Preview: Bournemouth vs Leeds United - prediction, team news, lineups

High-flying Bournemouth will endeavour to climb into the top seven of the Premier League table when they welcome survival hopefuls Leeds United to the Vitality Stadium on Wednesday night.

The Cherries and the Whites played out a 2-2 draw in the reverse fixture at Elland Road in September last year, with in-demand Eli Junior Kroupi netting a 93rd-minute equaliser for the visitors.

Match preview

A week after deservedly beating leaders Arsenal at the Emirates, Andoni Iraola began his farewell tour as Bournemouth head coach with another 2-1 away victory on Saturday, this time against an out-of-form Newcastle United outfit courtesy of goals from Marcus Tavernier and Adrien Truffert.

The Cherries have extended their club-record unbeaten run in the Premier League to 13 games (W6 D7). Their ascent to eighth leaves them level on points with Chelsea in sixth and Brentford in seventh, while a mere three points separate them from 12th-placed Fulham in a congested table.

At a time when Bournemouth are keen to give Iraola a fitting send-off by securing European qualification for the first time in their history, the club have already confirmed his successor, with former RB Leipzig boss Marco Rose appointed on a three-year contract starting in the summer.

Iraola and co are now focused on avoiding a fifth consecutive Premier League home draw; only in September 1962 (five) and April 1967 (six) have the Cherries ever drawn more league games in succession on home soil.

Success on Wednesday is not a given, though, as Bournemouth have failed to win any of their five Premier League battles with promoted teams this season (D4 L1). Furthermore, only against Man City (4%, one win in 23) do the Cherries have a lower win ratio than against Leeds (13%, two wins in 15) among teams they have faced 10+ times in their league history.

April has been a hugely positive month for Leeds United, following up progression to the FA Cup semi-finals (beating West Ham on penalties) with back-to-back Premier League victories over Man United and Wolves to boost their survival hopes.

Six days after claiming their first top-flight Old Trafford triumph in 45 years (2-1 win), the Whites eased to a 3-0 home win against basement club Wolves on Saturday, moving them eight points clear of the relegation zone with five games remaining.

Three of the five teams 15th-placed Leeds are scheduled to face are currently below them in the table, while they have already taken a point from Bournemouth this season. Head coach Daniel Farke has, in fact, never lost a Premier League match against the Cherries in three previous meetings (W1 D2).

Although Leeds rank 18th in the Premier League away form table this season, they are unbeaten in their last five top-flight matches on the road (W1 D4) - their longest run in the division since a six-game undefeated streak from August to October 2001.

The Whites are unbeaten in eight away games in all competitions (W2 D6), but they travel to the Vitality Stadium this week for the first time since suffering a 4-1 defeat to Bournemouth in their only previous Premier League visit in April 2023 under former boss Javi Gracia.

Bournemouth Premier League form:

Leeds United Premier League form:

Leeds United form (all competitions):

Team News

Bournemouth are still having to cope without injured attacker Justin Kluivert (knee), but Lewis Cook (thigh) and Julio Soler (thigh) could return to the matchday squad after taking part in training.

Iraola is unlikely to make too many changes, if any, to his starting lineup, so Tyler Adams may have to settle for a place on the substitutes’ bench once again, as in-form Alex Scott and Ryan Christie may link up in centre-midfield.

Nineteen-year-old Eli Junior Kroupi could become the first teenager to score home and away against Leeds in a Premier League season, and he is expected to line up alongside Tavernier, Rayan and Evanilson in attack, the latter of whom has just one goal in 10 league games to his name.

As for Leeds, Farke revealed after the win over Wolves that Anton Stach and Daniel James will be back “pretty soon” after making progress in their recovery from respective ankle and groin injuries. Whether they return on Wednesday remains to be seen, though.

Joe Rodon recovered from an ankle problem to feature as a stoppage-time substitute last weekend, and he will be pushing for a start in the back three ahead of either Pascal Struijk, Jaka Bijol or James Justin, who scored against Wolves.

With five goals and three assists in his last seven games for Leeds, in-form forward Noah Okafor is expected to continue in the final third alongside Dominic Calvert-Lewin. Both players have scored in their last three games on the road and could become the first pair since Harry Kewell and Mark Viduka in 2002-03 to net in four successive away matches for the club in a single season.

Bournemouth possible starting lineup:

Petrovic; Jimenez, Hill, Senesi, Truffert; Christie, Scott; Rayan, Kroupi, Tavernier; Evanilson

Leeds United possible starting lineup:

Darlow; Justin, Bijol, Struijk; Bogle, Ampadu, Tanaka, Gudmundsson; Aaronson, Okafor; Calvert-Lewin

We say: Bournemouth 2-2 Leeds United

Both Bournemouth and Leeds have scored at least two goals in each of their last three matches, and an entertaining contest between two in-form sides could be in store on Wednesday, with plenty still at stake at both ends of the table.

The Cherries have made themselves difficult to beat for some time and will be regarded as slight favourites on home soil, but Leeds have impressed on their travels in recent weeks and we are backing the Whites to come away with a share of the spoils on this occasion.

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