Bournemouth v Liverpool: Premier League – live

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26 min: Rothwell takes. Nunez heads clear. Seconds later, the ball is back at Neto’s feet, to the audible frustration of the home fans.

25 min: Billing drives in from the left and prepares to shoot from 25 yards. Konate slides in and looks to have got the ball first, but the referee says he caught the man. Free kick, which Konate deals with by heading over his own bar. Bournemouth prepare to take their first corner of the match.

24 min: Bournemouth have done well in the last few minutes. They’ve quietened Liverpool down a bit, and are seeing more of the ball.

22 min: Lerma pings out to Anthony on the left. Anthony passes infield first time to release Ouattara, who reaches the edge of the box, cocks his leg back to shoot, and … is brushed aside by Van Dijk, who toes out for a corner. Then the flag goes up for offside. Had Ouattara scored, VAR may have had some work to do, because that looked tight.

20 min: Anthony sends Billing into space on the left. Billing whistles a dangerous low cross into the Liverpool box. Alisson does very well to get down and handle confidently, with red-and-black shirts waiting to take advantage of any spill.

19 min: Bajcetic and Lerma battle in the centre circle. A hard but fair tussle. Lerma wins this one, Bajcetic conceding a free kick after getting a little too excitable. A decent duel.

Bournemouth's Jefferson Lerma tussles with Liverpool's Stefan Bajcetic. Photograph: Dylan Martinez/Reuters

17 min: Salah crosses from the right. The ball drops to Alexander-Arnold, racing in from the left. He meets it … and shanks it, sending it flying in entirely the wrong direction. The crowd enjoyed that.

16 min: One corner from the right leads to another, which leads to one on the left. Alexander-Arnold takes. Bournemouth clear this time. Liverpool are looking lively.

15 min: Elliott slides a clever pass down the inside-right channel for Alexander-Arnold, who whips a low cross into the box. With Salah lurking, Kelly has to extend a leg to block. The ball nearly pings into the top right. Side netting. A corner.

13 min: Van Dijk’s long pass down the left finds Robertson in a bit of space. He enters the box and lashes a low drive goalwards. Neto gets down to save well. Liverpool come again. Elliott crosses from the right. Nunez cushions a header towards Gakpo, who slams home from close range … but he doesn’t bother celebrating because he’s clearly offside. The flag goes up to confirm.

12 min: Nunez sends a bobbler straight at Neto from 25 yards. Easy for the keeper. This game has a lovely open feel to it.

11 min: Liverpool win a corner on the left. It’s cleared easily by the hosts, who attempt to counter. Elliott wins a crucial header on the halfway line; had he not done so, Solanke would have been able to run clear down the right.

9 min: Solanke, bustling in the centre circle, plays a cute ball down the inside-right channel to release Ouattara, who enters the box and rounds Alisson on the right. But the keeper’s pushed him well wide right, and he can only slash the ball into the side netting. In a parallel universe somewhere, it’s already 1-1.

Dango Ouattara of Bournemouth goes close. Photograph: Dave Shopland/Shutterstock

8 min: Neto hovers over a simple clearance and is nearly chased down by Gakpo. He’s forced to hack away in a panic. Alexander-Arnold then finds Nunez on the left-hand corner of the six-yard box. Nunez can’t turn and shoot. Bournemouth clear.

6 min: Alexander-Arnold wins the first corner of the afternoon down the right, and takes it himself. An outswinger. Van Dijk rises high at the far stick and plants a superb diagonal header towards the top right. It’s flying in, but Lerma, on the line, makes an outrageously good headed clearance to save a certain goal. A second corner comes to nought. What wonderful football all round!

Quality defending from Bournemouth’s Jefferson Lerma. Photograph: Luke Walker/Getty Images

5 min: Nunez powers his way past Smith on the left flank. He cuts back for Gakpo, who rolls across the front of the Bournemouth box for Salah. A first-time sidefoot is easily snaffled by Neto. A decent enough move, though.

An early chance for Mohamed Salah. Photograph: Dylan Martinez/Reuters

3 min: Van Dijk goes long in the hope of releasing Salah down the middle. Too long. Neto gathers on the edge of his box.

2 min: Elliott, who was magnificent against Manchester United last weekend, prepares to skitter away from Lerma and attack the box, but Fabinho is adjudged to have clipped the Bournemouth midfielder seconds before.

Liverpool kick off. It’s very cold everywhere, and the south coast is no exception.

It’s Saturday, it’s nearly 12.30 … and the teams are out! Bournemouth play in their AC Milan inspired red-and-black stripes, while Liverpool wear their Groove Is In The Heart influenced tops. Tell you what, that Deee-Lite bassline is nearly as funky as this …

… which just sprung to mind for no particular reason. We’ll be off in a minute!

A reminder that there’s some other hot action going on right now. Looks like Richard, Tim and Sir Robbie might have lost the green room.

Jurgen Klopp speaks to BT. “Each Premier League game is a super-tough test and we are long enough in this league to know that … I cannot remember a day when my team did not respect the opponent … we didn’t play always well, it’s true, but the respect was always there and that’s what we have to make sure is there today … it is always about attitude … if the attitude is right then it about the football, but if the attitude is not right then the football is not decisive any more because we have a problem … this has nothing to do with the last game, or the next game, it’s just this game which is difficult enough … we have to make our own game and hopefully we can do that.”

Gary O’Neil speaks to BT Sport. “We’ve freshened it up a little bit from the team at Arsenal … it’s a huge day for Mark Brooks, he’s worked so hard and has been through an awful lot, so we’re just delighted to get him back … expectation needs to be managed, there’s still a part of the journey for Brooksy to complete, but it’s obviously a huge lift for everyone and I’m delighted for David … no matter who comes, we’re in a position where we have to find a way … against Manchester City we came up a bit short, did that at Arsenal and came up a bit short, so hopefully we can give it a similar performance and find a way to hopefully come out on top … the 9-0 hasn’t been relevant at all, the initial fall-out at Arsenal, the lads needed some help, but this week, eyes were on Liverpool … we know we’re in a relegation fight and need points.”

A reminder of where these teams sit in the Premier League. Liverpool are making a 2021-style late run for a top-four spot …

… while Bournemouth are currently bottom, though a win today would see them leapfrog Southampton, Everton and Leeds and out of the relegation zone, if only for a couple of hours.

Bournemouth make three changes to the starting XI in the wake of the 3-2 defeat at Arsenal. Jefferson Lerma, Lloyd Kelly and Jaidon Anthony come in for Chris Mepham, Jordan Zemura and Antoine Semenyo. There’s also some very happy news: David Brooks is thankfully back to full health and is in the matchday squad for the first time in 525 days.

Liverpool make one change to the side that started the 7-0 rout of Manchester United. Stefan Bajcetic replaces Jordan Henderson. Liverpool also welcome back a long-lost team-mate in Arthur Melo, who takes a place on the bench.

The teams

Bournemouth: Neto, Stephens, Kelly, Smith, Senesi, Lerma, Ouattara, Anthony, Rothwell, Billing, Solanke, Rothwell.
Subs: Travers, Fredericks, Cook, Mepham, Brooks, Christie, Vina, Moore, Semenyo.

Liverpool: Alisson, Alexander-Arnold, Konate, Vin Dijk, Robertson, Fabinho, Bajcetic, Elliott, Salah, Nunez, Gakpo.
Subs: Adrian, Milner, Firmino, Henderson, Jota, Tsimikas, Carvalho, Melo, Matip.

Preamble

Last weekend, Liverpool beat Manchester United, one of the most in-form teams in Europe, by seven goals to nil. The last time they played Bournemouth, their opponents this lunchtime, they won by nine. Tot up the score of the last seven games between the Reds and the Cherries, and it’s 28-1 to Jurgen Klopp’s men. Fair to say that Liverpool, a top-four finish within their grasp again, are hot favourites to win today against relegation-haunted opponents.

But football is a strange game, and Bournemouth will still have fond memories of their sensational 4-3 victory against Liverpool in 2016, their only win in 18 meetings. They’ll also most certainly take succour from the recent match against Newcastle, a game they probably should have won, an impressive if futile late rally against Manchester City, and that last-gasp defeat at the leaders Arsenal last weekend, another one that could so easily have gone their way. Gary O’Neil’s men may be bottom, but they’re not a beaten docket yet, and Liverpool won’t take them lightly. Kick off is at 12.30pm. It, unlike Football Focus, is on. Solidarity.