Scott Park has admitted that he’s expected a ‘reaction’ from Liverpool when he takes his Bournemouth side to Anfield tomorrow.
The Reds have just two points from their opening three Premier League games and were defeated 2-1 by Manchester United at Old Trafford on Monday.
The Cherries are back in the top-flight this season and after earning three points against Aston Villa on the opening weekend, they’ve suffered heavy defeats to Manchester City and Arsenal in recent weeks and Parker is expecting another tough test tomorrow.
“I am sure they will be the first to know it has not gone how they wanted it to go but we’re playing against a world-class team, a well-coached team, an exceptional manager and against a team who are probably looking for a reaction,” the former Fulham boss said (as quoted by This Is Anfield).
“This is one of the hardest places to go, Anfield, and even more so in the current situation it could be very difficult.
“As always it is a challenge for us to face and we need to try and get something out of this game.”
Parker is the last Premier League manager to record a victory at Anfield when his Fulham side earned a 1-0 win in March of last year and may therefore arrive on Merseyside with some confidence.
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The Bournemouth boss insisted he side will do what they can to cause Liverpool problems and ‘relish the opportunity’.
“The challenges we’ve faced over the last couple (of weeks), and I put Aston Villa in that bracket, have been big ones and this is another,” Parker added.
“It is a place that can be very intimidating but we played behind closed doors (with Fulham) so that was probably reduced somewhat.
“Again we were still playing against a high-quality team and along the way you have to show quality, you have to assert yourself and try to cause them problems in the areas where you can cause them problems.
“These are the games you thrive on. You are going up against – in boxing terms – the pound for pound (best) and they are elite in everything they do but you need to adopt an attitude that you want to challenge it. You want to relish the opportunity.”
One of the main concerns that has come to light in recent weeks is the fact that the Reds have conceded the opening goal in each of their last seven Premier League games.
We are of course without Ibrahima Konate and Joel Matip at the moment but we just haven’t looked right defensively recently.
It almost feels as if teams need just one chance to score against us whilst we are working extremely hard to create any openings at the other end.
We need to be right up for tomorrow’s clash with the south-coast outfit to ensure we register our first win of the season.