gakpo, and Diaz
When Slot was asked in the press conference about injuries, he said that Jota, Nunez, and Gomez might train with the team, but this doesn't necessarily mean they can participate in the Bournemouth match.
According to Klopp, the team has many players, so it's important to be cautious with players returning from injury.
Slot continued in the press conference when asked about Mohamed Salah, the league and team's top scorer, saying: "I would be surprised if anyone anywhere in the world says: We do not want Mohamed Salah."
He added that Salah has been performing exceptionally well for many years, to the point that everyone might want him. He has been performing excellently without Klopp's advice for a long time, so he can probably continue doing what's best for his career
Slot further elaborated on Salah during the press conference; "Everyone wants him, including us - we want to extend his contract. This is clear. I'm not surprised that Saudi Arabia wants him, but I won't be surprised if other countries want him too."
Expect Goals in this match
The goals scored by each team in the Premier League so far: The Reds have scored 54 goals while conceding 21. Iraola's team has scored 41 goals and conceded 26.
We notice the similarity in defensive levels, which suggests a difficult match for the strikers of both teams. The Reds have achieved 9 clean sheets, while Bournemouth has only kept a clean sheet in six matches.
Regarding the team's stars, both teams have strong forwards. Salah is the Premier League top scorer with 19 goals and 13 assists. Bournemouth's top scorer is Justin Kluivert with 11 goals and Antonio Semenyo with 7 goals.
Of course, the Reds have high-quality players who can be key to their play alongside Salah, such as Luis Diaz and Cody Gakpo.
Bournemouth also has good play keys alongside Kluivert, like Marcus and Dean, who can influence the team's performance.
The average goals per match for the Reds is 2.5 goals, while Bournemouth averages 1.8 goals per match. In terms of goals conceded, the Reds average 0.9, and Bournemouth is not far behind with 1.1 per match.
I expect the match won't be easy for Liverpool, but they should still be considered favorites.