Aston Villa welcome Bournemouth to Villa Park in a crucial Premier League clash in battles for Europe and survival respectively.
Victory would see Villa climb to tenth for at least a few hours, whilst Bournemouth can move out of the relegation zone with at least a point if results elsewhere swing in their favour.
Team News
Leander Dendoncker could return for Aston Villa after he missed their 1-1 draw at West Ham due to a hand injury.
Boubacar Kamara (leg) is a doubt but Philippe Coutinho (muscle) and Jed Steer (Achilles) remain ruled out.
Bournemouth could welcome Hamed Traore back into contention following his recovery from a muscle injury, which kept him out of their 1-0 win over Liverpool.
Illia Zabarnyi (ankle) and Marcus Tavernier (hamstring) are both unlikely to be risked at Villa Park, but Junior Stanislas (unspecified) remains absent.
Adam Smith is set to miss this game after he suffered a groin injury last weekend.
When is Kick-Off?
Aston Villa host Bournemouth at 3pm GMT on Saturday 18 March at Villa Park, untelevised live in the UK.
Stat Attack
- Aston Villa have won just one of their five previous Premier League meetings against Bournemouth (W1, L4).
- Bournemouth have won each of their two previous visits to Villa Park by 2-1 result in March 2016 and August 2019 respectively.
- Three of the last four meetings between Villa and Bournemouth were won 2-1 by the Cherries, who also won 2-0 in August 2022.
- Villa have kept just one clean sheet in their last seven home games in all competitions (W3, D1, L3).
- Bournemouth have scored first in each of their last two away matches (W1, L1).
Prediction
Currently sat seven points off Brighton who occupies the last potential European qualification spot in seventh, Villa realistically know that their next few games are must-win if want to mount a late charge for a top-seven finish.
Unai Emery’s Villains first though will be frustrated to have not won at West Ham last weekend because they were as excellent as they’ve usually been in recent weeks, yet were frustrated by a series of saves so their task is to channel that frustration and deliver their best football.
Bournemouth however are a compact team who won’t make life easy for Villa and compared to their last away trip in which they defensively imploded at 2-0 up at Arsenal, the Cherries last weekend were much more solid and robust to fend off a spirited Liverpool across the pitch.
Gary O’Neil’s Cherries also seem to relish their trips Villa Park in the Premier League so I wouldn’t be surprised if this is a tougher game for Villa than some might think, although I do think that the hosts will finally get something from this specific home fixture.
Prediction: Aston Villa 1-1 Bournemouth
Result: Aston Villa 3-0 Bournemouth
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