Liverpool Miss Salah As AFCON Return Boosts Reds, Slot Notes

Liverpool’s 3-0 win over Marseille marked Mohamed Salah’s return from Africa Cup of Nations duty and brought public praise from Arne Slot, who acknowledged how much Liverpool missed Salah, while attention now shifts quickly to a Premier League trip to Bournemouth and the battle for Champions League qualification.

Salah started and completed the full match against Marseille, yet did not score despite several chances. Slot still highlighted Salah’s influence and physical condition, stressing the value of having a reliable goalscorer back in the side after a disruptive spell that included injury, suspension and international commitments.

Liverpool now travel to Bournemouth on Saturday, aiming to end a sequence of four consecutive Premier League draws.

Those results included a frustrating stalemate with Burnley, after which some supporters voiced displeasure, as dropped points allowed rivals to close in on the Champions League places during a tight mid-season schedule.

The Cherries approach the Vitality Stadium clash after a draw with Brighton and a poor league run stretching back to November. Andoni Iraola’s team have taken only nine points from their last 13 Premier League games, with one victory, six draws and six losses, plus 30 goals conceded in that period.

Across the current season, Liverpool have failed to score in four league matches, matching their combined total blanks from the 2023-24 and 2024-25 campaigns. Despite that, analytical projections still lean towards a Liverpool win at Bournemouth, reflecting recent head-to-head trends and the contrasting form of both clubs.

Bournemouth’s leading threat is Marcus Tavernier, who scored against Brighton to reach five Premier League goals this season, equalling his best return from 2022-23. Tavernier now aims to either score or assist in three straight appearances for the first time since November 2022, underlining his growing influence.

Florian Wirtz remains central to Liverpool’s attacking play ahead of the Bournemouth fixture. Wirtz opened the scoring against Burnley before Marcus Edwards levelled for the visitors, and Wirtz has scored three goals and delivered one assist across his last six league appearances, contributions directly worth six points to Liverpool.

Historically, Liverpool have a strong record against Bournemouth, winning 12 of the past 13 Premier League meetings. The only defeat in that sequence came in March 2023, when Bournemouth secured a 1-0 home victory, but overall the fixture has usually produced high-scoring outcomes in Liverpool’s favour.

Bournemouth’s general record against reigning champions is also poor, with 10 defeats in their last 11 such league games. The sole exception was a 2-1 home success over Manchester City last season. Previously, Bournemouth had managed three wins from their first six matches against title-holders, with one draw and two losses.

Defensively, Bournemouth have struggled badly versus Liverpool, conceding 52 goals in 17 Premier League meetings, their joint-worst tally against any club, matched only by Manchester City. Bournemouth’s current run includes just one win, a 3-2 success over Tottenham earlier this month, while Wolves and Burnley alone collected fewer points since November.

Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah's European milestone

Salah’s Marseille outing followed a demanding Africa Cup of Nations campaign with Egypt, which began on December 13. Salah scored four goals in six matches as the Pharaohs finished fourth, then returned to Liverpool as a 33-year-old still trusted to perform at the highest level in both domestic and European competition.

Before travelling to the tournament, Salah experienced a difficult spell at Liverpool. Salah was benched for three straight matches in early December, publicly criticised Slot, and then was omitted from the squad entirely for a 1-0 Champions League victory at Inter, raising questions over Salah’s long-term role at Anfield.

That situation eased after Salah apologised to team-mates and held clear-the-air discussions with Slot. The Marseille match was Salah’s 88th appearance for Liverpool in major European competitions, drawing level with Ian Callaghan and leaving Salah behind only Jamie Carragher, on 130, and Steven Gerrard, on 111, in the club’s records.

Salah registered the highest expected goals figure of any player against Marseille, at 0.55, despite not scoring. Liverpool will host Qarabag next week, when Salah can move clear in third place on the club’s European appearance list. A win would secure a top-eight finish in the group and direct progress to the last 16.

Slot underlined Salah’s professionalism and fitness after the Marseille performance. "In the moments when I didn't play him, I was trying something different, Slot said after Wednesday's win, which saw Salah play the full 90 minutes. We have missed goals from all our ball possession. If there's one player in the history of Liverpool who can score goals, it's Mo Salah. It says a lot about how big a professional he is that he can be away for more than a month with a different team and be fit enough to play 90 minutes for us after one day of training. He was so close to a goal. It would usually be a goal from him, but it didn't harm us because we scored three. "

Well in, Reds pic.twitter.com/YGNXGvlXQxLiverpool FC (@LFC) January 21, 2026

Liverpool enter the Bournemouth game unbeaten in 10 league matches, though the opening weeks of 2026 brought four successive draws. In English top-flight history, only Southampton in 1995, with five, and Tottenham in 1999, with six, have put together longer runs of draws from the start of a calendar year.

Liverpool win probability and Bournemouth matchup

Opta’s model gives Liverpool the highest chance of victory at the Vitality Stadium. Bournemouth’s probability is lower, with a draw viewed as the least likely result, mirroring Liverpool’s strong historical record and the Cherries’ recent defensive issues and limited points return against elite opponents in the league.

Result	Win Probability
Bournemouth	31.1%
Draw	25.2%
Liverpool	43.7%

The data and context around Bournemouth versus Liverpool point towards a demanding assignment for Iraola’s side, while Slot can look to Salah’s return, Wirtz’s form and strong recent league resilience as Liverpool seek to turn draws into wins and strengthen their position in the pursuit of Champions League football.