Yahoo Sports Bournemouth vs Southampton: Preview, predictions and lineups
Gameweek 6 of the 2024/25 Premier League season concludes as Bournemouth take on Southampton on Monday night.
Bournemouth's Vitality Stadium will play host to this battle between two south coast outfits, with the Cherries aiming to ignite their season against the newly-promoted Saints.
Andoni Iraola endured a slow start to his Cherries tenure last season and Bournemouth have started in a similar vein this time around. The Spaniard's side have picked up five points from as many games and were most recently cast aside by Liverpool at Anfield.
The signs were ominous for Southampton during the first couple of weeks of the season, but their performance levels have improved considerably after the international break and they picked up their first point of the season against Ipswich Town last time out. Russell Martin's side were just minutes away from bagging all three points before Sam Morsy struck with a deflected effort from range in stoppage time.
Still, their recent improvement will hand the visitors confidence of recording a positive result at the Vitality on Monday.
Here is 90min's guide this week's iteration of Monday night's fixture.
Bournemouth vs Southampton H2H Record (Last Five Games)
Last meeting: Southampton 0-1 Bournemouth (27 April 2023) - Premier League
Current form (all competitions)
How to watch Bournemouth vs Southampton on TV and live stream
Bournemouth team news
Tyler Adams remains out for the home side but the USMNT international is expected to be Bournemouth's only notable absentee.
Adam Smith and Marcos Senesi are contenders to return to Iraola's starting XI after dropping to the bench at Anfield. Enes Unal is likely to fight off summer arrival Evanilson for a starting spot up top.
Antoine Semenyo has been the Cherries' star man at the start of the new season and he'll continue down their right flank on Monday night.
Bournemouth predicted lineup vs Southampton
Bournemouth predicted lineup vs Southampton (4-2-3-1): Kepa; Smith, Zabarnyi, Senesi, Kerkez; Cook, Christie; Semenyo, Kluivert, Tavernier; Unal
Southampton team news
Martin has offered some tactical flexibility over the first month of the season, with the Saints boss switching between back threes and fours. Southampton have had more success with a four-man defence in recent weeks, so they'll likely retain that system on Monday night.
The visitors are without Gavin Bazunu, Kamaldeen Sulemana and Will Smallbone due to injury, although Smallbone is believed to be closing in on a return.
Tyler Dibling is the man to watch down Southampton's right, with the teenager scoring his first Premier League goal against Ipswich last time out.
Southampton predicted lineup vs Bournemouth (4-2-3-1): Ramsdale; Sugawara, Harwood-Bellis, Bednarek, Taylor; Lallana, Downes; Dibling, Fernandes, Fraser; Archer.
Bournemouth vs Southampton score prediction
Bournemouth's start pales in comparison to their early season woes under Iraola during his debut campaign, but the Cherries could do with securing their second Premier League win of the new campaign to help burst it into life.
This is poised to be an intriguing tactical bout and it'll be interesting to see which side seizes the initiative. Bournemouth's pressing should come to the fore against a Saints team that wants to build up from the back and the Cherries' ability to win back possession high up the pitch could prove key.
Martin could do with being a little more pragmatic by opting against incessant intricacy in deeper zones. A more direct possession play would serve the visitors well, but there's unlikely to be a drastic change in philosophy from the Saints boss.
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