Bournemouth take on Everton at the Vitality Stadium on Saturday afternoon (3pm). Can they make it two wins out of two against the Toffees this week after their EFL Cup win on Tuesday evening? The visitors will be looking for an improved effort after their midweek exploits. Read on for our AFCB vs EFC preview and betting tips.
Fortunately, the Cherries resumed winning ways in the week. Sure, it was an EFL Cup game, but they will be delighted to have got themselves back in front, and the fact that they scored four goals in doing so should mean that they come into this fixture with renewed confidence. A confidence boost was certainly needed after two agonising last-minute defeats on the bounce.
League wise, in recent weeks, things haven’t gone well for the Bournemouth boys, who’ve now lost each of their last four Premier League fixtures. That said, they were desperately unlucky to lose at the death last time out. If a fortnight ago you’d told Gary O’Neill that his team would score two goals at home to Tottenham and three away at Leeds but would pick up zero points, he almost certainly wouldn’t have believed you.
As for Everton, well, things went from bad to worse on Tuesday evening, as they were dumped out of the EFL Cup by none other than Bournemouth. That disappointing defeat followed last weekend’s weak effort against Leicester. It’s now three games without a win for Frank Lampard’s men, who’ve scored just one goal in their last three matches. They need to improve and quick, or they will be in real danger of slipping into a serious relegation fight, which is the last thing they want after last season.
Respectable home efforts
The Cherries did lose last time out at home in the league, but for large parts of that contest against Spurs, they were on top, and they showed what they’re about under Gary O’Neill. They work hard and scrap, that’s a given, but they can get the ball down and play too, while they are effective on the break.
In general, their home efforts have been respectable. If we count Tuesday’s EFL Cup win over Saturday’s opponents, then they have lost only two of their last six at the Vitality Stadium, keeping two clean sheets, conceding more than once in just one out of five. At times, they have lacked the offensive power to really hurt teams, but overall, they have improved in the final third over the last two to three weeks, scoring nine goals in their last three games.
Travelling troubles for the Toffees
Even before they were humbled on the south coast on Tuesday evening, Everton had been struggling to get going away from the comforts of Goodison Park. They have now lost three of their last four away games and are without a travelling win in four. In fact, they’ve won just one of their last seven on the road.
Their main problem? A lack of both creativity and goals. They did get on the scoresheet here during the week, but that was at 2-0 down, while they have not scored in any of their three away games in the Premier League. That’s worrying. They can create a few chances, we saw that against Leicester at the weekend, and during the week in that 4-1 defeat against Saturday’s opponents, but they tend to be wasteful. They have also been struggling big time to create as much as they allow their opponents to.
Goals usually rain down on this fixture
Tuesday’s five-goal game wasn’t untypical of this fixture. In fact, when Bournemouth and Everton come together on the pitch, there tends to be plenty of goals. Each of the last three renewals of this fixture has contained at least four goals. Seven of the last eight have contained three or more goals. Both teams have scored in seven of the last eight also. Interestingly, Bournemouth have won each of their last three against Everton. Moreover, the Toffees haven’t won at this venue since 2016. They have lost four of their last five on the south coast.
Hosts to have too much again
We should not simply assume that Bournemouth will win this fixture just because they got the better of the cup tie in the week. After all, both teams made changes for that fixture, so we should see reasonably different starting line-ups here. However, at the current prices with our top-rated online bookies, it is hard to look beyond the home win.
Bournemouth have improved quite drastically in the final third in recent weeks, and the same cannot be said for the visitors, who have seemingly gone backwards in that sense. They are also once again without the services of Dominic Calvert-Lewin, which is a massive blow.
While the Cherries now look like a team well equipped to hurt teams and put the ball in the back of net, it is difficult to see where the goals are going to come from as far as Everton are concerned. On that basis, Bournemouth are fancied to make it two wins from two games against the Toffees, and at generous-looking odds of 9/5, they are well worth backing to come out on top.
More home goals on the cards
As a secondary option, ‘Bournemouth to Score Over 1.5 Goals’ catches the eye. The hosts have hit their stride from an offensive point of view of late, scoring two or more in each of their last three. Moreover, they netted four against Everton on Tuesday.
At the same time, Everton’s rear guard looked very weak last weekend against Leicester. They continued to allow their opposition chances and offered very little resistance. The same can be said for their efforts at this venue on Tuesday evening. The visitors could also be without the services of both Gueye and Onana in the centre of midfield, which would dramatically weaken their resistance.
So these are the two betting tips suggestions, at best odds, for this AFCB vs EFC preview:
- Bournemouth to win @ 9/5 with Bet365, BetVictor or William Hill.
- Bournemouth to score over 1.5 goals @ 9/5 with BetVictor.
Bradley Gibbs is an experienced football writer. He is an expert analyst on Premier League, and all global football leagues & tournaments, for Just Bookies. Bradley has been published by many respected outlets, including USA Betting and the Racing & Football Outlook. He has also written betting strategy guides.