Two clubs separated only by three points in the Premier League table meet at the Vitality on Friday night as sixth-placed Bournemouth entertain 11th-placed Fulham.
Bournemouth began the campaign by suffering an agonising defeat at Anfield against champions Liverpool, but Andoni Iraoloa’s side then won three on the spin before playing out a goalless draw at home to Newcastle.
The Cherries then travelled to Elland Road last week, and despite taking the lead, they saw themselves 2-1 down, but Eli Kroupi Jr grabbed his first goal for the club deep into stoppage time to rescue a point for the South Coast club, extending their unbeaten record to five matches.
Fulham saw their two-game winning run come to an end last weekend, as they fell to a 3-1 defeat at previously winless Aston Villa.
Raul Jimenez had given Marco Silva’s men the lead after just three minutes at Villa Park, but goals from Ollie Watkins, John McGinn and Emiliano Buendia ensured the Cottagers suffered consecutive losses on their travels.
How the bookies view it: Bournemouth favourites
Bournemouth have been installed as favourites for this clash, with BoyleSports pricing the hosts at 20/23 to claim all three points.
The same firm has Fulham at 3/1 to seal their first away win of the campaign, whilst the draw is 12/5.
Head to head: Cherries Fulham’s bogey team
Bournemouth have a very good record against Fulham over the past decade, with The Cherries winning six and losing just two of the previous 12 meetings with the pair (W6-D4-L2).
That includes three successive wins at the Vitality, with Antoine Semenyo’s solitary strike enough to seal three points in this fixture last season.
Players to watch: Semenyo to star again?
Antonine Semenyo has made a blistering start to the campaign, as he bagged a brace at Anfield in the Premier League curtain raiser, before scoring the winner against Brighton and the opener in their 2-2 draw at Leeds United last weekend.
The Ghanaian winger also has two assists to his name, meaning the 6/5 on offer at Bet365 for him to score or assist appeals to me here.
Predicted line-ups:
Andoni Iraola will unable to call upon Julian Araujo, Adam Smith, Lewis Cook and Enes Unal, who are all missing through injury.
Marco Silva will be without Issa Diop, Kenny Tete and Rodrigo Muniz due to injury.
AFC Bournemouth: Petrovic, Jimenez, Diakite, Senesi, Truffert, Adams, Christie, Kluivert, Adli, Semenyo, Evanilson
Fulham: Leno, Castagne, Andersen, Bassey, Sessegnon, Lukic, Berge, Wilson, King, Iwobi, Jimenez
Anything else catch the eye?
I successfully backed Under 2.5 Goals in Bournemouth’s late home match against Newcastle United a fortnight ago, and I see no reason to change my approach here.
Unlike their away matches, Bournemouth’s Premier League encounters at The Vitality tend to be low-scoring, with Under 2.5 Goals being a winning selection in 12 of their last 16, including this corresponding fixture back in April.
What’s more, 4/6 (67%) of Fulham’s Premier League contests this term have featured fewer than three goals, adding further appeal to this selection.
GambleAware