Liverpool vs Bournemouth (EPL 2023-24)

WHEN AFC Bournemouth crashed to a 9-0 loss on their last trip to Anfield, few people would have been backing them to return to Liverpool the following year with their Premier League status still intact.

That the Cherries survived the drop with a few games to spare was a testament to the work done by Gary O’Neil after Scott Parker had lobbed a few verbal grenades into both dressing room and boardroom during a tumultuous start to last season.


But O’Neil was scandalously rewarded with his P45 at the end of the campaign as AFC Bournemouth’s bigwigs decided to take a punt by handing the job to former Rayo Vallecano coach Andoni Iraola.

It remains to be seen whether that decision will backfire, with O’Neil moving to Premier League rivals Wolves, but the Iraola reign started relatively well in a 1-1 draw with West Ham last week.