Bournemouth v Liverpool - Cherries can keep Klopp's charges in check

SUPER SUNDAY'S second fixture features Bournemouth hosting Liverpool. Ben Levene (@BenLevene96) shares his best bet.

Bournemouth v Liverpool | Sunday 17th December 2017, 16:30 | Sky Sports

If this pans out anything like the meeting between the pair last year, we’re in for a thriller. Bournemouth came back from 3-1 down to triumph 4-3 and the Cherries also picked up a 2-2 draw at Anfield.

To be honest, I rarely back Liverpool, especially against lesser opposition. They’re suited to games where they can hit teams on the counter, hence their good record against the Big Six. Under Klopp, on numerous occasions they’ve failed to put away tams who aim to frustrate.

That’s been less of the case this season, with Mo Salah offering a different dimension and coming up trumps. But twice in the last seven days Liverpool have failed to put away deep-defending teams as they drew at home to West Brom and Everton.

Since their defeat to Spurs, Liverpool have sured things up defensively but there have been recent signs that they’re lacking the intensity they are renowned for. Klopp’s strange decision to rest both Roberto Firmino and Phillipe Coutinho in the Merseyside derby is further evidence of this.

Against Big Six opposition, Bournemouth’s performances have been pretty good. A 3-0 defeat at The Emirates aside, the Cherries lost 2-1 at home to Man City, 1-0 at home to Chelsea, drew 0-0 at Wembley and lost just 1-0 at Old Trafford during the week. So they’re keeping things tight in these games.

Bournemouth have their League Cup quarter-final v Chelsea in the week before travelling to Manchester City next weekend. They sit just two points above the drop, so avoiding defeat here is imperative. We could see an extra pragmatic Bournemouth.

Liverpool travel to Arsenal on Friday, so given his rotation in recent times, surely Klopp will have an eye on that.

Bournemouth with a +1 start on the Asian Handicap is 11/10 with Paddy Power and I think we have enough reason to get behind it. We see our stake refunded if Bournemouth lose by the single goal, with a winner paid if they achieve a result.