Premier League: Will Sunday be a Happy Homecoming for Howe?

Bournemouth vs Newcastle United

Newcastle United boss Eddie Howe returns to the club he made his name at on Sunday when the Magpies visit Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium in Match Day Two of the Premier League.

After a difficult start to the 2023/24 season Andoni Araola led Bournemouth to a 12^th place finish, five places behind Newcastle and, while the two clubs have different aspirations, this will be a well fought out clash. Premier League: Bournemouth vs Newcastle United gives the Magpies manager a chance to catch up with some old friends, but he knows full well that the club’s owners expect him to lead Newcastle back into Europe.

Howe coached Bournemouth to three promotions, taking the Cherries to the Premier League, and he kept them in the top flight for five seasons. After a year out of the game he became Newcastle manager and Howe brought Champions League football to the club for the first time in two decades. Bournemouth have more modest aspirations. The first objective is to avoid a relegation scrap, then it’s a top ten finish and, if they achieve that it will be a job very well done.     

 

Talking Points

Will Iraola unleash Evanilson?

The sale of Dominic Solanke to Tottenham Hotspur always seemed likely after the former Liverpool man ripped up the Premier League last season. So the question on everybody’s lips down on the South coast was, ‘how will the Cherries cope without their main man?’ Well a 1-1 draw away to Nottingham Forest was a decent enough start and a welcome result after Chris Wood had given the hosts a lead. Antoine Semenyo popped up to score a late leveller and Bournemouth avoided defeat.

And now the Cherries fans are licking their lips at the thought of new striker Evanilson taking a bow. The club broke a record by paying £40.3m for the Brazilian who starred for Porto last season, scoring 25 goals including in the Champions League. His arrival is a great coup for Bournemouth and the club’s owners have high hopes that the 24 year old Selecao star can be every bit the player Solanke was.

Bournemouth had already brought in attacking midfielder Luis Sinisterra from Leeds at a cost of £20m and striker Enes Unal from Getafe for £14m so, as ever, this is a team determined to play on the front foot.      

 

Schar out for Newcastle

In other Bournemouth vs Newcastle United news Howe has confirmed that influential defender Fabian Schar will be absent on Sunday after he picked up a red card early in the Magpies 1-0 win over Southampton last week. The Swiss star was sent off in an off-the-ball incident with the Saints’ forward Ben Brereton Diaz and his straight red means he will serve a three match ban. Newcastle have been looking at the sending off and have been considering an appeal but Howe has reported that Schar will at least sit the Bournemouth game out. The manager is also dealing with reports that experienced wingback Kieran Trippier wants out of the club after he missed out the opener as an unused substitute as the Geordies held on to their 1-0 lead thanks to a Joelinton goal and a well organised defence.

Newcastle will be hard to break down again on Sunday and with the likes of Joelinton, Alexander Isak, Anthony Gordon and skipper Bruno Guimaraes in the front six they will be a very serious threat in attack.       

 

History

Newcastle have had the better of the head to heads with Bournemouth, with five wins to three and there have been five draws in all competitions over the last decade. But last year the game at the Vitality Stadium ended in a 2-0 win for the Cherries as Solanke plundered a double.

The return match in the North East ended in a 2-2 draw, Solanke and Semenyo scoring for the Cherries while Anthony Gordon and Matt Ritchie replied for the Magpies; and the pre-match Bournemouth vs Newcastle United betting odds predict another tight affair on Sunday.

 

Betting Tips

This match is wide open, with the hosts at SBOTOP odds of 2.72 to take all three points and their visitors the favourites at 2.15; and I think the two teams could easily cancel each other out. For an alternative bet 2-3 goals is available at a price of 2.01 while the most likely goal score is 1-1 at odds of 6.95.

   

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