If one had predicted the Tottenham and Bournemouth fixture to be a high octane one before the start of the season, it would have been a frivolous one. But such is the unpredictability of the English Premier League.
Despite their absolute thumping 6-1 win against Hull City, Bournemouth currently sit at the 11th position in the league table with only 3 wins from eight games and 11 points. They have lost only three games till now, which shows a good sign of a building team.
Tottenham Hotspur currently sit third in the table with 18 points. A 95th-minute goal saved them the blushes in their last Premier League match.
Spurs have won both their league games against the Cherries last season scoring 8 goals and conceding just once. A relief for Bournemouth is definitely the injury to Harry Kane, who had thumped 3 goals last season in the fixture.
This time too, Eddie Howe doesn’t have the best of the chances as Bournemouth are already without Brad Smith, Lewis Cook. Harry Arter, Max Gradel and Marc Pugh.
Heung-Min Son vs Simon Francis
With Victor Janssen squandering his opportunities up front in the last few matches, Pochettino is expected to finally give a chance to Son this time. He has been the super sub this season and has already scored 4 goals despite starting from the bench.
Steve Cook has been the rock behind the Bournemouth team. He has started all the games this season. He even has a goal to his name. With an average of 3.1 aerial duels won per game, his job against the newly found goal scoring ability of Son will be worth watching. We expect the match to be won or lost depending on the outcome of this duel.
Andrew Surman vs Dele Ali
One of Spurs’ biggest revelation has been Dele Ali. He caught eye with his wonder goal last season and has been a regular in Pochettino’s side. His last goal in the 95th goal was one of the most crucial among the 3 goals he has scored this season.
Andrew Surman has been anchoring Bournemouth’s midfield well this season. In him Howe has the perfect holding midfielder. His passing accuracy has been a good average of 87 percent with an average of 0.3 percent winning in aerial duels every game. Stopping Ali will be the key if Bournemouth want to come out with anything from the game and Surman will have a tough task at hand.
Junior Stanislas vs Kyle Walker
After their last match against Hull City, Stanislas looks unstoppable. He scored 2 goals from the right wing, His left foot looks lethal. Walker is expected to replace Trippier in this game and will have the task of stopping the confident Stanislas.
