Bournemouth

Chris Sutton is making predictions for all 380 Premier League matches again this season, against a variety of guests.

For this weekend's games, he takes on Andy Bell and Steve Queralt from Ride, who support Arsenal and Tottenham.

Sutton's prediction: 4-3

Brighton's season has fizzled out and it cannot have helped that there is uncertainty over their manager Roberto de Zerbi, who has been linked with so many other clubs.

The Seagulls still had some nice passages of play against Manchester City on Thursday night but it was nowhere near enough - City schooled them from start to finish.

Bournemouth are above them in the table now, something which seemed unlikely earlier in the campaign. When Brighton beat the Cherries at Amex Stadium at the end of September, it sent them third while Andoni Iraola's side were still waiting for their first win.

The way Iraola has turned things around has surprised everyone, myself included, and I am certainly not going to back against them here. I am predicting a south-coast cracker, and a Bournemouth victory.

Andy's prediction: 0-0

No goals here!

Steve's prediction: 2-1

Again, neither team really have much to play for anymore, so I am going to go for it to be a nice sunny afternoon by the sea and Bournemouth to win.

Read the rest of their predictions here

Here is a selection of the key facts and figures before Bournemouth host Brighton in the Premier League on Sunday, 14:00 BST.

• Brighton won this fixture 2-0 last season, ending a run of four straight away league defeats against Bournemouth. They last won consecutive league visits to the Cherries in February 1932.

• Bournemouth are unbeaten in their past five Premier League home games – only once have they had a longer run without defeat at Vitality Stadium in the top flight, going six games between May and October 2018.

• Brighton have failed to score in six of their 12 away games in all competitions so far in 2024, as many times as they had in 49 games on the road in 2022 and 2023 combined.

• Dominic Solanke has scored nine home goals in the league this season – no Bournemouth player has ever reached double figures at the Vitality Stadium in a single top-flight campaign.

• No Brighton player has scored more away goals in the league this season than Danny Welbeck (four). Only in 2013-14 (six) has he scored more on the road in a single campaign.

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On the Cherries: Unpicked podcast, BBC Radio Solent's Jordan Clark and Kris Temple have been discussing Bournemouth chairman Bill Foley's comments on Dominic Solanke's future during a recent fan's forum.

Jordan read out some of the published minutes from the meeting, which are available on the club website, external: "Bill Foley was asked about holding onto key players this summer and his answer was he was aware Dominic Solanke might want to leave. He said if that was to happen he would make sure that Bournemouth got the absolute best deal possible.

"That is the first time I think we have heard that angle on it. There has been plenty of 'this club is interested in Solanke, that club is interested in Solanke', which you expect when you have a goalscorer with that many goals in the Premier League, but there has never been the Solanke side of it.

"It feels like we have just got that now from Bill Foley."

Kris added his thoughts on the striker's transfer situation: "It is always good to hear an 'unofficial' word on things. Bill Foley is obviously the chairman, but I don't know how much he is involved in player negotiations. I don't think he is that involved - he said in January he expected Lloyd Kelly to go and he didn't.

"So it was interesting to hear him say that. I have been firm in my belief for a few months now that he will go in the summer, because this is Bournemouth's moment to cash in on him.

"I would say that £40-50m is about right for someone of Solanke's age. He is 26-years-old, so he's got plenty ahead of him but he's not young potential.

"That throws up the next question which is whether [Enes] Unal, who has been brought in to have a look at, is the replacement for Solanke. Unal is on loan so Bournemouth do have the option to buy him, but they don't have to.

"I don't think we have seen enough from him as a number nine, for them to make a decision."

Listen to the full podcast on BBC Sounds

Bournemouth manager Andoni Iraola has been speaking to the media before Sunday's Premier League home match against Brighton and Hove Albion.

Here are the main headlines from his news conference:

• Since their first victory against Everton on the 28 October, Iraola's side have picked up 39 points in the following 24 games. Upon being asked about this run of form he said: "We cannot discount the first nine,10 games and I do feel we have improved a lot since the first game. But we cannot recover those points we missed. At the moment I think we are 10th, we want to finish strong. We have four games left which are really difficult to finish the season and I hope we improved from the games we played against these teams in the first phase".

• On their match against Brighton, Iraola said: "I think the first game against Brighton we had a really good 45 minutes. It was one of the best halves we have played, but they made a coupe of adjustments at half time. I remember they took Kaoru Mitoma and put Joao Pedro on at the end and hurt us in the second half with more spaces. I hope we have improved since then, I think we have players who understand better what we want from them and let's see on Sunday if its true we are better."

• On Milos Kerkez facing a three-game ban after he got sent off against Wolves, he said: "It's a shame because last month he performed really, really well, probably the best month of the season for him. The Manchester United game, the other day against Wolves, he has been playing with confidence, he has improved since the beginning of the season."

• Asked about Neto being left out Iraola said: "I think he understands. Everyone understands there is strong competition in his position and they have to be always ready to play. You have to train well and they are doing that - Mark [Travers], Neto, Andrei Radu, and Darren [Randolph]. The ones that are playing less minutes are trying to push."

• Asked further on if dropping his captain was hard he added: "No, at the end it is the decisions you make for one game. Probably we give it more importance because it's the goalkeeper but for me it's like any other position. Sometimes we change other positions - no one asked me why I put Alex Scott on the other day, maybe it becomes a bigger thing because it's the goalkeeper but for me it's just a different position."

• On how much Dominic Solanke is worth, he said: "For me as a manager he is worth a lot of money. The more expensive we put him, the better for the manager. I understand the club, I think we will try to keep him - that is what we want. We don't want anyone to come with the money but we know how the market works. But I will not be the one to put on the price. If I was to, it will be very easy for me to put it very, very expensive. He has scored a lot of goals, he played very well, so probably there will be offers for him - yes."

Follow Friday's Premier League news conferences here

Listen to live commentary of Bournemouth vs Brighton on Sunday from 13:55 GMT on BBC Radio 5 live

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On the latest episode of Cherries Unpicked, BBC Radio Solent's Jordan Clark and Kris Temple discuss Bournemouth goalkeepers Neto and and Mark Travers and where their futures may lie.

Neto was seemingly dropped for Travers in Wednesday's victory over Wolves, his first Premier League match of the season.

Temple said you could not "find fault" with how Travers performed.

"He caught everything, commanded his box well, came out a few times to kick it clear and made a great save at 0-0 early on from [Pablo] Sarabia," said Temple.

"I don't think you could pick any holes, I thought he passed with flying colours.

"I think [Iraola has brought Travers in] to put him in the shop window but I also think it might be prompted by Neto's moments.

"I stand by my thoughts that I think it would be best for Travers to start fresh and be number one somewhere else. I think Travers will have an idea on what will be best for him this summer.

"Neto is on big money and I don't think they can afford to have him as a number two, but they need two goalkeepers who are providing genuine competition.

"The question is - do you pay big money [for a goalkeeper] and have massive money tied up in the position, or go for someone a little bit younger and more progressive who might not cost as much but might not prove to be genuine competition for Neto?"

Bournemouth fans, we want to hear from you. What do you want to happen to Bournemouth's goalkeeper union this summer? Would you be happy to keep Neto and Travers, or do you want some fresh faces between the sticks?

Let us know your thoughts on Bournemouth's goalkeepers here

Image source, Getty Images

Bournemouth will be heading to Los Angeles for their summer pre-season training camp in preparation for the 2024-25 Premier League campaign.

The squad will depart for the United States on 15 July and their main base will be Dignity Health Sports Park, the training ground of Major League Soccer team LA Galaxy.

During their two-week trip, the Cherries will also visit Santa Barbara and owner Bill Foley's Hotel Californian.

Andoni Iraola's squad will also play their first two pre-season friendlies during their time on the west coast of the USA, although details of these fixtures are yet to be announced by the club.

Bournemouth chief executive Neill Blake said: "I'm delighted that we are able to confirm this exciting news, and that we will be providing the best possible preparation for the playing squad to continue their great work of this season.

"We have secured an incredible facility for Andoni and his staff to operate in, for the start of what will be an historic season for AFC Bournemouth as we prepare to move into a state-of-the-art training ground of our own."

The club also confirmed that a further two pre-season friendlies will be hosted at Vitality Stadium in the build-up to next season, stating: "Opponents for these fixtures will be announced over the summer."

We asked for your views on Bournemouth's 1-0 win over Wolves on Wednesday.

Here are some of your answers:

Wolves fans

Mark: Bournemouth gave us a lesson in playing as a team. They were excellent - we were dreadful. Jose Sa stopped it being 6-0. What an utterly disappointing end to an otherwise very good season.

John: Very poor performance. The players didn’t seem interested. Second half was improved but still rubbish. Good job we are safe or we would be in relegation trouble.

Phillip: Absolute rubbish. [Pablo] Sarabia is a total waste of space and would struggle to get in a Sunday morning side. [Max] Kilman makes far too many mistakes so get shot of him. Far too much passing sideways and backwards. A very boring watch.

Stephen: Absolutely shocking, what a terrible squad we have. End of season cannot come soon enough.

Bournemouth fans

Tom: Three points, thank you! I was reminded of that FA Cup match in 1957 which was the same result! Well done all.

Greg: Certainly seeing “Iraola ball” coming to fruition now. The whole team is playing their hearts out and thoroughly deserved the win. So difficult to nominate a man of the match as everyone gave everything. Bill Foley’s vision of European football at Dean Court within five seasons seems more and more reachable.

Robin: Great performance by the Cherries - closing on their best ever season and now in the top half of the Premiership. Terrific first season for Andoni Iraola!

Gary Lineker introduces highlights and analysis from Wednesday night's four Premier League fixtures as well as the goals from Tuesday's game.

If you missed Match of the Day, you can catch up on the action on BBC iPlayer.

Image source, Getty Images

Bournemouth manager Andoni Iraola, speaking to BBC Match of the Day: "I'm very happy with the performance. The three points are very welcome.

"We were very good for 60 or 65 minutes but then it was difficult when we got the red card. We couldn't keep pressing high.

"I think everyone was thinking about the Aston Villa game [on Sunday] when we had chances to score a second and didn't. We thought it could be the same tonight.

"When we didn't score the second we had to defend compact.

"We were lucky in the 100th minute that the goal was ruled out for offside."

On whether VAR was right to rule out Hwang Hee-Chan's goal: "I think it's a clear foul to Justin [Kluivert].

"It doesn't allow him to defend the cross where the goal comes from. It would be more controversial if he isn't part of the equation but he was part of the play."

On whether it was right to send off Milos Kerkez: "I think it's a yellow card. I think he will be punished for three games.

"He goes with one leg and bends his knee to avoid damaging the player.

"We will appeal because I don't feel the punishment is right."

On trying to achieve a club-record points tally in the Premier League: "We are looking forward to getting the points. We know we have difficult games.

"Two points doesn't seem much but it is. We have to be very good to beat Brighton [on Sunday] and I hope we arrive well."

Image source, Getty Images

Bournemouth's 1-0 win at Wolves was as convincing as it comes.

The Cherries came out of the traps quickly, peppering Jose Sa's goal with chance after chance and eventually breaking the deadlock via Antoine Semenyo shortly before half-time.

Wolves struggled to offer much in the other direction with Pablo Sarabia's shot, which was saved comfortably by Mark Travers, the only moment of attacking intent in the opening 45 minutes.

With the home crowd growing restless, there was a feeling that Bournemouth's failure to grab a second goal might come back to haunt them.

It seemed like that was the case when Hwang Hee-chan headed in just after the hour mark, but his goal was eventually ruled out after VAR advised referee Stuart Attwell to take another look on the pitchside monitor.

Attwell deemed that Matheus Cunha had caught Justin Kluivert in the face with a swinging arm in the build-up.

Bournemouth did have to change their approach in the closing stages after Milos Kerkez was sent off for a challenge on Matt Doherty - boss Andoni Iraola later confirming the club intend to appeal that decision.

And VAR was involved again deep into stoppage time when Max Kilman's goal was chalked off for offside.

The victory puts Bournemouth up to 10th and just two points behind eighth-placed West Ham - not bad for a club which went nine games without a win at the start of the season.

Iraola is also on the verge of leading the club to a new club record top-flight points tally. They require just two points from their final four games to achieve that.

Here are the key facts and figures from Bournemouth's 1-0 win over Wolves in the Premier League on Wednesday night.

• Bournemouth have won their sixth away game in the Premier League this season, their joint-most victories on the road in a single campaign in the competition, after their debut season in 2015-16 (six).

• Wolves have failed to win any of their past seven matches in all competitions, they last went longer without victory in a single season in November 2016 (nine games).

• Bournemouth have won four of their seven away league games against Wolves (L3), winning consecutive such games for the first time.

• No player had more shots (four) or created more chances (four) in the match than Bournemouth's Ryan Christie, indeed it is his most shot involvements in a Premier League away game (eight).

• Bournemouth's Antoine Semenyo scored his ninth goal in the Premier League, on his 40th appearance in the competition. Indeed, seven of his nine goals have either put the Cherries ahead (five) or levelled their match (two).

• Milos Kerkez received Bournemouth's third red card in the league this season, the Cherries have never had more in a single campaign in the competition.

Antoine Semenyo scored the only goal as 10-man Bournemouth beat Wolves at Molineux to move into the top half of the Premier League table, despite having Milos Kerkez sent off.

Semenyo marked his return to the starting line-up with the opening goal, taking his tally to eight for the season when he slotted in from close range after Wolves failed to clear.

It was no less than the visitors deserved as they employed a positive approach from the outset.

Bournemouth created a plethora of chances with top scorer Dominic Solanke, Alex Scott, Kerkez and Justin Kluivert all testing home keeper Jose Sa, who performed admirably in the face of constant pressure.

The Cherries' profligacy in front of goal looked like it was going to be punished when Hwang Hee-chan looked to have equalised in the second half, but his effort was ruled out after the video assistant referee (VAR) asked on-field official Stuart Attwell to check the pitchside monitor for a foul in the build-up.

Attwell, who was at the centre of a VAR storm after Nottingham Forest's defeat by Everton on Sunday, deemed that Wolves substitute Matheus Cunha had caught Kluivert in the face with a swinging arm in the moments before Nelson Semedo delivered the cross for Hwang.

The game immediately fell back into its original pattern in the aftermath of that incident, with Bournemouth probing without finding any success in the final third, until they were reduced to 10-men for the final 10 minutes of regulation time after Hungary left-back Kerkez was shown a straight red card for a challenge on Matt Doherty.

Andoni Iraola's side hung on throughout the closing stages - including 12 minutes of stoppage time - for a win that moves them up to 10th, two points behind eighth-placed West Ham, while Wolves drop to 12th.

Were you at the match or did you follow it from elsewhere?

Wolves fans - let us know your thoughts on the game here

How did you rate the side's performance, Bournemouth fans?

Follow all of the reaction here

There are four matches being played in the Premier League on Wednesday, and we will bring you every moment.

All kick-off times BST

Follow live text updates here

Bournemouth’s experiences over the past two weekends held a mirror up to the current state of both their opponents.

After a disjointed Manchester United side came to Vitality Stadium, registered only two shots on target and were the beneficiaries of controversial penalty decisions at both ends, Cherries fans came away genuinely disappointed to only draw 2-2 with the fallen giants.

By contrast on Sunday, although Bournemouth took an early lead at Aston Villa, they were swept aside 3-1 by a team who looked light years ahead of United, and more than deserving of their current grip on the fourth and last Champions League place.

A trip to leaders Arsenal on 4 May is Bournemouth’s only remaining game against a top-eight side – but before then, they face two fellow mid-table teams in Wolves (on Wednesday) and Brighton (on Sunday) as they inch towards their target of surpassing their record top-flight points tally of 46.

Cherries boss Andoni Iraola faces his immediate predecessor Gary O’Neil at Molineux on Wednesday, but speaking in their pre-match news conferences on Tuesday, both declined the opportunity to stoke up any tension.

O’Neil said of Bournemouth “I’m pleased they are doing well”, while Iraola stated “It is just a match to get more points”.

Last season’s game at Wolverhampton was an old-fashioned “smash and grab” as Wolves dominated possession but Bournemouth scored with their only shot on target and came away with a 1-0 win, O’Neil’s first victory as permanent Cherries boss.

Wednesday’s game should be a little more open, but either side would move into the top 10 with a victory – a finishing position that would represent a huge feather in either manager’s cap.

Image source, Getty Images

Bournemouth defender Milos Kerkez has been speaking to BBC Radio Solent about his opening season in the Premier League.

"Playing forward is a little bit different than what I normally done beforehand for Bournemouth but I play further forward with Hungary, so, its not difficult to adjust to this new position - you just have to do what the team and coach want from you," he explained.

"We have five games to go, but why not play hard in the next five games and let's see what we can do. We just want to push and see what we can get out of it.

"I expected the Premier League to be what it's like physically so it's not been difficult to adapt as I have the physical attributes for it. This season, I have grown a lot tactically and on the ball. Andoni Iraola's football is similar to what I am used to with attacking a lot and playing on the front foot, it's similar to my previous coach in the Netherlands."

And on having potential admirers at other clubs the 20-year-old said: "I am not occupied with transfer news, the people who take care of me deal with all of that, I am only focused on Bournemouth and my performances here. I know I am young, I know what I can do and what level I can get to, so I just have to see what happens in the future."

Listen to the interview with BBC Radio Solent here

Chris Sutton is making predictions for every Premier League game this season against a variety of guests.

For this week's matches on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, he takes on actor Zack Morris, star of new thriller film Jericho Ridge.

Sutton's prediction: 1-1

This is a big game for Wolves manager Gary O'Neil, who again will be desperate to beat the side who sacked him in the summer.

Wolves won when they met on the south coast in October but back then Bournemouth had not got going under new boss Andoni Iraola, and were still waiting for their first league win.

This time it is Wolves who are short of form, and they have not won any of their five league games since being knocked out of the FA Cup by Coventry.

The Cherries have not won in three games either but their performances have still been pretty solid and I can see them getting something here - this game has got a draw written all over it.

Morris' prediction: 0-2

You can read the rest of the predictions here

Andoni Iraola has been speaking to the media before Wednesday's Premier League game at Wolves.

Here are the key lines from the Bournemouth boss:

• There are no new injury concerns but no players who have recently been out will recover in time either.

• On opponents Wolves: "They are having a very good season and are a bit like us. They are slowly recovering their important players and I expect changes in their line up because of that. We have to be ready to face a very good team."

• He said "it is just a match to get more points" in response to it being personal facing former Cherries manager Gary O'Neil.

• More from Iraola on their preparations: "I hope we will be ready because it is going to be another strong fight like it was against Aston Villa."

• On Dominic Solanke having a chance to win the Golden Boot: "It is going to be difficult because the other forwards are on very good form. But he will try for sure and he is performing very consistently. I am very happy and I am sure he is."

• He said beating the club's record points tally of 46 "is achievable but it’s going to be difficult because we have to beat strong teams and teams in good form in the last games".

Wolves host Bournemouth in the Premier League on Wednesday and here is a selection of key stats before they meet.

• Wolves have already completed the Premier League double over Chelsea, Everton and Tottenham Hotspur this season, and beat Bournemouth 2-1 in the reverse fixture in October. Only in 2019-20 (5), 2020-21 (4) and 2021-22 (4) have they done the double over 4+ opponents in the competition.

• Bournemouth have won five of their past six midweek (Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday) Premier League matches (D1), keeping four clean sheets in that run. The Cherries had been winless in nine such games before this (D2 L7).

• In all competitions, Wolves are winless in six games (D2 L4), this after having won four of their previous five beforehand. Wolves last went longer without a win within a season when they failed to win their final seven matches of the 2021-22 campaign under Bruno Lage.

• Bournemouth have lost five Premier League matches when they’ve netted the opening goal this season –only Brentford (six) have lost more. The Cherries have dropped 27 points from winning positions, with again only Brentford dropping more (30).

• Ryan Christie has created 43 chances for Bournemouth in the Premier League – the only player to create more in a campaign in the competition for the Cherries is Ryan Fraser, in 2018-19 (93) and 2019-20 (45).

Bournemouth fans often feel that our team and players go under the radar somewhat, but I think the vast majority are aware of recent recruit Justin Kluivert.

The main reason for this is undoubtedly due to his father, Patrick, who was excellent himself, scoring 40 goals for the Netherlands and 90 in La Liga for Barcelona.

Justin has always been seen as a player with potential, and at the age of 24, Bournemouth may well be the club who get to benefit from him finally finding his ‘home’.

Even at such a young age Justin has played in the top flight of Dutch, Italian, German, French, Spanish and now English football.

He has, in turn, joined Stevan Jovetic in an impressive statistic of scoring in each of the top five domestic leagues in Europe in the 21st century. Having had relatively short stints at various clubs around Europe it’s starting to feel as if Justin may well have found his ideal destination.

In Andoni Iraola, Bournemouth play the offensive brand of football that Kluivert is really starting to relish. As a forward-thinking player who’s often been utilised from a wide area, he has cemented his place in Iraola’s number 10 role, often being the catalyst in transitions to trigger Bournemouth’s counter and high-pressing style.

More is to come for sure, but I think plenty may start to target Kluivert when up against the Cherries. He is certainly one who has gone under the radar in Bournemouth’s impressive season.

Tom Jordan, Back of the Net, external