Premier League: Cherries can Leave a Bitter Taste in Tottenham

Tottenham Hotspur vs AFC Bournemouth

Back in late October Spurs versus Bournemouth would have been a sure-fire home win as Ange Postecoglou’s Tottenham raced to the top of the Premier League, while Bournemouth had to wait until their tenth game to register their first win.   

After a difficult start to the campaign Bournemouth kept faith with head coach Andoni Ariola and he has since led the Cherries on an amazing run of six wins from eight games and they are now sitting happily in 12^th place and ten points above the drop zone. That long awaited victory, over Burnley was a catalyst to launch Bournemouth’s campaign but, in the meantime, Tottenham have been going the other way, five losses from nine games seeing them drop to fifth place and the latest Premier League 2023 betting odds rate their chances of finishing in the top for as increasingly slim.   

With Manchester City, Liverpool and Arsenal likely to finish in the top three, Spurs are battling with Aston Villa, Manchester United and West Ham for that fourth place, and I wouldn’t rule out a run from either Newcastle United or Brighton and Hove Albion either, especially as the Seagulls have just thumped Spurs 4-2.

The way things look right now I reckon the Cherries can make things difficult when they visit the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on New Year’s Eve and the Spurs fans may well end up with a nasty hangover.      

Talking Points

Kulusevski blow for tired Tottenham

In Spurs’ Thursday date with Brighton they could hardly have had a worse night and only two late goals made the score respectable. They are missing some key players, including attacking midfielder Jams Maddison, who was hugely influential during Spurs’ explosive start to the campaign, midfield general Rodrigo Bentancur and the first choice centre back pairing of Cristian Romero and Micky ven de Roon. 

Hot head midfielder Yves Bissouma is in the middle of a three match ban following his second red card of the season, and now there is more bad news for Postecoglou. Swedish winger Dejan Kulusevski has been in sensational form, scoring five goals and putting in a man-of the match performance in a recent victory over Nottingham Forest as he made a world class assist with a pin point cross for Richarlison to score the opener. But he didn’t have so much fun against the Seagulls and Kulusevski picked up his fifth yellow card of the campaign to join Bissouma in the sin bin. 

Of course Postecoglou will go out on the attack against the Cherries and will hope that captain Heung Min Son will add to his 11 goals and Richarlison to his five, while midfielder Oliver Skipp is likely to be drafted into the squad. I suspect Spurs will need to score two or more to win this game.    

Solanke has found his Premier League feet

With 12 goals for the campaign Bournemouth striker Dominic Solanke has announced himself as a top class striker to be feared. The former Liverpool player is now level with Liverpool’s Mo Salah and behind only Manchester City’s goal machine Erling Braut Haaland who has 14.

He struggled to live up to his potential in his early twenties but he learned how to hit the back of the net with Bournemouth in the Championship and now, at 26 years of age, Solanke has stepped up to the Premier League in some style. He’s a player in demand, with Arsenal one of the clubs following his progress closely, but Solanke extended his contract at Bournemouth in September in a deal which commits him to the Cherries until 2027…and that now makes him an expensive prospect for any potential buyer.

Spurs will be well aware of the threat that Solanke carries, but they will also need to be aware of the danger presented by players like Marcus Tavernier and Ryan Christie, while defensive midfielder Phillip Billing has a superb shot on him and, at 6ft 4in he’s a real threat at set pieces.     

History

Tottenham have won 11, drawn two and lost two of the head to heads including a 2-0 win at the Vitality Stadium in August as Maddison and Kulusevski were on target but, of course, the Cherries don’t need to worry about that pair.

With five wins and a draw from the last six games the visitors have been on an amazing run while Tottenham begun to recapture their early season form, winning the last three before they were stopped in their tracks by Brighton.

Betting Tip

With Spurs are at SBOTOP odds of 1.63 to win, the draw at 3.94 and a Bournemouth victory at 3.83 a home victory is the more likely outcome, But the Cherries’ recent Premier League 2023 results have been outstanding and I can see them getting something to take back to the South Coast on Sunday.

 

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