Bournemouth and Tottenham will meet on Thursday, July 9, 2020, at the Vitality Stadium in English Premier League action.
Eddie Howe’s team has been woeful recently and they have dropped their last five assignments while going winless in their last eight Premier League assignments. They are coming off a mauling at the hands of Manchester United. On the other hand, Tottenham got back to their winning ways against Everton. The win was only the second in the last seven assignments for the Spurs and it came via an own-goal by Michael Keane.
Bournemouth has looked in terrible form as of late. They have lost their last five matches and are winless in their last eight. Right now, Bournemouth looks like they are going to be relegated. The team is in 19th place in the EPL standings with a record of 7-6-20 and only 27 points earned. They are tied with Aston Villa in the table and are four points from safety.
In their last match over the weekend, Bournemouth gave Manchester United a good challenge. Junior Stanislas scored in the 15th minute to give Bournemouth the early lead. But the Reds responded with three straight goals of their own to seize command of the match. Manchester United controlled 69% of ball possession and ended up with a comfortable 5-2 win.
Callum Wilson leads Bournemouth with a total of 8 goals scored on the season. Harry Wilson has found the back of the net seven times while Joshua King has netted five times for The Cherries. Ryan Fraser leads the team with four assists while scoring once. King also has three assists while Jefferson Lerma has two assists and one score.
Bournemouth ranks 17th in scoring with a total of 32 goals scored on the year. They are also 18th in defense with a total of 59 goals conceded this season. The Cherries are 17th in passing with a total of 20 assists on the year. Their goal difference of -27 is next to worst in all of England.
Tottenham is currently in 8th place in the Premier League standings with a record of 13-9-11 for a total of 48 points. They are 8 points off a Champions League spot but under the current circumstances, the Spurs have done enough to merit a Europa League spot. The team has displayed mixed results since the break and their matches have been hard to read as of late.
In their last match, the Spurs picked up a 1-0 victory courtesy of Everton’s Michael Keane scoring an own goal after a Tottenham shot hit the defender’s leg and ricocheted into the net. Tottenham controlled 52% of possession time but only had two shots on goal and five corner kicks awarded.
Harry Kane leads the Spurs with a total of 13 goals on the season. Son Heung-Min has found the back of the net nine times while Dele Alli has netted eight times this season. Son Heung-Min leads the team with nine assists while Serge Aurier has five assists and Alli also contributing four assists.
The Spurs are the 6th best scoring team in England with a total of 52 goals scored this season. They are tied for 9th place with a total of 44 goals conceded. Tottenham also ranks 6th in passing with a total of 33 assists on the year. Their goal difference of +8 is also tied for 7th overall in the EPL.
There are concerns about the fitness of Dele Alli who missed the win over Everton with a hamstring injury. While Mourinho insists that his star midfielder doesn’t have a serious injury, it’s possible that he won’t risk him here, especially with the North London Derby on the horizon. Juan Foyth and Japhet Tanganga are not expected to play for the visiting team.
Hugo Loris and Son-Heung Min clashed during halftime of their match against Everton but the two kissed and made up when they emerged from the tunnel after the break. Both are expected to feature in this match along with superstar Harry Kane who is expected to lead the line again.
Please Note
Bournemouth has seen their injury list grow since the lockdown. Charlie Daniels, Simon Francis, and Jack Stacey are all out of Thursday’s match, leaving Howe short at the back. Steve Cook could miss the game too with a hamstring injury but Chris Mepham and Andrew Surman could be in contention. Likewise, Callum Wilson will be back after serving his suspension.
Tottenham has won four out of its last five head to head meetings against Bournemouth. The Spurs won their last meeting on the road last November 30, 2019, via the score of 3-2. Tottenham has been hard to read since the season restarted and I am not a fan of how they’ve played as of late. However, Bournemouth has been worse and they have been terrible since returning from the lockdown.
The Cherries have lost all four matches since the restart of the season and have been outscored 3-12 during that period. Bournemouth has conceded nine goals in their last two games. They have dropped their last five matches and have lost 17 out of their last 22 league matches.
I think this will be a high scoring contest, given Bournemouth’s struggles on defense. If you want me to pick a winner, I will go with Tottenham. However, I am going with the OVER in this contest as it also has better value than picking Tottenham at -141.
Prediction: Over 2.5 (+101)
Tottenham only has one clean sheet in their last 23 assignments. On the other hand, the defense has been the problem for Bournemouth during their current winless run. The Cherries have given up at least two goals in seven out of their last eight assignments. I like both these teams to score in this match.
Prediction: Yes (-135)
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