After pulling off a string of 5 unbeaten games, Ronald Koeman, the new manager at Everton, will take his squad to the Vitality stadium this weekend as he tries to extend his impressive start to the new Premier League campaign. They are fresh from a thumping victory over Middlesbrough at home last weekend and will hope that they can see off the Cherries this weekend. Eddie Howe’s side have been struggling this season with lack of results and find themselves in the 17th place with just 4 points from the first 5 games. The visitors will be expected to take all three points from this game but if the last game between the two sides taught us anything, it is that Bournemouth will fight till the end for even a point. Here is the preview of this game along with predicted lineups and betting odds:
Date and Time
24th September; KO: 3:00 pm BST
Venue
Vitality Stadium, Bournemouth
Team News
Eddie Howe has a relatively fit side to choose from for this game against Everton. Ryan Fraser seems to be the only real issue for the manager with the player picking up a knock in the recent league cup game. Wilson and Pugh were reportedly nursing a niggle but neither is expected to miss this game.
Ronald Koeman, on the other hand, was given a major boost ahead of this game after it was revealed that star striker Romelu Lukaku, who picked up a toe injury recently, trained alone, and is back fit for this game. However, the manager will miss the services of Muhamed Besic (knee), James McCarthy (groin) and Darron Gibson (groin) for this trip to the Dean Court.
Expected lineups
Bournemouth
Boruc; Smith, Francis, Cook, Daniels; King, Surman, Arter, Stanislas; Wilshere; Wilson
Everton
Stekelenburg; Coleman, Williams, Jagielka, Baines; Gueye, Barry; Bolasie, Barkley, Mirallas; Lukaku
Key Players
Romelu Lukaku
The Belgian striker has burst into life after a slow start, scoring 4 goals this month alone which included an 11-minute hat-trick, and will be the most dangerous threat for the home side on the night.
Callum Wilson
Was dropped to the bench in the game against Manchester City but is expected to be back in the starting XI after his impressive cameo at the Etihad last week. He provided the focal point that his team were missing in the game after coming on as a sub and will be expected to do more of the same in the game against Everton. He has to be at his best for his team to get anything from this game.
Betting Odds
Bournemouth: 12/5
Draw: 5/2
Everton: 12/4
Prediction
Playing at home, Bournemouth might offer more of a threat than they did against Manchester City last weekend but they will be up against a side that is in top form. Koeman will hope that his side gets the job done without much ado and will go into this game as favorites to come out with all three points.
T4O Prediction: Bournemouth 1-3 Everton
