AFC Bournemouth have suffered a tough start to their second season back in the Premier League. No wins in their first eight matches leave the Cherries just one place above 20th in the table, a result this weekend is a must.
The visitors to the all-important clash at the Vitality are Wolverhampton Wanderers. More commonly known as Wolves, they are managed by the man Bournemouth (somewhat harshly) dismissed at the end of last season, Gary O’Neil.
O’Neil has had a reasonably successful start to the season with Wolves. They sit 14th in the table but a statement win over treble winners, Manchester City, at the end of September will give the visiting side the belief that they can be a real nuisance to the league this season. On top of that, I’m sure Gary O’Neil would love to get one over on his old club and give a message that maybe they were a bit premature in his dismissal.
While Wolves have five points from their last three matches, Bournemouth have a grand total of zero. Sheffield United are the only side with fewer points than them so far this season and that is a stat they will be desperately hoping to change this weekend.
This game marks the start of two ‘winnable’ home games with Burnley to come after the Wolves clash. Fail to pick up a result in either of these and questions will begin to be asked about the security of Andoni Iraola’s job at the Vitality Stadium.
To preview the game, Andoni Iraola spoke to the media, including Nerve Sport, on Friday morning:
Bournemouth’s recent training photo release sparked some excitement amongst the fanbase as Alex Scott was seen training, at a time the Cherries are in desperate need of a midfield. Iraola confirmed that he’s trained with the group but this weekend will come too soon for the English midfielder. Iraola also confirmed that Mepham and Kelly are available, but it sounds like this weekend’s game may be a tad too early for the latter.
At this current time, it could be argued that Bournemouth’s squad are suffering from an imbalance. Loads of players on the wing but seemingly very low on numbers in the central midfield area. When asked about this by Nerve Sport, Iraola responded:
“We are imbalanced because we have injured players. Sometimes you cannot control the injuries so now it’s true we have more offensive players but it is solely because of injuries.”
Asked if there was more pressure on the upcoming so-called ‘winnable’ games, Iraola responded:
“It is true I prefer the games where you are going to have more chances. Even if you have less pressure, I’d rather have more chances to win the games and we are waiting for a win. It’s not going to be easy but we have to show we can fight and show we can beat them.”
Elsewhere in the press conference, Andoni admitted he feels his job is under pressure as a result of the eight-game winless run but has confidence he and his team can turn the results around.
AFC Bournemouth vs Wolverhampton Wanderers kicks off at 3 pm on Saturday and full coverage will be available across Nerve Sport social media and on our website.