Liverpool hold key ‘advantage’ over Bournemouth ahead of Iraola reunion

Liverpool boss Andoni Iraola believes Bournemouth’s midweek European fixture gives his side an advantage ahead of their Premier League meeting on Sunday.

The Cherries earned their first ever win in Europe on Thursday when they beat Real Sociedad 2-1 in San Sebastian. Marco Rose selected a full-strength lineup for the tie, meaning they are unlikely to be fully fresh when they welcome the Reds to Dean Court this weekend.

Liverpool also played in midweek as they beat Tottenham Hotspur 3-1 in the League Cup, but they have two days extra rest as that game took place on Tuesday.

While Iraola says that gives his team an advantage over Bournemouth, he is unsure if his three-year tenure at the south coast outfit benefits him or his former club more. The Basque native left at the end of his contract in the summer to join Liverpool on a two-year deal.

Liverpool hold key ‘advantage’ over Bournemouth ahead of Iraola reunion

“Yes, I think we have an advantage,” he said in his pre-match press conference. “Most of the time it has been the opposite, we are the team that have played the last, this time we played two days before they played, even though we also played mid-week. There should be an advantage there.

“But also, I know where we are going and I know the stats they have there. Not only at the stadium, but overall. I think you see all the games they’ve lost in a long while, you realise how difficult it is to beat Bournemouth. But I suppose also I have the advantage that I know them very well. And they have the advantage that they know me very well, so, you never know who is with more advantage in that sense.”

Iraola added: “It’s going to be a tricky one because they know very well what we try to do with or without the ball. But I also have this advantage. I know their strengths and weaknesses. It happened in a lower amount the other day [against Spurs] because they had (Dominic) Solanke, (Marcos) Senesi, players that I’ve already coached and probably, like we all do, they talked to [Spurs manager] Roberto De Zerbi and now Marco Rose about the things we’re going to do.

“It’s going to be strange for me, I don’t know if it’s a big advantage or disadvantage, but it’s going to be different, yes.”

Asked to compare the current Bournemouth to the one he left behind, Iraola answered: “I don’t think they’ve changed too much. Definitely in terms of names. They’re using mostly the same starting eleven, very few changes. They lost Marcos Senesi and they’ve signed Antonio Silva, a very similar kind of player.

“The main ideas and the philosophy, I was lucky also to talk to Marco Rose before leaving. It hasn’t changed too much.

“They continue to be very dangerous, a very good team, yes.”

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