Bournemouth needs improvement

Last updated: September 29, 2015 by Leon Marshal

Life in The English Premier League is very difficult, especially when it’s the first time competing in The Premiership in the club’s history; Bournemouth need to improve in order to collect at least 40 points at the end of the season which will be enough for the team to stay in the division. Earning seven points from seven matches isn’t the worst start they could have had, but The Cherries have serious problems in their defense when they really need to keep a clean sheet.

However, The Cherries showed they have some quality in their squad. Unfortunately, Callum Wilson who scored 5 of the team’s 9 goals is now suffering from ACL knee ligament injury and won’t take part in any of Bournemouth’s matches until April 2016. This is a serious problem because Wilson provides more than half of the team’s goals. Last season when The Cherries topped The Championship finishing in first place, he found the back of the net 20 times.

Quique Sanchez Flores recognises Watford’s good performance in defense; the team have conceded just 6 goals from 7 games and have kept a clean sheet on 3 occasions. In addition, the Nigerian striker Odion Ighalo found his best form and has scored 4 goals from the beginning of the season. Watford beat Newcastle at St. James’ Park 2-1 with 2 of his goals. This was a very important victory for the confidence of the players.

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Team News

Callum Wilson, the star in Bournemouth’s squad, sustained a serious knee injury and won’t be available until April 2016. His absence will be crucial because he has scored 5 goals so far.

Mings, Gradel, Arter and Elphick will miss the match too. Tommy Elphick is a key defender for Bournemouth and Eddie Howe feels empathy for his achilles tendonitis injury.

Lloyd Doyley (Watford) suffers from a neck injury and won’t take part in the match. Joel Ekstrand won’t be in the squad due to a knee ligament injury.

Swiss international Behrami is still sidelined through suspension. The midfielder was sent off against Swansea and can’t be included in the manager’s first eleven.

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Expected line-ups:

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Key Battle

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So far this season

• Both teams were playing in The Championship last season and won promotion to The Premier League. The last meeting between the teams was on 30 January 2015 when The Cherries won 2-0 at The Vitality stadium.
• Bournemouth have played against Watford only 9 times and the stats show a big advantage for The Hornets (5 wins from 9 games). The Cherries have won only twice.
• The Cherries achieved their first home victory of the season in the 6th round when Bournemouth beat Sunderland 2-0. But now things will be different with the absence of so many key players.
• Watford won their first away victory for the season in the last round against Newcastle at St. James’ Park. The Hornets collected 9 points in total after this win.

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Head to Head