Barclays Premier League as it happened: Liverpool 1-0 Bournemouth

Far from a convincing performance for Liverpool, but it's difficult to criticise two consecutive victories and clean sheets when you consider the hapless way Rodgers' side finished last season.

As for Bournemouth, they will feel rightfully aggrieved to have been on the receiving end of two hugely controversial decisions but they did more than enough tonight to suggest they can cut it at this level. If they can be a touch more clinical in the final third, survival certainly does not seem out of reach at this albeit early stage of the campaign.

That is all for now, but join IBTimes UK again tomorrow evening for live coverage of Manchester United's Champions League play-off round first-leg tie against Club Brugge at Old Trafford.

Until then, goodnight.

Full-time

Liverpool 1-0 Bournemouth

If that was a clean connection from Benteke, he would almost certainly be celebrating a brace. However, the ball appeared to bounce up off the turf after leaving his boot and that gave it the momentum to crash against the woodwork.

Cook yellow carded for bringing down Moreno just outside the penalty area but Liverpool fail to take advantage of the free-kick after a quite woeful effort from Milner.

A perfect opportunity for Benteke to grab his second goal and wrap up the points for Liverpool goes begging as he diverts Clyne's accurate cross onto the crossbar. Lallana's follow-up is well over.

Four minutes of added time signalled by the fourth official.

One final throw of the dice from Howe as Gosling comes on for O'Kane. Another header from Tomlin is comfortably taken by Mignolet after a throw-in was flicked on by Wilson.

Another sniff of goal from a corner for the Cherries but Tomlin's header loops onto the roof of the net.

Skrtel is generally considered as a tough centre-back, but he has just been sent crashing to the turf after taking O'Kane's strike straight to the face. He immediately returns to his feet, but will have been momentarily dazed by that.

Five minutes left to play and Bournemouth are still asking questions of this Liverpool defence.

Just before that Bournemouth change, Gradel delivered an enticing corner that Cook looked to steer towards the back post but headed a little too hard and the ball drifts harmlessly wide.

A second substitution for Bournemouth, with former Tottenham defender Adam Smith entering the fray in place of Gradel.

Rodgers also makes a change, replacing Coutinho with Alberto Moreno.

A brief flurry of cautions continues as Tomlin is shown a yellow card for bringing down Lallana from behind.

A booking apiece as Ritchie follows Gomez into the referee's notebook after illegally halting a surging run through the middle from Can.

Bournemouth's defending has been determined tonight and not long after Surman produces a good block to deny Lallana, Daniels gets his body in the way of Coutinho's volley after the latter was set up following a break from Benteke.

15 minutes plus stoppage time remaining at Anfield.

Ibe is the man to go off as Firmino is brought on as a substitute for the second week in succession. The former Hoffenheim playmaker did not have too much time to make an impact at Stoke, but has a few more minutes to prove his quality here.

Another forward foray from the impressive left-back Daniels ends with a snapshot that is easily held by Mignolet.

Liverpool are then somewhat fortunate to be awarded a free-kick in a strong position for handball but Coutinho's effort cannons into the wall.

Firmino getting ready to come on.

Ritchie has been hugely influential for Bournemouth since joining from Swindon in 2013, scoring 15 goals and laying on several assists last term. He is beginning to have a real impact tonight, too.

The gifted winger feeds Wilson with a pass. He then proceeds to nutmeg Lovren, but O'Kane cannot quite get the ball out of his feet to test Mignolet and the danger is gone.

A real chance for Bournemouth as Ritchie's fizzing volley from the right clips the post and goes wide. Lee Tomlin introduced in place of King for his Bournemouth and Premier League bow.

Not quite sure what the problem was there for Henderson, but Rodgers will be hoping that it isn't too serious. A tough introduction for Can as he immediately comes off second best from a tussle with King.

The German midfielder looked to take an accidental boot to the head and also appears to have hurt his shoulder.

The rapid Ibe is looking to create problems down Bournemouth's left-hand side but his wayward shot is well wide.

An early change for Liverpool as Henderson signals to the bench over an injury and is swiftly replaced by Emre Can.

Ritchie has begun the second 45 in positive fashion and cuts inside to curl an effort over the bar just moments after his low drive was held by Mignolet.

The second half is upon us and neither side have made any alterations at the break.

Bournemouth will be at pains to play the role of the plucky underdog robbed by the usual speculative refereeing calls made away to a bigger club, but it's difficult not to feel sorry for them here.

Referee Pawson was very well-placed to rule out Elphick's early header, but Lovren will know he was somewhat fortunate to have gotten that decision given in his favour.

Benteke will be delighted to have marked his home debut for Liverpool with his 50th goal in English football, meanwhile, but under the latest changes to the offside laws Coutinho should certainly have been flagged for offside.

Half-time

Liverpool 1-0 Bournemouth

Bournemouth are labouring somewhat now and an excellent opportunity for Liverpool to go in at the break with a 2-0 advantage is spurned by Coutinho.

After receiving possession from Clyne, the Brazilian's attempted pass is deflected back into his path but his subsequent shot lacks composure and goes wide of Boruc's right-hand post.

Five minutes until half-time and Liverpool continue to push for a second goal as Lallana's shot is diverted behind by Cook.

Brief appeals for a penalty as Milner feeds Henderson with a nicely weighted pass and Gradel is somewhat slow to get across and cover the run.

The contact was minimal, though, and the Liverpool captain is quickly back to his feet. Right decision, you feel.

Liverpool come close to doubling their lead as Henderson guides Milner's pass over the bar with a difficult shot from the edge of the penalty area.

O'Kane is the first player to be cautioned for a foul on Coutinho.

The hosts are ahead and it's a first competitive Liverpool goal for Benteke on his home debut as Henderson's superb whipped delivery is prodded home at the back post.

Questions will be asked over the officials once again there, however. Under the changes to the offside laws supposed to be enforced from the beginning of this season, a player is to be flagged if he is deemed to have made a movement towards the ball.

Coutinho certainly appeared to try and finish that cross himself so it's a mystery how the goal was allowed to stand.

Goal: Liverpool 1-0 Bournemouth (Christian Benteke)

Sloppy play from Bournemouth almost costs them dearly as Ritchie's casual pass inside his own half is picked off by Benteke. The former Aston Villa striker then lets fly with powerful effort that just goes over Boruc's crossbar.

A nervy moment for Liverpool as Charlie Daniels is afforded plenty of space to run down the left and send in a low cross. Skrtel cannot clear his lines but Wilson is contained well by Lovren and the opportunity is lost.

Another fine pass from Coutinho, which Ibe takes on his chest inside the left channel before accidentally poking it out of play.

Bournemouth have eased off slightly after their bright start but certainly do not look overawed.

Plenty of long balls heading in Benteke's direction so far. This time, Coutinho reads his run nicely and sends through a lofted pass that is collected by Boruc before the Belgian can apply the finishing touch.

Replays show that Elphick's hands were indeed on the shoulders of Lovren, but the contact did not look forceful enough to prevent the Croatian from challenging for the header.

A free-kick in a good position for Bournemouth is wasted as Gradel's effort clears the penalty area and goes behind for a goal kick.

The visitors have the ball in the net as Elphick rises to head home from a corner but the goal will not stand after the Bournemouth skipper is adjudged to have fouled marker Lovren in the build-up.

That looks a soft decision and Howe will be rightly furious. It's been a really positive start from his side, who have won a flurry of early corners.

A first shot in anger comes from Ibe as he lashes over the bar from Martin Skrtel's knockdown.

Some early pressure from Bournemouth as Wilson wins a corner but it comes to nothing as Lallana clears.

Craig Pawson blows his whistle and this one is underway.

Can Liverpool get off to a good start in front of their own fans or will Bournemouth spring a shock on a rare visit to Anfield?

Under Howe's leadership, Bournemouth are simply not used to relinquishing possession and it will be intriguing to see how they react if, as expected, Liverpool enjoy most of the ball tonight.

They have a clever and dangerously quick striker in Callum Wilson, who scored 23 goals in all competitions last term. He will come up against a centre-back in Dejan Lovren who was widely criticised during his first season on Merseyside but received praise for his confident performance at Stoke.

Liverpool are likely to deny their opponents the chance to deploy their usual expansive style and it would be a surprise to see the likes of Andrew Surman and the excellent Matt Ritchie given time to cause much damage.

The hosts have a strong midfield pairing in James Milner and captain Jordan Henderson and Coutinho can often be relied upon to produce that moment of sheer magic. Jordon Ibe has impressed with his performances since returning from a loan spell at Derby in 2014/15 and like Lallana should offer plenty of pace and energy down the flanks.

Christian Benteke was starved of service in what was mostly a war of attrition in the Potteries but may well fancy his chances of besting Tommy Elphick and Steve Cook.

We are now just minutes away from kick-off at Anfield.

With the obvious exceptions of Firmino and Ings, Rodgers has certainly not been shy in introducing several of the club's eight summer signings into his starting lineup.

Howe, though, looks to be staying true to his word of offering the players who secured Bournemouth's first promotion to the Premier League the chance to keep them there.

Gradel and former Blackburn striker Joshua King start, but Artur Boruc has retained his place as first-choice goalkeeper ahead of Adam Federici. Club-record signing Tyrone Mings is also forced to bide his time on the bench alongside experienced defender Sylvain Distin and Lee Tomlin.

Time will tell if Howe sticks to his guns or is forced to alter his approach over the coming weeks.

Speaking of familiar faces, Adam Lallana began his career in the Cherries' centre of excellence as a child and returned to the club for a short loan spell in 2007.

Bournemouth reportedly earned a cool £5.75m from the £25m Liverpool spent to sign the 27-year-old from Southampton in July 2014 owing to a 25% sell-on clause. Smart.

There is one very familiar face for Bournemouth supporters in the home dugout this evening. Sean O'Driscoll, appointed as successor to Colin Pascoe as Rodgers' assistant in July, made over 400 appearances for the club during an 11-year stint as a player.

He also managed them between 2000-06, suffering relegation to the old Division Two in 2002 before winning promotion back at the first time of asking with an emphatic playoff final victory over Lincoln in Cardiff.

These two sides may not be frequent opponents, but they did meet last year in the quarter-finals of the Capital One Cup.

The now-departed Raheem Sterling bagged a brace for Liverpool on a chilly December night on the south coast, with Lazar Markovic also scoring in a 3-1 win. Gosling was on target for Bournemouth in what was only their first defeat in 13 games.

It was an opening weekend of contrasting fortunes for these two clubs. Courtesy of a late trademark screamer from Philippe Coutinho, Liverpool were able to successfully avenge their humiliating 6-1 defeat at the Britannia Stadium on the final day of last season that so easily could have cost Rodgers his job were it not for the good graces of owner Tom Henry and Fenway Sports Group (FSG).

As they did practically every week on their way to taking the Championship title, meanwhile, Bournemouth largely monopolised possession amid a carnival atmosphere from a passionate home crowd at Dean Court but could not find that all-important breakthrough against Villa and Gestede punished them with a powerful header 20 minutes from time.

Liverpool show no changes from the side that lined up at Stoke last weekend, with £29m signing Roberto Firmino remaining among the substitutes alongside fellow new arrivals Adam Bogdan, Danny Ings and Divock Origi. Christian Benteke continues to lead the line for Brendan Rodgers' side.

As for the visitors, Eddie Howe has opted to hand a full debut to Ivorian international Max Gradel after the former St Etienne winger appeared as a 69th-minute substitute during the defeat to Aston Villa. Eunan O'Kane is also promoted to the starting lineup, with Marc Pugh and Dan Gosling dropping to the bench.

Kick-off is still around 50 minutes away.

Bournemouth: Boruc, Francis, Elphick, Cook, Daniels, Ritchie, O'Kane, Surman, Gradel, King, Wilson

Subs: Federici, Smith, Distin, Mings, Gosling, Pugh, Tomlin

Liverpool: Mignolet, Clyne, Lovren, Skrtel, Gomez, Henderson, Milner, Coutinho, Lallana, Ibe, Benteke

Subs: Bogdan, Toure, Firmino, Moreno, Can, Origi, Ings

An extended feast of Premier League football that began on Friday with Manchester United's trip to Aston Villa finally concludes tonight as Liverpool face newly-promoted Bournemouth for the first time in league competition.

The Cherries' last visit to Anfield came way back in 1968, when they lost 4-1 in an FA Cup third round replay.

Stick with us for breaking team news, lineups and live updates throughout the evening.