Premier League 2024-25: Arsenal clashes against Man City, high-flying Bournemouth faces Liverpool test

Premier League 2024-25: Arsenal clashes against Man City, high-flying Bournemouth faces Liverpool test

An away clash at Bournemouth might not have been underlined as a major obstacle in Liverpool’s pursuit of the Premier League title, but Saturday’s clash on the south coast suddenly looks anything but a relaxed trip to the seaside.

Liverpool has won 10 of its last 11 Premier League clashes against Bournemouth but will face a team whose astonishing run of form has catapulted it into the mix for Champions League qualification.

Andoni Iraola’s side has beaten three of the current top four at its 11,000-seat Vitality Stadium this season — Manchester City, Arsenal and Nottingham Forest.

Last week’s 5-0 hammering of Forest, a week after it went to Newcastle United and destroyed it 4-1, removed any lingering doubts as to the validity of Bournemouth’s attempt to compete for a European spot.

It sits in seventh place, one point behind fourth-placed City, and will be relishing the chance to have a swing at Arne Slot’s Liverpool on Saturday.

Liverpool did win the reverse fixture 3-0, but the score disguised the problems Bournemouth caused it. Iraola’s high-pressing side had 19 shots that day — more than any team has managed against Liverpool this season, home or away.

Incredibly, the 42-year-old Iraola has had to juggle the sort of injury crisis that has knocked bigger clubs off the rails this season, and several first-team players will be missing as it takes on Liverpool at the weekend.

But thanks to the tireless work ethic he has drilled into every one of his squad and his astute transitional game plan, Bournemouth continues to punch well above its weight.

“Every week presents a new game to relish, and I believe this is the mindset we should adopt,” Iraola said after last week’s trouncing of Forest.

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta, who like Iraola, hails from the Basque Country, will certainly be hoping Bournemouth can breathe new fire into the title battle.

Should Bournemouth pull off another remarkable result and stop Slot’s juggernaut, Arsenal would go into Sunday’s blockbuster showdown at home to Manchester City with a huge incentive of cutting the gap back to three points.

Arsenal will be wary, however, of a City side which may be virtually out of contention for a fifth successive title but is beginning to show signs of fighting after a woeful slump.

City scrambled into the Champions League playoffs as it came from a goal down to beat Club Brugge on Wednesday and last weekend, also recovered from going behind to overpower Chelsea 3-1 in the Premier League.

Pep Guardiola’s fourth-placed side is unbeaten in its last six league games and appears to be steeling itself for the sort of run that has often carried it to titles.

Talk of a Forest title challenge always looked fanciful, and last week’s setback at Bournemouth was a wake-up call for Nuno Espirito Santo’s third-placed team.

It will aim to get that out of its system as it hosts Brighton and Hove Albion in the weekend’s opening game.

At the bottom of the table, 19th-placed Ipswich Town has a must-win game at home to seemingly doomed Southampton, while 18th-placed Wolverhampton Wanderers hosts Aston Villa later.

Should Ipswich and Wolves both win and move to 19 points, it would ramp up the pressure on free-falling Tottenham Hotspur (24 points), which faces an awkward fixture at Brentford on Sunday.

Sixteenth-placed Everton hosts 17th-placed Leicester City on Saturday, looking for a third consecutive victory which would move it further clear of danger.