Bournemouth vs Wolves: Match Preview
Staying away from Southampton this weekend and venturing down the coast. After a turbulent week off the pitch, Bournemouth return to the Vitality Stadium hoping to channel recent adversity into a positive first home result of the new Premier League season. The spotlight last weekend wasn’t just on football: Bournemouth’s Antoine Semenyo reported racist abuse from the crowd at Anfield, leading to the arrest and subsequent bail of a 47-year-old man. Yet, despite the ugly incident, Semenyo delivered a performance that underlined both his resilience and class, bagging a second-half brace that almost dragged the Cherries level with Liverpool before the champions finally broke through late on.
Head coach Andoni Iraola will have found plenty to hearten him despite the 3-2 defeat. Bournemouth’s counter-attacks were razor sharp, and Liverpool rarely looked comfortable. Still, home form continues to be a worry – the Cherries picked up just two wins from their last eight Premier League fixtures at the Vitality Stadium, with five defeats and a single draw against Manchester United in that stretch. Even so, Bournemouth do have a knack for starting strong at home: they’re unbeaten in their first home match of the season for five years running, a streak that should bring some confidence to the South Coast faithful.
If Bournemouth were on the brink of a memorable comeback at Anfield, Wolves never really looked like mounting any sort of resistance as Man City ran riot at Molineux. The reigning champions cruised to a 4-0 win, with Erling Haaland doing what he does best and new signings Tijjani Reijnders and Rayan Cherki both opening their accounts. Wolves’ efforts weren’t abject, but the gulf in quality was obvious, and manager Vitor Pereira is already feeling the pressure as his side sit bottom of the table after just one match.
August is rarely kind to Wolves – just one win in their last 22 Premier League matches in the month, and an overall 14% win rate in August, the lowest for any team with at least 30 appearances. Yet, their record at the Vitality is almost freakish: Wolves have never lost a Premier League game away to Bournemouth, going unbeaten in five visits.
Bournemouth, meanwhile, have been busy in the transfer market, snapping up Ben Doak from Liverpool for £25m, with the Scottish winger eligible for a debut this weekend. Morocco international Amine Adli, a late arrival from Bayer Leverkusen, could also make his first appearance for the club. Iraola is waiting on the fitness of Ryan Christie (groin), while Justin Kluivert (calf) remains a doubt and both Enes Unal and Lewis Cook are sidelined with knee injuries. David Brooks, after a sparkling assist at Anfield, will take some shifting from the starting XI, and Semenyo could etch his name into Premier League history – only Papiss Cisse has scored braces in three consecutive games as an African player.
Wolves haven’t stood still either, adding Jackson Tchatchoua – the fastest player in Serie A last season, clocking 36.3kmph – from Hellas Verona. The 23-year-old right-back will push Ki-Jana Hoever for a starting spot, while Leon Chiwone (ACL) is the only definite absentee for the visitors.
With both sides eager to put early points on the board and new signings keen to impress, Saturday’s clash on the South Coast has all the ingredients of a high-tempo encounter. Bournemouth’s desire to show resilience on and off the pitch will be matched by a Wolves side desperate to shake off their August hoodoo. Expect fireworks.
PREDICTION
Bournemouth should have too much for Wolves and we see goals. So:
Prediction Sure Thing – Bournemouth to win @ 1.89
A £100 bet returns £189.00
Prediction For the brave – Bournemouth to win and over 1.5 goals @ 2.9
A £100 bet returns £290.00
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LAST WEEK
Prediction Sure Thing Tottenham to win @ 1.58
A £10 bet returns £15.80
Prediction For the brave – Tottenham to win and over 1.5 goals @ 1.96
A £10 bet returns £19.60
LAST WEEK:
Prediction Sure thing – Over 1.5 Goals @ 1.33 on SMarkets WON
£100 bet returns £33 profit.
Prediction For the brave – Southampton to win and Over 1.5 Goals @ 2.24 on SMarkets WON
£100 bet returns £124 profit.
