AFC Bournemouth vs Everton
Date: 25/08/2018
K/O: 15:00pm
Venue: Vitality Stadium
Referee: Lee Probert
Eddie Howe’s Bournemouth entertain Marco Silva’s Everton side this Saturday, with both teams looking to continue their undefeated starts to the current Premier League season.
Bournemouth have won both of their fixtures with victories over newly promoted Cardiff and a new look West Ham, whilst Everton picked up three points last weekend at home to Southampton after drawing 2-2 with Wolves on the opening weekend.
The Cherries will be looking to make it their third successive Premier League victory and their opening two matches have shown how they are capable of beating an impressive Everton side. Their 2-1 win over West Ham showed the teams grit as they scored twice in a ten minute period to cancel out the Hammers 1-0 lead. Their successful league start also contrasts to last season, where they lost the first four fixtures. After four seasons in the top flight of English football, the South coast side are looking to consolidate their position and not end their season in a relegation battle.
Bournemouth will look to their key striker Calum Wilson who has scored in both of their opening fixtures. His fine individual goal against West Ham highlights his threat and he could be vital to ensuring that his side trouble the Everton defence. Ryan Fraser has also been in fine form and will look to trouble Everton on the wing. The Cherries will relish the opportunity to impress their home fans in what looks to be their most difficult game out of their opening three. A win against the Toffees would excite fans with a potential top ten finish.
Everton will be looking to spoil Bournemouth’s form with an away victory. The Blues held off an attempted comeback against Bournemouth’s coastal rivals last weekend, beating the Saints 2-1 at Goodison Park. Silva will be hoping that his side can overcome Howe’s team to give him his first away win as Toffees manager. Everton looked impressive against Southampton with wide play being key to their offensive pressure throughout the match. Seven points out of nine would add to the optimism that Everton fans possess since Silva’s appointment.
Richarlison will look to score in his third successive Premier League game as he continues to impress for his new side. The Brazilian appears to have moulded into Silva’s tactics and is brimming with confidence.
This fixture has the potential to be filled with goals. The two sides have netted a total of 15 times against one another in their last three matches. Both sides willingness to play open and attacking football could see both sets of fans treated to a thriller. Each side will want to show how they have improved since last season and a continuation in good form will help each side do so.
Team News
Cherries boss Howe may keep his side unchanged as his starting lineups have impressed in their two opening games. This fixture could provide club record signing Jefferson Lerma with a debut for Bournemouth as he has missed the two opening fixtures. Winger Fraser will also be important to the squad after his man of the match performance against Cardiff. Their back four should remain unchanged.
We could see appearances for Everton’s three deadline day signings in the contest against Bournemouth. Bernard may be unlikely to start due to Theo Walcott’s form and Andre Gomes could appear from the bench as Everton’s midfield looked solid. Yerry Mina may replace Mason Holgate and make his debut since joining from Barcelona and training with his new side for two weeks. Yet, Zouma could feature instead taking into consideration his greater Premier League experience over Mina. With this in mind, we may see an unchanged starting 11 due to Everton’s strong form. Phil Jagielka is serving the second game of his three match ban, whilst Everton should start with their front four combination of Tosun, Richarlison, Walcott and Tosun that caused Southampton problems.
Predicted Starting XI’s:
Bournemouth: Begovic; Smith, A Cook, Aké, Daniels; Lerma, Surman, Gosling, Fraser; Wilson, King
Everton: Pickford; Baines, Keane, Zouma, Coleman; Gueye, Schneiderlin, Walcott, Sigurdsson; Richarlison, Tosun
Score Prediction: AFC Bournemouth 1 Everton 3
Silva’s system seems to be clicking into place for Everton and if they display their offensive class they should be able to come out on top against Bournemouth.
