At the Vitality Stadium on Saturday, Bournemouth will face Tottenham Hotspur in a Premier League matchup. In their previous meeting, both teams were on the receiving end of contentious decisions made by the video assistant referee (VAR).
The team managed by Gary O’Neil was left to lament the handball rule book after suffering a 2-0 defeat at the hands of West Ham United on Monday. Meanwhile, Spurs played Sporting Lisbon for a dramatic 1-1 draw in the Champions League.
Our Match Preview: Bournemouth vs Tottenham Hotspur
Gary O’Neil counts 10 VAR rulings against Bournemouth since his arrival following Monday’s 2-0 loss at West Ham, including two handball calls.
Kurt Zouma’s first goal stood despite hitting Thilo Kehrer’s hands, which were in a natural position. Said Benrahma added a second from the penalty spot after Jordan Zemura was punished for a handball.
Former West Ham player O’Neil let the authorities know what he thought of the first decision at halftime. His Cherries club is currently 14th in the league after back-to-back losses.
Bournemouth is four points above the relegation zone but has just 10 goals after losing to Southampton and West Ham without scoring.
Only four of Bournemouth’s 10 league goals this season have come at home, where they’ve gone scoreless in four of six top-flight games this season, although Tottenham didn’t have much offensive brilliance in midweek.
While O’Neil’s anger didn’t get him in trouble with the officials, Antonio Conte saw red when Tottenham was denied a late winner against Sporting, ending their prospects of qualifying for the knockout stages with a game to spare.
Marcus Edwards put Sporting ahead in the first half, but Tottenham came out strong in the second. Rodrigo Bentancur’s header tied the game, and Harry Kane believed he’d won it with the final kick.
A long VAR review denied the goal for a close offside ruling, and referee Danny Makkelie gave Conte his marching orders for his complaints. He also left his news conference after accepting only one question from the media.
As frustrating as that decision was, Conte didn’t deny Tottenham’s lackluster first-half performance. Spurs have now lost three consecutive games in all competitions after losing to Manchester United and Newcastle United.
The Lilywhites are in the third position, although they are five points behind leaders Arsenal having played a game more. Chelsea and Man United are close behind with a game in hand.
Bournemouth has avoided a loss in their past two encounters with Spurs at the Vitality Stadium, winning 1-0 in May 2019 and drawing 0-0 in July 2020.
Our Team News: Bournemouth vs Tottenham Hotspur
Neto and Dominic Solanke both left the field before the start of the second half with injuries to their thighs and ankles, joining Lloyd Kelly and David Brooks in the Bournemouth medical room after the team’s loss to West Ham.
Since he arrived from Barcelona, the former goalkeeper has been a revelation, and although the nature of his injury is now unknown, Mark Travers is standing by. If Solanke is unable to play, Kieffer Moore should be given a rare start.
Bournemouth should field mostly the same XI, except for two inescapable substitutions; nevertheless, Zemura offered a solid outlet from the left after coming in as a substitute on Monday and will battle with Ryan Fredericks for a starting spot.
When it comes to the Spurs, Richarlison and Dejan Kulusevski are still out with calf and hamstring problems, respectively, while Cristian Romero and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg overcame their nagging ailments to start on Wednesday.
Lucas Moura started for the first time this season, and Conte went back to his tried-and-true 3-4-3 for the visit of Sporting. However, it was the arrival of the 21-year-old Bryan Gil in the second half that had everyone talking.
There will be pressure on Conte to give Gil his Premier League debut at the weekend, and there are also options for Clement Lenglet and Ryan Sessegnon to return to the starting lineup.
- Bournemouth Possible Starting Lineup: Travers, Smith, Mepham, Senesi, Zemura, Christie, Cook, Lerma, Tavernier, Billing, Moore.
- Tottenham Hotspur Possible Starting Lineup: Lloris, Romero, Dier, Lenglet, Emerson, Hojbjerg, Bentancur, Sessegnon, Gil, Kane, Son.
Our Prediction: Bournemouth 0-1 Tottenham Hotspur
Tottenham’s offensive problems will not be remedied immediately, even if the young, energized Gil starts in his debut Premier League game. This is particularly true given Bournemouth’s tendency to not give up many goals at home.
The Cherries have struggled to score at home as well, and Saturday’s match does not appear like it will be very thrilling. Nevertheless, Conte’s squad can stand strong and steal the game by scoring the lone goal they need to go back on track.
