Bournemouth vs Aston Villa prediction: ENGLAND: Premier League betting tips on match 2023-12-02 14:00.
[p]Recent form suggests Bournemouth are finally finding their feet under new manager Andoni Iraola. The Spaniard, who took charge in the summer, failed to win any of his opening nine league games in charge on the South Coast, but three victories from their last four outings (L1) have worked the Cherries some breathing space to the Premier League’s (PL) bottom three.[/p]
[p]The most recent of those victories was a 3-1 win over relegation rivals Sheffield United last weekend, after which Iraola said his team need to “keep this form going.” He will be confident they can do just that at the Vitality Stadium, where Bournemouth have recently beaten Newcastle and Burnley, and are therefore searching for a third successive home PL victory for the first time in nearly six years![/p]
[p]They could hardly be facing a more formidable opponent though, given no team has picked up more points since the September international break than Aston Villa (22). It has been a remarkable run for Unai Emery’s side, who are dreaming of qualifying for the UEFA Champions League for the first time in their history, while also harboring ambitions of a run deep into the UEFA Europa Conference League.[/p]
[p]A 2-1 win against Legia Warsaw on Thursday means they are now through to the knockout stages of that competition, and left the manager declaring himself “happy” with their performance. He will be hoping for similar feelings on Sunday, something their good run of nine wins from their last 11 outings (D1, L1) would suggest he will, but given they’ve beaten Bournemouth just once in the last five H2Hs (L4), this isn’t a fixture they’ve enjoyed of late. [/p]
[p]Players to watch: With his goal against Sheffield United last weekend, Bournemouth’s Justin Kluivert became just the second player to score in each of Europe’s traditional top-five leagues in the 21st century. Similarly dangerous in front of goal, Aston Villa’s Ollie Watkins has won each of the last 14 games in which he has scored for club and country.[/p]
[p]Hot stat: Aston Villa are the only team in the PL yet to drop a single point in games when they have scored the first goal (W7).[/p]