Football Tips

Mohamed Salah has scored 11 goals in 11 Premier League matches against Bournemouth, including a brace in Liverpool’s 2-0 victory over the Cherries back on 1st February.

The Egyptian forward averaged 1.6 Shots on Target per game during the 2024/25 Premier League season while finding the back of the net 29 times.

Salah tends to be a player that takes a lot of shots in general, having averaged 3.4 per game in the league last campaign.

The meeting between the sides last season saw exactly three goals as Liverpool came away 3-0 winners. We can expect goals at Anfield this year seeing as Liverpool saw 58 goals across their 19 games at home last season (3.05 per game). They scored 42 of these goals which was a record only bettered by Manchester City last season (43) and is one that they could eclipse this campaign with the attacking reinforcements they have brought in.

Bournemouth’s away games were also pretty entertaining last season with the Cherries seeing 65 goals across their 19 trips away from the south coast (3.42 per game). These metrics would suggest that we should get an exciting opening game of the season at Anfield as Liverpool look to defend their title in what is set to be one of the most competitive Premier League seasons in recent memory. 

Bournemouth committed 510 fouls in the Premier League last season (13.8 per game) - at least 45 more than the next closest side in Wolves (12.6 per game). This is no accident, Bournemouth play with a very aggressive press which sees the majority of their fouls committed high up the pitch, either in an attempt to win the ball back, or to stop sides breaking on them quickly if they bypass the press.

Bournemouth committed 12+ fouls in both head to head meetings between the sides last season. The Cherries committed 15 fouls in the matchup between the sides at the Vitality Stadium but really struggled at Anfield - Liverpool were the best side I saw last season at deconstructing the Bournemouth press but this may be more difficult this time around without Gravenberch who was central to Slot’s approach in that game.

Evanilson will harass Van Dijk and Konate in the same way that Mateta did in the Community Shield. The former Porto striker will have noted the issues that the Liverpool centre backs had in dealing with Mateta and look to replicate his busyness to unsettle Konate and particularly Van Dijk who looked pretty off it for Palace’s second goal.

Evanilson had two shots in this fixture last season and averaged 2.81 shots per 90 in his debut season. Bournemouth are always a side worth backing for shots, they averaged 15.29 shots per game in the Premier League last season which is a record that was only bettered by Liverpool, Chelsea and City last season.

Ekitike’s shot volume could hit new heights this season seeing as he averaged 4.08 shots per 90 in the Bundesliga last season and is now spearheading a side that averaged 17.05 shots per game in the Premier League last season.

Ekitike had three shots with one of these attempts ending up in the back of the net against Crystal Palace as Liverpool drew 2-2 with the Eagles, losing out on the trophy on penalties. Of Ekitike’s 117 shots in the Bundesliga last season, 48 found the target (1.68 per 90 - 41%) which is a strong record for a player with the sample size of Ekitike.

This record returned 15 league goals for Ekitike which is another metric we can expect to improve should Ekitike lead the line for Liverpool throughout the season. Liverpool averaged 6.10 shots on target per game in the Premier League last season - more than any other side. Liverpool had 13 shots on target in the meeting at Anfield between these sides last season as they ran out 3-0 winners, though both scorers from that game in Nunez and Diaz have left the club. 

When you watch Bournemouth sometimes it’s easy to think you’ve accidentally switched on the rugby. They are an incredibly aggressive side, especially in the final third as Iraola looks to revitalise his immense pressing approach for another season.

Adams has a crucial role in this Bournemouth side to ensure that opposition sides don’t have a free pass to Bournemouth’s backline, which has been considerably weakened this window, which regularly sees Adams in the crosshair of the referee.

Adams collected seven yellow cards across his 21 Premier League starts last season and should be regularly tested by Liverpool’s latest edition, Florian Wirtz. Wirtz is set to offer Liverpool a more direct path through opposition sides, he averaged 3.13 successful dribbles per 90 in the Bundesliga last season (1st) compared to the 0.76 successful dribbles per 90 that Szoboszlai averaged in the Premier League last season. 

Van Dijk won just 13 fouls in the Premier League last season (0.35 per 90) but the context surrounding this game suggests that there is a decent chance that we see a rise in this metric here. Van Dijk will be up against Evanilson who will have watched his performance in the Community Shield and been encouraged by what he saw, urging the Brazilian striker on to be aggressive with Van Dijk. Evanilson averaged 1.43 fouls committed per 90 in the Premier League last season and committed a foul in this fixture last term. 

I feel like Cody Gakpo is often forgotten when people are discussing the attacking threat Liverpool will pose this season, but a deep dive into his numbers from last season suggest that Gakpo could be primed for an excellent personal campaign as part of a dangerous attacking setup for Liverpool.

Gakpo registered 24 goal contributions across his 49 appearances in all competitions for Liverpool last season. These numbers are admittedly not as eye catching as some of Liverpool’s other attacking players, but seeing as those players are really shortly priced to register a goal contribution here, turning to Gakpo could be a value choice throughout the season. 

Galatasaray ran out 3-0 winners in their opening game of the season as they look to defend the Super Lig title from Jose Mourinho’s Fenerbahce, who have strengthened heavily this window.

Galatasaray didn’t lose a single game at home in the Super Lig last season, winning 15 of their 18 matches in front of the home crowd. They scored 46 goals across those matches and conceded just 15. Galatasaray ran out 3-2 winners in the most recent head-to-head meeting.

Villarreal head into the new season full of confidence after securing a Champions League spot last term with a strong 5th-place finish. One of their standout traits was their ruthlessness against the league’s weaker sides.

The Yellow Submarine took 18 points from the bottom three - registering a perfect 6-0-0 record. The aggregate scoreline in those matches was an emphatic 11-2.

Given that Villarreal lost just three league games at the La Ceramica Stadium last season, Marcelino should be looking forward to this matchup against newly-promoted Real Oviedo.

I think Hamilton look well placed to pick up another three points when they face East Fife on Saturday afternoon. Despite enduring a turbulent summer due to off-field issues, Hamilton have made an impressive start to life back in Scottish League One.

In fact, John Rankin’s side are setting the early pace in the third tier after following up their 2-0 win over Montrose with an impressive 4-1 success away at Queen of the South last Saturday. Accies boss Rankin has a number of players in his squad who are of Scottish Championship standard, and they should prove too strong for newly-promoted East Fife.  

Dick Campbell’s visitors have come away empty-handed from each of their first two league games of the season, suffering a heavy 4-1 defeat away at Peterhead before falling to a 1-0 loss at home to Alloa last weekend. Hamilton will represent an upgrade on each of East Fife’s previous two opponents, and I fully expect the hosts’ superior class to shine through.

I was keen on Inverness against Peterhead last Saturday and they duly delivered with a 2-0 victory. That triumph made it two wins from two for Inverness in Scottish League One this season, not to mention it moved the Caley Jags out of negative points as they kicked off the campaign with a -5 deduction. Back at their Highland headquarters this weekend, I think a home game with Stenhousemuir represents a great opportunity for Inverness to put another three points on the board. 

The visitors have made a mixed start to their league campaign, losing 1-0 at home to Alloa before claiming a 1-0 victory over Cove Rangers last weekend. While the Warriors will head north in high spirits off the back of last week’s win, their recent road record doesn’t make for great reading. Gary Naysmith’s side have failed to win away from home across their last seven matches in all competitions, losing five of those contests - one of which was a heavy 4-1 defeat at this venue back in March.