Can Bournemouth complete quadruple by beating Liverpool?

Football writer Adrian Clarke identifies the key players, team tactics and where matches could be won and lost in Matchweek 24.

Team analysis: AFC Bournemouth

Bournemouth are enjoying their best ever spell in top-flight football, and they approach Matchweek 24 having already beaten three of the current top four teams at home this season.  

They can complete a very special quadruple by toppling leaders Liverpool on the south coast on Saturday afternoon, and belief will be sky-high after their 5-0 thrashing of Nottingham Forest.  

Can they do it? Let's take a closer look at their credentials… 

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Andoni Iraola built his reputation as a giant-killing head coach in Spanish football, upsetting a string of LaLiga sides with second-tier club Mirandes, before beating Real Madrid and Barcelona while in charge at Rayo Vallecano.  

The astute 42-year-old has an unwavering faith in the style of play he develops, and that philosophy is tailor-made to unsettling opponents who like to enjoy possession.  

Bournemouth's tactics are built around outworking their opponents, pressurising them into making mistakes and then punishing them from rapid transitions - tactics which have stood them in good stead against the leaue's strongest sides this season.  

Not counting their clean-sheet victories against Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur, the Cherries have taken more points off top-seven teams in 2024/25 than anybody else.  

They sit at the summit of this "mini league", scoring 17 times in nine outings and losing just twice. 

Mini-league between top seven teams

Do Bournemouth have what it takes to upset Liverpool? 

Given their form, and their performances against the top teams, Iraola’s players will relish the prospect of avenging their 3-0 loss at Anfield back in September. 

On paper it looked like a chastening early-season defeat, but actually it showed beyond doubt that Bournemouth have the tools to beat Liverpool.  

Early on in that contest, Justin Kluivert raced down the spine of the pitch from a turnover to set up Antoine Semenyo for a goal that was ruled out for a narrow offside.  

The same Cherries man also came within a whisker of scoring the opener, after Bournemouth had stolen the ball from a high press at one of Liverpool’s goal kicks.  

Ultimately, they were picked off by some very sharp play from Arne Slot’s side that day, but the numbers Iraola’s side posted were remarkably strong.  

They sprang attack after attack, forcing the leaders to backpedal on numerous occasions with their swift interplay, and gave the table-toppers’ rearguard the hardest test they have had all season.

No team have had more shots (19) or shots from inside the box (12) against the Reds, who have only allowed more touches inside their own box on a single occasion, when Arsenal registered 33 at Emirates Stadium.  

Bournemouth's attack v Liverpool in Sep '24

Most of Bournemouth’s best moments, as they often do, stemmed from turnovers and transitions.  

As shown by these stats from that meeting in September, Iraola’s high-tempo pressure football caused Liverpool no end of problems.

Bournemouth's pressures v Liverpool in Sep '24

While Liverpool will take heart from the way they navigated Bournemouth’s press to score three goals on the break down the full length of the pitch, Bournemouth's impressive data has great relevance ahead of the rematch.  

Bournemouth are currently in better form than they were in September and have certainly been buoyed by their recent successes against Newcastle United and Nottingham Forest, so they will fancy their chances of scoring this time around, courtesy of their suffocating pressure football.   

Where will they target Liverpool? 

With neither of their first-choice strikers fit to be involved this weekend, Iraola will deploy a fluid front four who can interchange with one another at will.  

Makeshift centre-forward Dango Ouattara did a brilliant job last time out, netting a hat-trick against Forest, but Semenyo and Kluivert will also take up central positions when they mix up their movements.  

Kluivert has scored near-identical goals in back-to-back matches, following surging runs down the middle of the pitch.  

So, when possession is turned over, look out for the Dutchman receiving a pass on the half-turn before striding upfield.  

Like many of Liverpool’s opponents this season, Bournemouth should also be expected to target Slot’s right flank.  

Liverpool's top scorer Mohamed Salah likes to stay forward, which sometimes leaves Trent Alexander-Arnold or Conor Bradley exposed.  

They have both defended well at times this season, but 45 per cent of the attacks against the Reds come down that side.  

Where teams have attacked Liverpool this season

Does this tally with Bournemouth’s strongest flank? Yes, it absolutely does.  

So far this season they have regularly been at their most dangerous when flying down their left.  

Both goals against Manchester City at the Vitality Stadium came from Milos Kerkez assists, and in the past two games against Newcastle and Forest, a stream of chances have stemmed from that part of the pitch.   

Overall, 44 per cent of the Cherries' attacks have come from the left wing in 2024/25.  

Where Bournemouth have attacked this season

Kerkez and Semenyo, two of Bournemouth’s very best talents, were stationed down that flank last weekend.  

Hungarian left-back Kerkez has two goals, three assists and 22 key passes in open play to his name this season, while no one in the Premier League has made more shots or key passes from ball carries than Semenyo's 45.  

On top of that, Ouattara is a natural left-winger who has been asked to fill the void up front.  

As shown by his heat map over the course of the campaign, it’s a side of the pitch where he feels very comfortable.  

Those three players will work in tandem to hurt Slot’s team in that domain.  

Should we expect anything new from Bournemouth? 

When asked about his approach to this fixture, Iraola was insistent that his team will continue playing in the same vein.  

He said: "I think we are not going to change. We are taking the games, game by game. We have Liverpool next. We are thin on numbers, so we try to recover players for that game. Still there are a lot of games to play. I will not change the approach we are taking.” 

That style is high-risk but potentially high-reward football, as Bournemouth showed when forcing Arsenal, Manchester City and Nottingham Forest onto the back foot. Their 4-1 win at St James’ Park was also a masterclass in dynamic counter-attacking play.  

Praise has been showered on Bournemouth for their ferocious off-the-ball work, and rightly so.  

They lead the rankings for high turnovers, possession won in the middle and final thirds, and ball recoveries.

But a big part of the secret behind their success is also in the sheer intensity of their running power in possession.  

The speed and verticality of their football has been a joy to behold.  

See below how much many sprints they made for each other when they had the ball, compared with the top-four opponents they have beaten at home this season.  

Each individual gives everything physically to support the man on the ball.

Bournemouth's sprints when in possession

 Bournemouth will attempt, once again, to unsettle an illustrious opponent by knocking them out of their rhythm and by hurting them from turnovers.

Can Liverpool handle that intensity? Their impressive season so far suggest they can, but right now this could be the toughest fixture around.  

Slot’s side are in for another testing examination. 

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