By Jordan Carreno

Matchday 16 has the Reds headed down to the south coast of England taking on Eddie Howe’s Bournemouth. Kick off is set for 7:30 AM EST on Saturday.

Bournemouth v Liverpool — 12/08/2018 1230 GMT

It is another early riser for us here in the Tampa Bay area as Liverpool look to continue their unbeaten run in the league. Nothing says “festive period football” quite like a sunrise viewing of the Reds on a chilly, Florida morning. So, roll out of bed, down that cup of joe, and head on out to your closest LFC Tampa Bay location and start your weekend off right. Now, let’s get into the talking points.

An Ode to Ali

I am of the personal opinion that the less you talk about your goalkeeper the better. As we have learned in the recent past, if you are spending loads of time discussing your keeper it is usually for all the wrong reasons. However, given the immediate and overwhelming impact Alisson has had on the team, his recent contributions to securing points, and that he stands to set a record for most games unbeaten to begin a Liverpool career (15 going on 16), I feel it is only appropriate to show our big Brazilian between the posts a little love.

For long stretches of this season, Alisson Becker has lived a somewhat boring life. Such is the nature of our newfound defensive stoutness that our goalkeeper has had very little to do in a majority of our matches. When called upon though, he has proven to be worth every single penny that was spent on his record breaking transfer fee. This has been proven especially true over the last week.

First there was his Jerzy Dudek-esque save from an Everton header on the goaline that preserved the 0–0 scoreline at the time. He also managed to deflect the ball off Theo Walcott’s shin as he was through on goal to prevent another opportunity for Everton to score. Both of those were early enough in the match that their significance may have been dampened, but had the Blues taken an early 1–0 lead in the first half, how differently that match could have turned out. Then there was the acrobatic fingertip save onto the bar to keep the Reds up 2–1 against Burnley on Wednesday, a save that he would eventually turn into the start of the counter-attack for our third goal. In one week alone, Alisson has won this side 4 or 5 points.

A Renaissance Painting or an Alisson save? Regardles, a thing of beauty

His point contribution over the season thus far is even larger than that. There’s the save late on against Brighton to ensure a 1–0 victory. The diving effort to prevent Crystal Palace from equalizing from a free kick. The one on one saves against Chelsea that allowed Sturridge the chance to equalize late. All in all, 15 games into the season, Alisson has already won the side 10–12 points.

The talk when bringing in Alisson was to get a keeper that could win you 10–15 points a season. That he has already done that and the season isn’t even halfway done speaks to his ability as a goalkeeper. That he also contributes to this side going forward is an added bonus. As a member of the union, and as a supporter who has really only witnessed one great keeper for Liverpool in the form of Pepe Reina, it feels great to finally have a goalkeeper whose ability matches the prestige of the club.

Dealing With Injury

Coming out of the Burnley game there are two main injuries for Liverpool to contend with. The first being the lingering effects of the foot injury sustained by Sadio Mane in the derby and the second being the lower leg fracture picked up by Joe Gomez. How Liverpool manage the absence of these two key players is up for debate.

In the case of Sadio Mane it is more of a short term issue as he is expected to be fit in time for the Napoli game. So, it becomes a case of what the best solution against Bournemouth may be. With Bournemouth being the level of opposition that Liverpool are expected to beat, I suspect that Klopp will once again turn to the 4–2–3–1 set-up that he has used in these type of matches. This could mean that Sturridge keeps his place as an attacking midfielder interchanging with Shaq and Firmino. It could also be an opportunity for Adam Lallana to re-establish himself into the squad in a similar role.

In the case of Joe Gomez it becomes a long term management of our defensive depth. With Lovren suffering from the effects of a concussion still, Liverpool are left with a default centerback pairing of Joel Matip and Virgil Van Dijk. Obviously Trent becomes our preferred right back, but we are now likely to see Nathaniel Clyne when rotation is necessary. There is also an outside shout for Rafael Camacho, who made the bench Wednesday, to rotate in at RB like he did in pre-season.

Fortunately Liverpool did the business in the summer to ensure that injuries to key players won’t be drastically noticed anymore. Not having Sadio Mane available and losing Joe Gomez to a spell on the treatment table isn’t ideal but we have the squad to cope. Whereas in years past these two injuries would signal crisis, Liverpool now have enough depth and competition to use these absences as an opportunity for someone to come in and shine. Whoever is entrusted with deputizing for the two will be good enough to get the job done.

Midfield Dilemma

Options are numerous in Liverpool’s midfield

My what a world of difference a week can make. Heading into the Everton match I had discussed the need to finally see what it is that Fabinho and Keita could do for this Liverpool side. Two matches later, and almost as if they were reading the words I had written, both put in performances that showed their potential. Now, with the proven talent we already have in the midfield, Klopp has tough decisions to make going forward.

We saw last weekend how a combination of Fabinho and Wjinaldum can do a job in a tough, dog-fight of a match. Against Burnley, we saw how Keita’s creativity and forward thinking can contrast well with Henderson’s and Milner’s more conservative style in a similarly hard fought game. This season we have seen many other combinations that have bore fruit, like Milner-Keita-Gini, and there are a host of other combinations we have yet to see, like the fabled Keita-Fabinho pairing, that are due a run out of their own.

Ultimately the choice of who starts in the midfield will largely come down to which tactics Klopp decides to deploy. If it is a 4–2–3–1, I wouldn’t be shocked if we saw a return to the Wjinaldum and Fabinho pairing that worked so well in the derby. If Jurgen decides to deploy a 4–3–3, we might finally get to see Fabinho and Keita together with Henderson or Gini holding in behind. Regardless of which set-up and which combination of midfielders Klopp decides to go with, these are the type of dilemmas you need to have if you plan on challenging for titles.

Prediction

Once again we stay in the domestic league where Shaqiri’s late goal has delivered me heartbreak. On Wednesday, I picked up 1 points for correctly guessing the Reds would win while David picked up 2 for correctly predicting a win with 3 Liverpool goals. David now leads the table with 18 points to my 17. Fine margins indeed.

The Reds are building some decent momentum now. A scrappy come from behind win against a properly thuggish team on the back of a late derby winner has shown us a new side to this Liverpool team. They have the mentality to scrap it out and they are showing the resilience to work through adversity. This is the type of mentality needed in a run like the festive period.

A quick glance at the table reveals that Bournemouth are actually doing fairly well and that makes the fixture on Saturday a “Top-7” battle. Bournemouth are more open to playing football than Burnley are and that should bode well for a Liverpool team full of confidence that prefers a game of football over a game of “kick the ball at the bus and try to not get your legs broken.” Sturridge retains his place for the injured Mane and gets on the score sheet whilst Keita finally break his seal. This one feels and looks far more comfortable than the last two as the Reds win in relatively convincing fashion. 3–0.

David’s Prediction: Bournemouth will likely come at us and give us a game, the way they have against City, United and Arsenal this season. At home, I suspect they’ll get a goal, but not to worry, the Reds will dominate most of the play. I think in the interest of preserving Sturridge for Tuesday if he’s needed, Klopp goes back to Divock Origi. Is it the shop window or the reviving his Liverpool career? Who knows? But it works as Origi equalizes before we go onto win the game 2–1 through a Keita winner.