The Reds look to bounce back after surprise Nottingham Forest defeat.
After a shocking defeat last time out in the EPL, Liverpool boss Arne Slot will be looking for a response from his side at Anfield today as they host Bournemouth.
The Reds suffered an early setback to their title challenge last Saturday as they slipped to a 0-1 loss at home to Nottingham Forest, taking the shine off what had been a bright start to the post-Jurgen Klopp era for the Merseysiders. Wednesday's impressive 1-3 victory away at AC Champions League nevertheless indicates that may have been a blip as Slot settles into the Liverpool hot seat.
They now face a Bournemouth side, which fell to a narrow 0-1 defeat at home to Chelsea in last Saturday's late kick-off. History suggests a reverse of that fixture today looks unlikely, with the Cherries having lost nine of their last 10 Premier League meetings with Liverpool.
## The Injury Report
Alisson Becker is an injury doubt for Liverpool's clash with Bournemouth, manager Arne Slot said on Friday. The Brazil international has started each of Liverpool's four Premier League games this season, keeping three clean sheets and also featured in the Merseyside club's 3-1 win over AC Milan in the Champions League on Tuesday.
However, Slot clarified that Alisson's injury predates the midweek game at the San Siro. "Alisson is still a doubt if he can train today. We have to wait and see," Slot said at a news conference on Friday. "He has a slight issue with one of his muscles. We wonder if this game tomorrow is coming too early or not."
Slot added: "He didn't do it in the Milan game, he felt it before then he felt it more and more. Now we have to see if he's ready for the weekend."
Alisson was then not seen during a section of training that was open to certain broadcast media, with Caoimhin Kelleher and Vitezslav Jaros in goal. Kelleher deputised for Alisson when the Brazilian, who played 42 matches for club and country last season, was out for more than two months.
## A Busy Schedule For Alisson
In the build-up to their Champions League opener, Alisson had been critical of the increased workload footballers face, saying "nobody asks the players what they think about adding more games."
The fixture congestion in the football calendar, with more and more games being added, has been a topic of discussion for many players and managers. Slot, who joined Liverpool from Feyenoord in the summer, was asked about the contrast between the football calendars in Netherlands and England, he said: "Until now I haven't seen anything different but Premier League has four extra games and the League Cup. From the start to now we've played just as many games as at Feyenoord -- that's not an issue to me.
"But [the] main difference with Premier League to Europe is we have to play at Christmas and New Year. The quality of the league, of [Nottingham] Forest and Bournemouth, is much much higher than if you play in Eredivisie against a team not challenging for the top six.
"We are thinking about what's to come, we are aware of the fact it's a long season. We need a lot of players so they also need once in a while playing time and we take that into account when making a line-up."
## Slot Talks Tactics and Lineup Decisions
One player who has struggled for minutes at Liverpool this season is Darwin Núñez, who has yet to start or score for the club this season. However, Slot was encouraged by his showing off the bench against Milan and said he expects the goals to come for the Uruguay international.
"He needs the same as all the others, work really hard and the goals will come. that's what he did against Milan, he came in for the team and then as a result of that attackers have goals or assists. It happened with Cody [Gakpo] so if you play for a team like Livepool you'll get them," he said.
"For me it's the work you do without the ball. He will get his chance in the near future, we play a lot of games, he is fitter and fitter and understand day by day what we want from him. But he's in competition with Diogo [Jota] who has done well."
## Liverpool vs. Bournemouth: Team News and Lineup Leak
A few Liverpool players including Mohamed Salah gave fans an early indication of how the Reds would line up against Bournemouth in the Premier League on Saturday.
While they are not allowed to engage in any form of betting, to fall in line with integrity regulations, players do have access to create their own Fantasy Premier League team, with many including their teammates in their side.
The deadline for the game was at 11.00am on Saturday, and while this is aimed at making sure no team news can influence players’ decisions on their lineups, it appears the Reds inadvertently leaked who Arne Slot would field against the Cherries.
Meanwhile there was a certain element of intrigue over Slot's midfield options with Curtis Jones the only option in that position on the bench with Tyler Morton and the out-of-favour Wataru Endo not in the matchday squad.
## Liverpool's Return to Winning Ways
Liverpool returned to the top of the Premier League with an assured 3-0 victory over Bournemouth at Anfield. The Reds got back to winning ways after their defeat to Nottingham Forest last weekend with goals through Luis Diaz and Darwin Nunez. Diaz made Bournemouth goalkeeper Kepa pay for rushing out of his goal with a neatly-taken first, before doubling the lead minutes later. Darwin Nunez then added a sublime third to wrap up the victory for Arne Slot’s side.
