Cherries face Newcastle United in home clash.
The Cherries face Newcastle United at the Vitality Stadium in what promises to be an intriguing Premier League clash, with both sides carrying contrasting records into the contest. Bournemouth vs. Newcastle United kicks off at 14:00 [GMT+1] on Sunday, September 21.
The recent head-to-head record offers encouragement for Andoni Iraola’s side. After their emphatic 4-1 victory at St James’ Park in January, Bournemouth are now aiming for back-to-back league wins over Newcastle for only the second time in club history, the previous instance coming back in November 2017. The Cherries are also unbeaten in their last six Premier League meetings with the Magpies (W2 D4), underlining their ability to frustrate this opposition. Form, however, tells a different story. After a 4-2 defeat to Liverpool on the opening day, 4th-placed Bournemouth have bounced back impressively, recording three straight wins in the league [LWWW]. Should they claim victory here, it would mark the third time in their Premier League history that they have won four in a row, the previous two occasions coming in December 2023 and August 2018 under current Newcastle boss Eddie Howe. Bournemouth’s squad rotation also stands out this season. They have already used 22 players—second only to Wolves (23)—yet despite this, they’ve made just two changes to their starting XIs, fewer than any side except Nottingham Forest (1). Such consistency in selection has been the bedrock of their early momentum. A 4—2—3—1 formation with Evanilson in attack is expected against Newcastle.
Newcastle will be looking to forget their 2-1 loss to Barcelona on UCL Match Day 1 ahead of the weekend’s trip to Bournemouth. Meanwhile, Eddie Howe, now in the Newcastle dugout, faces his former club at a time when the Magpies’ attack has gone cold on the road. They have failed to score in three consecutive away league matches (D2 L1), with the last two ending goalless. Newcastle last endured a four-game away drought back in the 2020/21 season. Interestingly, only Leicester City in 1976/77 have drawn each of their first three away top-flight matches in a season 0-0—a record Howe’s side will be desperate to avoid repeating. However, while Bournemouth have thrived in recent encounters, Newcastle have generally enjoyed their trips to the south coast. They have only lost once in seven Premier League visits to the Vitality Stadium (W2 D4), a defeat rate of just 14%. In fact, among grounds they have visited at least as many times, only at Wolves (10%) and Nottingham Forest (0%) have the Magpies suffered fewer defeats. A 4—3—3 formation with Nick Woltemade, Harvey Barnes and Elanga in attack is expected.