Bournemouth welcome Hull City to the Vitality Stadium in a stand-out Sky Bet Championship clash.
Victory would see Bournemouth stay second and potentially move to within two points of league leaders – Fulham, if the Cottagers lose away at Stoke City.
Team News
Jordan Zemura could return for Bournemouth after Zimbabwe were knocked out of the 2022 Africa Cup of Nations in midweek.
Ethan Laird, Robbie Brady (both unspecified), Adam Smith (knee), David Brooks (illness) and Junior Stanislas (hamstring) are ruled out.
Hull have no fresh injury concerns to report as Callum Elder (groin), Andy Cannon, Mallik Wilks (both ankle), Lewis Coyle (ankle), Josh Emmanuel (leg) and Alfie Jones (hamstring) remain absent.
Stat Attack
- Bournemouth have claimed four points from their last five meetings against Hull (W1, D1, L3).
- Hull have won two of their last five visits to Bournemouth (W2, D1, L2).
- Scott Parker’s Cherries have deployed the 4-3-3 formation in 15 of their 26 league games so far this season.
- Hull are yet to score from the penalty spot this season in all competitions.
- In two matches refereed by Matthew Donohue this season, Hull have failed to win on either occasion (D1, L1).
Prediction
Hull come into this match off the back of a clinical midweek win over Blackburn Rovers just hours after the club was taken over, which also saw a marked improvement on last Sunday’s loss to Stoke because their defending was stronger and proved the difference in a clean sheet.
Bournemouth meanwhile have had a week to prepare for this match but need to quickly end their rut of just nine points from nine matches, especially if they’re to challenge for the title as well as automatic promotion so this is a must-win after being outclassed at Luton last weekend.
Stats though suggest that this could be a see-saw battle given Bournemouth’s trickiness in this fixture and Hull’s steady away form against the Cherries, so I am expecting a tough fight here but Bournemouth should edge it if got the fresher legs in the closing stages.
Prediction: Bournemouth 1-0 Hull
Result: Bournemouth 0-1 Hull
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