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Bournemouth vs Liverpool predictions:
- Liverpool to win & over 2.5 goals – 11/10 with Betfred
- Cody Gakpo anytime goalscorer – 2/1 with bet365
- First half highest scoring half – 11/5 with BetGoodwin
Nine-time EFL Cup winners Liverpool are the favourites to lift the trophy once again this season as they gear up to visit Bournemouth in the last 16.
Following Manchester City’s exit in the last round, football betting sites have installed the Reds at the top of the outright market to win the League Cup for a second time under Jurgen Klopp.
Liverpool are odds-on to move into the quarter-finals with a victory at Bournemouth, who did beat the Merseysiders 1-0 the last time they visited the Vitality Stadium.
The Cherries picked up a first league win of the season against Burnley last weekend to relieve some of the pressure that had been building on head coach Andoni Iraola.
Iraola’s only previous wins as Bournemouth boss since his appointment in the summer had come in the EFL Cup against Championship sides Stoke and Swansea, but the south coast charges may struggle to go much further in the competition.
Reds may run riot
Liverpool come into this last 16 tie having won four of their last five games, comfortably turning over Nottingham Forest 3-0 in their last outing.
They’ve scored at least twice in each of those five matches and their terrifying collection of forwards have really hit their stride in recent weeks.
Diogo Jota, Darwin Nunez and Mohamed Salah all found the back of the net at the weekend, meaning Liverpool's forwards have now scored 28 goals and registered nine assists between them this season.
With Dominik Szoboszlai pulling the strings behind them, the Reds are a fearsome attacking force, even with the potential for changes for this game.
Stefan Bajcetic, Thiago Alcantara, Andy Robertson and Luis Diaz are all expected to miss out, but Klopp has enough options available to field a strong team, especially with Curtis Jones available again after suspension.
Liverpool have already beaten Bournemouth once this season, running out 3-1 winners at Anfield. The Reds could have won by an even bigger margin that day as Salah missed a penalty, while Alexis Mac Allister was sent off in the second half.
That was Liverpool’s eighth win in the previous nine meetings between the sides with Bournemouth’s only win in that time being a surprise 1-0 home victory last season.
That result is an outlier given Liverpool’s dominance and the tendency for goals in this fixture with 11 of the last 12 games featuring three or more goals.
Bournemouth’s defensive record – they’ve conceded the third-most goals in the Premier League and are allowing 17.4 shot per game – suggests this could be another high-scoring encounter and bookmakers have priced it up accordingly.
The Cherries have shown signs of improvement recently, particularly going forward with youngster Alex Scott adding a different dimension to the midfield and allowing Philip Billing more freedom to get up the pitch.
Whether Iraola will risk Scott in this game given his recent injury issues is a debatable point, although he’s short of options in midfield with Tyler Adams and Lewis Cook both still unavailable.
Whoever Iraola sends out will have a tricky time containing Liverpool in this form and pairing up an away win with over 2.5 goals at 11/10 with Betfred is our first prediction for the game.
Tip: Liverpool to win & over 2.5 goals – 11/10 with Betfred
Gakpo to get back amongst the goals
Klopp is expected to shuffle his pack on Wednesday with Gakpo amongst the players pushing for a start.
The Netherlands international has come off the bench in Liverpool’s last two games following a spell on the sidelines with a knee injury.
He looked sharp against Nottingham Forest at the weekend, having a goal ruled out for offside, and could get back on the goal trail at the Vitality Stadium having scored five in six games for club and country before his injury.
Gakpo’s tendency to score away from home – his last five league goals for Liverpool have all come on the road – adds further evidence pf why we are backing him to score any time at 2/1 with bet365.
Tip: Cody Gakpo anytime goalscorer – 2/1 with bet365
Flying start to cup tie
Only Newcastle (12) have scored more first-half goals than Liverpool (11) in the Premier League this season and they may look to secure a spot in the quarter-finals early on against Bournemouth.
With the games continuing to coming think and fast for the Reds, putting this tie to bed early would be a bonus and they’ve tended to start games well of late.
The Reds were 2-0 ahead at half-time against Forest, 3-1 up on Toulouse in the Europa League before that and scored two first half goals in their last away game at Brighton.
Bournemouth also tend to produce their best work before the interval with no Premier League side scoring a higher percentage of their goals in the opening 45 minutes.
The Cherries have scored 62.5 per cent of their league goals before the break in the league and it’s worth considering the 11/5 with new betting sites on the first-half of this EFL Cup tie featuring the most goals.
Tip: First half highest scoring half – 11/5 with BetGoodwin
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Last Updated: 14th March 2024, 07:22 AM
