Bournemouth0 - 2Liverpool

Arne Slot's side are first in the Premier League but face a difficult away trip to the Vitality on Saturday afternoon when they take on Bournemouth.

The Cherries have already beaten Arsenal and Manchester City at home this term, and defeated high-flying Nottingham Forest 5-0 in their most recent match last Saturday.

Given the hosts are in seventh place with 40 points - one point fewer than fourth-placed Manchester City - Lynch told Sports Mole that the Reds' match at the Vitality could be very challenging, saying: "I wouldn't have said looking at Liverpool's fixture list - they've still got to go to Chelsea, Manchester City, Villa - that this will probably be the hardest away game that they've got remaining.

"You look at [Bournemouth's] underlying numbers and they probably should be higher than they are on the table. They're even better than that, so it's an unbelievably tough game. That, again, was one of the big considerations of the PSV selection - that's just how tough this is.

"It's a massive game, and really tricky. It's another one of those where if Liverpool come through, [like] we said ahead of the Brentford and Nottingham Forest games, if Liverpool can get four points out of that, it would be a really good return."

Liverpool are six points ahead of second-placed Arsenal and a victory would see the Reds go nine ahead of the Gunners before Mikel Arteta's side take on Manchester City at the Emirates on Sunday.

Bournemouth's threat

Cherries boss Andoni Iraola has revolutionised his side, successfully implementing an aggressive and direct play style not too dissimilar to that seen under Jurgen Klopp.

Bournemouth have attempted the most long balls in the Premier League this season and produced the third most shots from fast breaks, with forwards like Justin Kluivert and Antoine Semenyo excelling during counter-attacks.

Lynch was wary of the threat posed by Bournemouth, and argued that Liverpool will have to match their intensity in order to win, telling Sports Mole: "You watch Bournemouth and they're going to make you do a lot of running. They like to go in and make it a physical [contest], one-on-one battles with their wingers, who are so elite physically and they make it really difficult for you. [Liverpool have] got to be absolutely on it.

"They're on this unbelievable run, but at some time fatigue will catch up with [them]. If [Liverpool] can keep it tight to around the hour mark, Liverpool should have greater strength and depth off the bench, so that will be a decisive factor in this game. In terms of the job that Iraola's doing there, it's unbelievable."

It should be noted that Bournemouth are unbeaten in 12 games - 11 in the Premier League - and have won four of their last five several key players being absent through injury.

Why Liverpool should be favourites for the Premier League title if they win

Liverpool have so far only lost once in the top flight this term, and have earned impressive victories against the likes of Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester City.

Though difficult fixtures away to teams such as Aston Villa are yet to come, the Reds can arguably afford to drop points in several of these games due to their sizeable lead at the top of the table.

Lynch expressed his belief that a victory on Saturday would be yet another statement to the rest of the division, telling Sports Mole: "I don't think a point's a disaster by any means. I think they come away and will be happy with [a draw] considering it's probably going to be a lower winning total in the Premier League this season, but also if they can win it, it's one of those statement victories.

"They're missing about 10 players, and 10 really good players as well. So that's one thing that might help Liverpool. They're asking the same group of players to go again and again and again.

"[Liverpool] will feel that they can win that - it's not impossible to go there and get a win, but it'd be so tough that I think that Liverpool would take a lot from it if they could get over the line."

Arsenal have yet to show the consistency needed this season to capitalise on any of Liverpool's vulnerabilities, so a win on Saturday would narrow the window for the Londoners to make a comeback in the title race.

Written by

Lewis Nolan