What a difference a week makes, something that Liverpool will know only too well. Recently they passed up an opportunity to go seven points clear at the top of table and now going into this Saturday’s meeting with Bournemouth they find themselves lying second.
Successive league draws have halted Liverpool’s momentum and questions are now being asked as to whether or not they over achieved in the first half of the season and as a consequence are starting to run on empty.
The Merseysiders time at the top has come to an end after Manchester City got the better of Everton on Wednesday night, although they will take comfort in the fact that it is only goal difference separating the two sides.
Not only that but, there is also the fact that Liverpool do have a game in hand over their nearest rivals and therefore the race to win this season’s Premier League title is still very much in their own hands.
And also, if we are trying to paint a positive picture for Liverpool fans, they can return to the top on Saturday if they get at least a point against Eddie Howe’s men. At the same time though, you do get the feeling that nothing less than a win will do.
Liverpool's last league outing was a particularly nervy one as they were held by West Ham at the London Stadium and if truth be told, they were relatively fortunate to come away with even a solitary point.
Had Mark Noble not blazed a guilt edge chance over the bar late on, then the story coming out of the capital would have been a lot different and it would have been one that would have not made for good reading if you are a Liverpool supporter.
But they do have the perfect opportunity to return to winning ways this weekend, as they go up against a Bournemouth side who have not won any of their last eight away league fixtures on the road.
Last weekend Eddie Howe’s men lost on the road to Cardiff by two goals to nil, in what was undoubtedly an emotionally charged evening for the South Wales outfit, after the tragic loss of their new signing Emiliano Sala.
For Bournemouth it is a question of what they actually end up doing for the rest of the season, they are comfortably in mid-table and almost if not already secured another tilt at the English top flight next time around.
The danger for any mid-table team is to make sure that they don’t take off their foot off the pedal and slide down the table, what with their being no real incentive between now and the final few months of the campaign.
That is something that Eddie Howe is going to have to make sure doesn’t happen, but it is something that Liverpool will look to take full advantage of and with that in mind even after a recent blip or two, all signs point to a home win on Saturday.