England Premier League
Saturday 6th August 2022
Kick off at 3pm BST
Venue: Vitality Stadium
Match Preview:
The first traditional 3pm kick off of the new Premier League season will see Bournemouth start their campaign at home to Aston Villa. Scott Parker’s side will be returning to the top flight for the first time since 2019/20 after securing automatic qualification last season.
So far their transfer activity hasn’t been too exciting for fans although they were able to bring in Ryan Fredericks from West Ham on a free transfer and a club like Bournemouth will be very realistic in the money they will be able to spend. It may seen unfair but without a ball being kicked Parker’s side will be among the favourites this season to be relegated and anything above finishing 18th will be deemed a success.
As part of their pre-season the club flew out to Portugal and started their run in with a victory against Sheffield Wednesday. However there have been defeats against Braga and Bristol City. Their final pre-season friendly ended in a 2-1 home defeat against Spanish side Real Sociedad.
Many believe that Steven Gerrard did a decent job in his first season with Aston Villa, although he didn’t join until November and there have still been critics once his honeymoon period was over and Villa recorded some questionable results. However this is the season where the former Liverpool great will be judged more having a summer transfer window and a full campaign ahead of him. So which players has Gerrard been able to bring in so far? First up is defender Diego Carlos who has come for a reported £26m from Sevilla. Phillipe Coutinho who was on loan with Villa last season from Barcelona has completed a £17m move. Robin Olsen the goalkeeper who struggled to keep a place at Roma has joined for £3m.
There have been sales though and the hotly tipped Carney Chukwuemeka has left for Chelsea. Matt Targett has been snapped up by Newcastle for £15m and Trezeguet has joined Turkish outfit Trabzonspor. Pre-season has gone well and included a 2-2 draw against Manchester United, a 1-0 win over Leeds and a 2-1 win away to Rennes.
Team News:
Bournemouth: Joe Rothwell is out with a thigh injury, David Brooks and new signing Ryan Fredericks are due to miss the start of the season with a lack of match fitness.
Aston Villa: The club come into this game without any injuries to their first team squad.
Bournemouth vs Aston Villa Head to Head:
This meeting will only be the 10th in the history between the two clubs. So far Aston Villa and Bournemouth have four wins a piece with one draw.
The last time the clubs played this fixture was in 2020 which Bournemouth won 2-1.
The last 3 meetings have all been over 2.5 goals and have all ended in the correct score of 2-1, all in Bournemouth’s favour.
Bournemouth vs Aston Villa Prediction:
Since Aston Villa have a foothold in the Premier League there will be more expectancy on the club to deliver the goods here than returning Bournemouth, so Villa start the season with pressure. This is arguably manager Gerrard’s most important season as a manager so far and this term will all be about progress. Last season Villa finished in 14th place with 45 points and it should be noted that at Rangers Gerrard recorded a win rate of 67%. At Villa naturally that win rate was expected to go down but did anyone believe it to be as low as 35%?
Naturally Scott Parker will be thinking about his time at Fulham where the club suffered relegation and he was critical of the clubs ambitions, may he face the same at Bournemouth? Survival can be in the way you start the season, look at Everton’s struggles last season, and yet it may have been the points the club achieved in the first month of that season that ultimately helped keep them up. Bournemouth will fancy their chances here and surviving in the league could well come down to how they perform at home.
Bournemouth vs Aston Villa Betting Tips:
Asian handicap (+0.5 Bournemouth) at 1.89
Anytime goalscorer: Dominic Solanke at 3.00
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