Jamie Carragher predicts 'tough' Bournemouth vs Liverpool score

Jamie Carragher has predicted Bournemouth vs Liverpool this weekend - and he expects a 'tough' game for the Reds.

Liverpool are back in action this weekend after a 10-day break. It'll be a Premier League fixture, too, as the Reds travel down south to take on Bournemouth.

They'll do so without several key players. Mohamed Salah is at AFCON with Egypt, Trent Alexander-Arnold is out injured, Andy Robertson and Kostas Tsimikas are both missing long-term, too, while Joel Matip is out for the season.

Dominik Szoboszlai is currently battling back from injury and there's a chance he plays. Everyone will have to wait a little longer for answers on that one, though.

Liverpool are favourites, then, but also a bit of an unknown quantity. That is a particular problem because Bournemouth have been in decent form of late.

After the Cherries' 6-1 defeat against Manchester City on November 4th, they went on a run of six Premier League wins in seven. The only 'failure' was a 2-2 draw at Aston Villa - a very good result. They did then come crashing back down to earth with a 3-1 loss against Tottenham Hotspur.

All in all, then, Jamie Carragher feels this will be a 'tough' game for Liverpool. The Reds are missing players and Bournemouth are a very solid side.

“I think this is going to be a tough game for Liverpool,” Carragher said on the Stick to Football podcast.

“Trent isn’t playing so the creator is out. No Salah. I think it’ll be a tight Liverpool win. 2-1 Liverpool. I think Bournemouth will get a goal but Liverpool have still got a lot of firepower.”

He's probably right. No Liverpool fan will go into this expecting a comfortable win and a positive result would be celebrated - that's just the nature of things right now. The Reds are weakened and going to a good side - it isn't going to be easy.