Bournemouth will look to earn their first Premier League win of the season when they host a Tottenham Hotspur side buoyed by a 2-0 victory over Manchester United last weekend.
The Cherries have a point from their first two games after Andoni Iraola oversaw a draw with West Ham and a defeat to Liverpool, while Spurs drew 2-2 with Brentford before earning that morale-boosting success over United.
The two teams meet in Saturday’s early kick-off hoping to stick more points on the board at this early stage of the campaign. Here’s what you need to know about the game.
Dango Ouattara, who scored Bournemouth’s late winner in a dramatic 3-2 victory over Spurs in April, is sidelined for this clash, as are Marcus Tavernier, Ryan Fredericks, Alex Scott and Emiliano Marcondes. There are further doubts over the availability of Lewis Cook and Adam Smith.
The Cherries put in a decent performance in their most recent game, a 3-1 defeat at Liverpool, and manager Iraola may elect to deploy a similar side for his second home game at the Vitality Stadium.
Bournemouth predicted lineup vs Tottenham
Bournemouth predicted lineup vs Tottenham (4-2-3-1): Neto; Aarons, Zabarnyi, Senesi, Kerkez; Billing, Rothwell; Semenyo, Christie, Anthony; Solanke.
Tottenham team news
James Maddison was pictured leaving Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in a protective boot and has been assessed over the week, having told reporters the measure was “a precaution”. If he doesn’t make it, Giovani Lo Celso could start in the ten role.
Rodrigo Bentancur, Ryan Sessegnon and Bryan Gil continue to recover from serious knocks, with the only obvious decision for Ange Postecoglou to make coming at right-back between Pedro Porro and Emerson Royal.
Tottenham predicted lineup vs Bournemouth
Tottenham predicted lineup (4-2-3-1): Vicario; Emerson, Romero, Van de Ven, Udogie; Sarr, Bissouma; Kulusevski, Lo Celso, Son; Richarlison.
Bournemouth vs Tottenham score prediction
Bournemouth enjoyed promising moments in defeat to Liverpool last time out but couldn’t show enough of a clinical edge to leave Merseyside with anything to show for their efforts.
Tottenham enjoyed a superb second half against Man Utd, whose levels dropped after the interval to allow the hosts to coast to a 2-0 victory, and Postecoglou’s attacking intent has come as a welcome relief to fans after a few turgid years under Jose Mourinho and Antonio Conte.
There have been three 3-2 results in the last six games between these two sides and another highly entertaining fixture could be on the cards on Saturday, with Spurs favourites to come away from the south coast with all three points.
