Bournemouth vs Southampton Preview: Will Saints send Cherries down?

Southampton head along the English South Coast on Sunday to face Bournemouth in their penultimate Premier League match of the 2019/20 season.

Saints have secured their top-flight status for at least another year after picking up 12 points since the campaign’s restart last month and can climb to 11th after the final day, but Bournemouth still have a huge amount more to play for.

The Cherries are third-bottom at the moment and have three points to make up on 17th-placed Watford if they are to avoid relegation.

Eddie Howe will be targeting two wins from two final fixtures versus Saints and Everton with Watford facing two tough meetings with Manchester City and Arsenal.

Bournemouth have claimed just four points since returning to action in mid June so Saints will be strong favourites ahead of a contest that could have a huge bearing on the scrap at the bottom of the table.

Match guide

Form guide (last five) 

Bournemouth: LLDWL

Saints: WWDDD

PL season stats

Bournemouth: 31 pts, 8 wins, 7 draws, 21 losses, 37 goals scored, 62 goals conceded

Saints: 46 pts, 13 wins, 7 draws, 16 losses, 46 goals scored, 59 goals conceded

Top scorer

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• Grading the Southampton Transfer Window Part 1: Departures
• It’s time to talk about Gavin Bazunu
• Rain clouds on the horizon? Southampton beat Plymouth Argyle
• A lament for Southampton legend James Ward-Prowse

Bournemouth: Callum Wilson, 9 goals

Saints: Danny Ings, 20 goals

Last fixture

Bournemouth: 2-1 loss away to Manchester City, Wednesday 15th July

Saints: 1-1 draw vs Brighton, Thursday 16th July

Team news

Via afcb.co.uk, Bournemouth could welcome back full-back Adam Smith after two matches out with concussion.

However, Eddie Howe also confirmed that Chris Mepham, Charlie Daniels and Simon Francis will all be out, whilst Nathan Ake could also be missing from the centre of defence.

Ralph Hasenhuttl has reported no new injuries after his side’s 1-1 draw with Brighton on Thursday, although Moussa Djenepo, Sofiane Boufal and Yan Valery are unlikely to be risked before the end of the season.

Changes may well be made from the starting line-up versus the Seagulls though after some key players were rested for the game.

Who will win?

Everything ahead of this game looks to be playing in Saints’ favour.

They have the form and are playing with no pressure and a swagger at the moment, whilst Bournemouth’s players will be petrified of making a mistake that could send them down definitely.

If there is ever a time for the Cherries to get things right and focus fully on the task in hand though then it is now.

Eddie Howe is a good enough manager to come up with a plan to win the game for his side, but it will be easier said than done against Saints with Ralph Hasenhuttl’s style in full flow now.

Things could not be more different from the last meeting between these two teams back in September.

Bournemouth looked a very dangerous side back then and took full advantage of a slack Saints display to claim a 3-1 win – looking very much up the table whilst things looked very gloomy at St Mary’s.

Matchday squads

BOURNEMOUTH

Aaron Ramsdale, Artur Boruc, Jack Stacey, Adam Smith, Steve Cook, Lloyd Kelly, Jack Simpson, Sam Surridge, Diego Rico, Andrew Surman, Jefferson Lerma, Philip Billing, Lewis Cook, Dan Gosling, Junior Stanislas, David Brooks, Arnaut Danjuma, Harry Wilson, Josh King, Dom Solanke, Callum Wilson

SAINTS

Alex McCarthy, Angus Gunn, Kyle Walker-Peters, Jannik Vestergaard, Jack Stephens, Jan Bednarek, Kevin Danso, Jake Vokins, Ryan Bertrand, Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, James Ward-Prowse, Oriol Romeu, Will Smallbone, Stuart Armstrong, Nathan Redmond, Michael Obafemi, Che Adams, Danny Ings, Shane Long