Bournemouth will entertain Tottenham Hotspur at the Vitality Stadium on Thursday evening hoping to pull off an upset so that they can close the gap to 17th placed Watford in the Premier League table. The Cherries have lost five successive games in the league, so it would take a monumental effort from them to get anything out of this game versus Spurs.
In contrast, the North London outfit will head into this contest after earning a hard-fought 1-0 win over Everton earlier this week. Jose Mourinho’s men are currently fighting for a European spot, so they will be desperate to grind out maximum points from this upcoming showdown away at Boscombe.
Talking Tactics
Eddie Howe will opt for a 4-4-2 formation and will look to unleash Callum Wilson alongside Joshua King up top. The Dorset outfit will have to soak in all the pressure and hit the opposition when they least expect it on the counter.
Jose Mourinho will set his side up in a 4-2-3-1 formation and is expected to instruct his players to dominate the ball in midfield and create some clear-cut chances to score in the final third. Both Heung-min Son and Harry Kane will carry most of the goal-scoring burden for Spurs up top.
Team News
Bournemouth
Steve Cook, Simon Francis, Chris Mepham and Jack Simpson are all major doubts for this game in midweek. Otherwise, Howe has no fresh injury concerns to cope with heading into the final phase of this campaign.
Bournemouth Predicted XI
Ramsdale, Smith, Ake, Kelly, Rico, Brooks, Lerma, Cook, Stanislas, Wilson, King
Tottenham Hotspur
Dele Alli is a slight concern for this upcoming league outing at the Vitality Stadium, while Troy Parrott is unlikely to be ready in time for this clash.
Tottenham Hotspur Predicted XI
Lloris, Aurier, Alderweireld, Dier, Davies, Sissoko, Winks, Bergwijn, Lamela, Son, Kane
Key Men
Bournemouth
Callum Wilson and Joshua King will be the home team’s best hope for a goal tomorrow. Nathan Ake will also have to produce a solid display at the heart of the Cherries defence so that he can keep Harry Kane in check throughout the 90 minutes.
Tottenham Hotspur
Erik Lamela will carry most of the creative workload in the opposition half as he looks to set-up some decent opportunities for the likes of Son, Kane and Steven Bergwijn in and around the Bournemouth penalty box. Plus, the performance of Moussa Sissoko and Harry Winks in midfield could end up determining the fate of this contest.
Odds
The bookmakers have made Tottenham Hotspur the clear favourites to secure a victory at the Vitality Stadium on Thursday evening after they were priced at 13/19. The draw has been listed as 29/10 while the Cherries are 4/1 underdogs to pull off an upset at their backyard.
