🏏 Sun, 20 Sep 2026 14:00 BST
AFC Bournemouth
vs
Liverpool FC
4-2-3-1 vs 4-2-3-1
Substitutes
Substitutes
Match Preview
- Bournemouth sit 16th on three points from four games (0W 3D 1L) and are still chasing a first win of the season, having lost 2-1 at Manchester City before drawing 1-1 with Everton, 2-2 at Newcastle and 2-2 with Brentford. Liverpool are 10th on six points, unbeaten but with three draws themselves. Leaders Manchester City already have 12 points from four matches, so Arne Slot's side are chasing a six-point gap this early.
- Liverpool shipped four goals across their opening two fixtures, drawing 2-2 at Newcastle and 2-2 at home to Nottingham Forest, but have since tightened up with back-to-back clean sheets: a 2-0 win at Ipswich and a goalless draw against Fulham. Alisson, the 193cm Brazilian signed from Roma, now has the settling pairing of 195cm Virgil van Dijk and new arrival Jeremy Jacquet in front of him.
- Milos Kerkez returns to the Vitality Stadium in the wrong colours. The 22-year-old Hungary international left-back made his name at Bournemouth after arriving via AZ Alkmaar, and takes up advanced positions with explosive pace and accurate left-footed crossing. He is also defensively robust, making him one of the more complete modern full-backs in the division.
- Ben Doak waits on the Bournemouth bench against the club that sold him for a fee rising to 25 million pounds. The 20-year-old Scotland winger came through Celtic and spent time on loan at Middlesbrough, and contributed a goal and an assist in Scotland's World Cup qualifying campaign. Quick and direct, he is the obvious option if Iraola needs to change the tempo of the game.
- There is a Rennes subplot on both sides of the pitch. Bournemouth left-back Adrien Truffert, 24, came through the Rennes academy and captained the club, registering nine goals and 23 assists in 191 appearances as a left-footed crosser. Liverpool centre-back Jeremy Jacquet, 21, is another Rennes product who gained Ligue 2 experience on loan at Clermont and has represented France across several youth levels.
- Three Hungary internationals could feature. Liverpool start national team captain Dominik Szoboszlai, a 187cm attacking midfielder with a fierce long-range shot and quality set-piece delivery, alongside Kerkez. Bournemouth counter with 20-year-old Alex Toth on the bench, a technical midfielder with strong tactical awareness who cost around 10.4 million pounds from Ferencvaros.
- Evanilson leads the line for Bournemouth, a Brazil international signed from FC Porto for a club-record fee of roughly 40.2 million pounds after scoring 60 goals in 154 appearances in Portugal. A two-footed finisher who holds the ball up intelligently, he is confronted by the 195cm Van Dijk and Ronald Araujo, a 191cm, 96kg centre-back who began his career as a forward and still enjoys driving out with the ball.
- Liverpool's attack is built around Alexander Isak, the 192cm Sweden striker who arrived from Newcastle for a record English transfer fee, with Florian Wirtz, the creative heartbeat of Leverkusen's unbeaten Bundesliga title, Bradley Barcola, scorer of France's fastest ever international goal after 14 seconds, and the 193cm Cody Gakpo behind him. Guarding the Bournemouth goal is Djordje Petrovic, the 194cm Serbia keeper voted season MVP during his Strasbourg loan before joining from Chelsea.
- The midfield battle will set the tempo. Bournemouth pair United States captain Tyler Adams, the holding midfielder whose goal once carried RB Leipzig into a Champions League semi-final, with Alex Scott, a club-record 25 million pound signing from Bristol City. Liverpool answer with 2022 World Cup winner Alexis Mac Allister and Szoboszlai, leaving 190cm anchor Ryan Gravenberch among the substitutes.
- Wataru Endo, captain of the Japan national team, is absent from both the Liverpool starting eleven and the nine substitutes. The defensive midfielder, a former Bundesliga duel king at Stuttgart known for his ball-winning and interceptions, would normally provide midfield cover, a role filled here by Gravenberch and 18-year-old Trey Nyoni.