Florian Wirtz on Liverpool's Advantage Against Bournemouth

Florian Wirtz believes Liverpool carry a quiet edge into Sunday’s trip to the Vitality Stadium – and it comes from the man in their own dugout.

Liverpool arrive on the south coast still unbeaten in the Premier League, with one win and three draws from their opening four games, and looking to finally turn control into victories. Bournemouth, though, are no mystery to their head coach Andoni Iraola.

This will be Iraola’s first meeting with the Cherries since leaving the club, and Wirtz is convinced that familiarity matters.

“We have to be very ready,” Wirtz told liverpoolfc.com. “I think the manager knows them really well, so maybe there's a small advantage we have – but we have to be ready and very focused for this game.”

That knowledge is Liverpool’s trump card. How much it counts will be decided over 90 minutes.

Liverpool step into the league fixture buoyed by a 3-1 win over Tottenham Hotspur in the Carabao Cup third round on Wednesday. Wirtz was not involved on the pitch, but he had a different vantage point on the performance.

He watched from the stands, seeing the patterns and the pace from higher up.

“Of course, I'd rather be on the pitch!” he admitted. “But it was the first time I watched it [a game] from higher up in the stadium in the stands. It was nice to watch, and it was also a good win for us and for the mind. That definitely helps to build the momentum.”

Momentum is exactly what Wirtz needs as well.

The Germany international is expected to return to the matchday squad against Marco Rose’s side and will be desperate to stamp his authority on the game. So far, the season has been sluggish on a personal level: just one assist in five league appearances, a modest return for a player of his creative weight.

Iraola, though, has not flinched publicly. He continues to back the 23-year-old and insists Wirtz “should be judged like everyone else, whether he plays well or doesn't”.

The message is clear: reputation doesn’t buy minutes. Performances do.

If the slow start drags on, the Spanish coach may have little choice but to leave Wirtz out more often. For now, the playmaker has his manager’s trust, an inside-track boss on the opposition, and a stage on Sunday to show exactly why that faith should hold.