Preview: Bournemouth vs Burnley - prediction, team news, lineups

Bournemouth’s quest to end their seven-game winless run in the Premier League continues when they host Burnley at the Vitality Stadium on Saturday, December 20.

The Cherries are desperate to rediscover the form that had them second in the league table at the end of October, while the visitors will want to avoid equalling a top-flight club record that has stood for over 130 years.

Match preview

After Bournemouth saw off Nottingham Forest at the end of October, the club were the closest challengers to Arsenal for the league title.

However, they have not won a single league match since then, losing four and drawing three, which has seen them slide all the way down to 13th ahead of this round.

Andoni Iraola will take heart from his team’s attacking performance and perseverance on Monday night away to Manchester United.

The South Coast club seemed beaten at 4-3 with 11 minutes to play, after conceding two goals in quick succession, which surrendered their 3-2 lead, but Eli Junior Kroupi came off the bench to level matters and ensure they left Old Trafford with a point.

Weirdly, Bournemouth’s longest winless Premier League run is 13 games between May and October 2023, and it was against Burnley that the Cherries ended that streak with a victory, which also served as Iraola’s first-ever win as manager at the club.

The hosts did the double against Burnley in the 2023-24 league campaign, and they look set to end their winless run against the relegation-threatened team.

Burnley boss Scott Parker was treated to a tune of ‘you don’t know what you’re doing’, after his side slumped to a 3-2 defeat away to Fulham last weekend.

Like Bournemouth, things were looking promising for the newly-promoted side in the early knockings of the league campaign, but that has unravelled quite quickly.

Seven league defeats in a row have sent the Clarets down to 19th place, four points away from safety, and with no respite in sight.

With seven defeats from their eight road trips this season, Parker’s men are staring down the barrel as they travel to the South Coast this weekend.

It would require a small miracle for the visitors to resume the form that saw them win four head-to-heads in a row between 2018 and 2020.

Bournemouth form (all competitions):

Burnley form (all competitions):

Team News

With the Africa Cup of Nations expected to commence this week, several players are heading to Morocco to represent their nations; however, the good news for Bournemouth is that their talisman, Antoine Semenyo, will remain in the UK, as Ghana failed to qualify for the tournament.

Amine Adli is Moroccan, but did not make the cut for the squad to represent the country in its home AFCON, so he will be available to Iraola.

After serving a yellow card suspension, Tyler Adams returned to the starting lineup against Manchester United, but had to be taken off after just five minutes with a knee injury.

The midfielder will be joined in the infirmary by Matai Akinmboni (muscle), Ben Doak (hamstring) and Veljko Milosavljevic (knee), while Ryan Christie is recovering from a knee problem and is a doubt.

The AFCON situation at Burnley is a lot worse, with Axel Tuanzebe, Lyle Foster and Hannibal Mejbri all called up by their respective national teams, and the latter is still serving a four-game Premier League ban issued by the FA.

Zeki Amdouni (knee), Jordan Beyer (hamstring) and Connor Roberts (groin) are set to miss the trip to the coast, while Bashir Humphreys (thigh) still needs to get up to speed in terms of match fitness.

Bournemouth possible starting lineup:

Petrovic; Smith, Diakite, Senesi, Truffert; Tavernier, Scott; Jimenez, Kluivert, Semenyo; Evanilson

Burnley possible starting lineup:

Dubravka; Sonne, Ekdal, Esteve, Hartman; Ugochukwu, Cullen, Florentino; Anthony, Bruun Larsen, Flemming

We say: Bournemouth 2-0 Burnley

Bournemouth’s miserable Premier League run is bound to come to an end, and there is no better opportunity than facing a team that is already in the relegation fight.

Seven defeats on the bounce make for horrible reading for the visitors, and with at least one crucial defender missing through international duty, Parker’s back line will be hugely affected.

The Cherries are primed to make it count, especially since they have the talent of Semenyo available to them this weekend.

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