Bournemouth vs Leeds United Preview
Watch Bournemouth vs Leeds United as Leeds united meets Bournemouth both clubs having a meeting in a premier league premises.
As Bournemouth is on the position of the premier league, Leeds united is on the position of the premier league points table.
The Cherries ran out 1-0 winners in their midweek basement battle with Southampton, while the Whites were pegged back in a 1-1 draw with Leicester City last time out.
When it rains it pours for Southampton, and in appropriately torrid conditions at St Mary’s on Thursday night, the Saints slipped ever closer to Championship football for the 2023-24 campaign as Gary O’Neil’s men came up trumps in the South-coast contest.
With 50 minutes on the clock, Marcus Tavernier cut inside and let fly with a tame effort which found its way into the far corner, but Bournemouth survived a heart-in-mouth moment just a couple of minutes from time when a Che Adams strike was ruled out for a marginal offside.
Having made the short journey home with all three points in the bag, Bournemouth are sitting pretty in 14th place and seven points clear of the drop zone with just five games left to play, but O’Neil made it clear that the Cherries are not out of the woods yet while also expressing relief at a VAR decision finally going his side’s way.
Victory at St Mary’s remarkably represents a third Premier League away win on the bounce for the Cherries following previous successes at Tottenham Hotspur and Leicester City, but few Bournemouth fans will need reminding of last weekend’s 4-0 Vitality thrashing at the hands of West Ham United – a second successive home defeat without scoring for O’Neil’s side.
With Chelsea and Manchester United still to come before the curtain closes on the campaign, Bournemouth would do well to avoid a third successive home defeat for just the third time in their Premier League history, boosting their survival hopes while denting their visitors’ in the process.
Team News and Injury
Pleasure soon turned to pain for Bournemouth match-winner Tavernier, who was withdrawn late on against Southampton with an apparent hamstring issue, although O’Neil is hopeful that the winger has not sustained another serious problem.
The Cherries are already planning for the weekend without Hamed Traore (ankle), Junior Stanislas and Ryan Fredericks (calf), but Jack Stephens is eligible again after being unable to face his parent club in midweek, while Matias Vina and Marcos Senesi came down with cramp at St Mary’s.
With Sunday’s game surely coming too soon for Tavernier to shake off his problem, Adam Smith and Dango Ouattara should go head-to-head for a start on the right, but O’Neil should otherwise see no reason to disrupt the harmony, unless jellied legs force his hand.
Prior to Bournemouth’s goalscorer suffering an injury on Thursday, the same story coincidentally befell Leeds attacker Sinisterra, who stayed down after a challenge from Caglar Soyuncu and was withdrawn just 12 minutes after breaking the deadlock.
The Whites have now learned the devastating news that the Colombian will miss the rest of the season with that ankle problem, joining a trio of thigh victims in Tyler Adams, Stuart Dallas and Maximilian Wober on the treatment table.
Wilfried Gnonto was controversially overlooked again by Gracia on Tuesday as Summerville came on to replace the stricken Sinisterra, and the Italian protege will be expected to watch the start of this match from the dugout once more.
Bournemouth vs Leeds united head-to-head stats
Leeds United have an excellent record against Bournemouth and have won 11 out of the 14 matches played between the two teams, as opposed to Bournemouth’s one victory. The previous league game played between the two teams at the Vitality Stadium took place in the Championship in 2014 and ended in a 3-1 victory for Leeds United.
Leeds United have won 10 of their 13 league games against Bournemouth – their best win rate against an opponent they have faced at least 10 times in their league history. After a run of nine victories in 10 matches against newly promoted teams in the Premier League, Leeds United have lost three of their last five such matches in the competition.
Bournemouth have lost their last two home games in the Premier League and have lost three consecutive home games on only two previous occasions in the competition.
Bournemouth vs Leeds United Prediction
Fresh injury concerns over their midweek goalscorers is not what the doctor ordered for either side, but Leeds demonstrated a greater sense of defensive resilience on Tuesday and will be working with an extra two days’ worth of rest compared to their fatigued hosts.
With both sides wary of making fatal errors at this stage of the season, there should be no repeat of November’s seven-goal spectacular, but Bournemouth should right the wrongs of their last two home performances to glean a potentially priceless point in their survival bid – leaving Leeds at risk of being dragged back into the bottom three.
