Cherries up next for top of the table Reds

Premier League action resumes on Sunday for Jürgen Klopp’s Liverpool FC, with the trip to the south coast to face AFC Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium.

It has felt like a long time coming, but Liverpool FC will be back in Premier League action on Sunday as Jürgen Klopp’s men look to extend their lead at the top of the Premier League table.

The Reds are currently two points clear of both Manchester City FC and Aston Villa FC and, with neither side in action this weekend, Klopp’s side will look to put further distance between themselves and their fellow title hopefuls at the Vitality Stadium against AFC Bournemouth.

A number of players will be missing for the trip down south. Trent Alexander-Arnold, Thiago, Stefan Bajcetic, Ben Doak, Andrew Robertson, Kostas Tsimikas and Dominik Szoboszlai have all recently been sidelined by injury, as well as long-term absentee Joel Matip, while Mohamed Salah and Wataru Endo are on African Cup of Nations and Asian Cup duty with Egypt and Japan respectively.

Klopp will hope, however, that he has enough strength in depth to cover those who are undergoing treatment, and one man in particular has stood out in recent weeks as a real leader in the Reds’ ranks.

Curtis Jones has gone from an invaluable squad player to someone who has commanded a pivotal role in the LFC engine room in recent months, and the young Scouser continues to impress with his poise and energy in midfield.

“I have to say, his development goes hand in hand with the development the team went through, already since the end of last year,” assistant manager Pep Lijnders recently told LiverpoolFC.com when discussing Jones, who has been involved in 32 of the club’s 43 fixtures since April 2023.

“He always shows up, he’s this player who really leads with the ball and without the ball.

“He played an incredible [U21] Euros, for me he was the best player there. He is so influential for the team, with the ball and without the ball.

“It’s really cool to see how he shows up every time again. We are really happy and proud with him that he can give so much impulse every game again and again.”

Alexis Mac Allister, meanwhile, has insisted that the togetherness and the focus within the Reds’ ranks can help them maintain challenges on all four fronts this season.

As well as their position at the top of the league, LFC are just one game away from the Carabao Cup final and take a 2-1 lead into the upcoming semi-final second leg against Fulham FC, recently beat Arsenal FC in the third round of the FA Cup and are into the knockout stages of the UEFA Europa League.

Mac Allister insists that the will to keep improving is strong within the club’s dressing room, and nobody is getting too far ahead of themselves.

"I think everyone can see how good the people are in the group. Our relationship is very good and that helps a lot to achieve things,” said the 25-year-old.

"Of course we are halfway and we haven't won anything yet, so we have to go game by game, keep improving.

"Hopefully at the end of the season we can celebrate some trophies – that's the idea. But at the same time we know how far [away] it is, so we need to keep working.

"We have very experienced players, we have very good leaders, we have a group of young players that want to improve every single day – and you can see the mentality.

"We know that as a team we need to suffer sometimes and we need to defend sometimes, and from there we can do special things. That's the idea and that's what we try to do every single game."

While he is currently sidelined for a few weeks with a knee injury, Alexander-Arnold has capped some fine recent form by being named the PFA Premier League Fans’ Player of the Month for December.

The Reds’ vice-captain started all six of the club’s league fixtures leading up to and over the Christmas period, scoring the vital winning goal over the Cottagers and then providing assists against both Sheffield United FC and Arsenal FC.

Trent also helped Klopp’s side to record three clean sheets in December.

Finally, Rhys Williams – who made 19 senior appearances for the club during the 2020-2021 season - has finalised his temporary switch to Port Vale for the remainder of the season, while Calvin Ramsay has returned to Liverpool Football Club from his loan spell at Championship side Preston North End FC.