Returning to the Premier League after a two-year absence following their second-place finish in the last Championship season, Bournemouth will have to avoid immediate relegation. According to the bookmakers, in fact, the Cherries are – for the time being – the team least equipped to secure their place in the top flight. And the ownership is doing practically nothing to disprove them: new arrivals can be counted on the fingers of one hand and none of them seems to be able to raise the level of the squad at the disposal of former Fulham coach Scott Parker.
Not even the summer friendlies have dispelled insiders’ doubts about the difficulties facing Bournemouth. Two defeats in two so far, against Bristol City and Real Sociedad. While waiting for further reinforcements, Parker is banking on the prolific streak of his goal scorer Dominic Solanke, who has scored over forty goals in the last two seasons. It remains to be seen whether the 24-year-old former Liverpool striker can also confirm himself upstairs.
Moreover, the Cherries have a prohibitive schedule and the only match in which they could score points seems to be the one against Aston Villa in the opener: in the next three matches, in fact, Bournemouth will face Manchester City, Arsenal and Liverpool. As for the Villans, on the other hand, their goal is to reach Europe, after only touching it in the last two seasons. Steven Gerrard has been partially satisfied – Coutinho has stayed, Diego Carlos and Kamara have arrived – and this time he has everything to aspire to finish on the left-hand side of the table.
How to watch Bournemouth-Aston Villa live on TV and streaming
Leon Bailey ©️Ansafoto
The match between Bournemouth and Aston Villa, scheduled for 4pm on Saturday, will not be shown on live TV or streaming. The rights to the competition are held by Sky, but the well-known platform has chosen to prioritise other matches.
The prediction
It won’t be easy playing in front of the Vitality Stadium’s notoriously warm and enthusiastic crowd, but Aston Villa look well placed to take the three points on their debut against newly promoted Bournemouth, who are still ill-equipped for their category.
Bournemouth v Aston Villa line-up in the unlikely event.
BOURNEMOUTH (4-4-1-1): Travers; Smith, Mepham, Kelly, Zemura; Christie, Cook, Lerma, Anthony; Billing; Solanke.
ASTON VILLA (4-3-3): Martinez; Cash, Diego Carlos, Mings, Digne; Kamara, McGinn, J. Ramsey; Bailey, Watkins, Coutinho.
