Bournemouth vs Tottenham Hotspur Match Preview and Prediction

By John


 It took seven rounds for Bournemouth caretaker manager Gary O'Neil to suffer his first defeat as a professional first team boss, and that was soon followed up with a second, going down 0-2 to West Ham United. Now the honeymoon period appears to have worn off, it remains to be seen how Bournemouth react, with that defeat leaving them just four points from the Premier League (PL) relegation zone going into the weekend round.


After falling to a 1-0 defeat to Southampton in their most recent PL home fixture, Bournemouth look a long way off snagging the large scalp that is so sorely needed to rejuvenate their faltering campaign. The top-flight returnees have lost all three PL contests against the famed "big six" clubs by a combined score of 16-0 this season, and the task of hosting Tottenham was already likely to be difficult when also considering their PL record against Spurs (W1, D2, L7).


Tottenham boss Antonio Conte would have needed some herbal tea and a long sleep after an infuriating UEFA Champions League (UCL) home draw with Sporting Lisbon (1-1), after which he questioned the value and "honesty" of VAR. The feisty Italian is accustomed to the taste of success and could be feeling the pinch of his longest winless run across all competitions (D1, L2) in his 53-game tenure as Spurs boss.


Conte has already previously complained about the unprecedented busy nature of this schedule, and after his side failed to secure their safe passage to the UCL Round of 16 in midweek, he has some tricky decisions here. Tottenham ideally need to maintain a near-perfect PL record of W7, D1 against clubs placed seventh or lower going into the round, whilst keeping their squad in optimal condition for a potentially must-win trip to Marseille next week as well as an imminent visit from Liverpool.


Players to watch: Bournemouth's Ryan Christie was their last PL home goalscorer, his first and only goal of the season despite 14 shot attempts. He could learn a thing or two about efficiency from fellow midfielder Pierre-Emile Højbjerg, who has scored three goals from ten shots and is Spurs' only PL away scorer besides Harry Kane.


Hot stat: Bournemouth have recorded the opening goal of a PL match just three times this season.

Fottennis Prediction: Bournemouth 0 Tottenham 1

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