Bournemouth seek to continue their resurgent form against Premier League title-chasing Aston Villa.
Victory can lift Bournemouth as high as ninth if Fulham and Everton draw in their meeting at Craven Cottage, whilst Villa can go second with a win.
Team News
David Brooks could return from Bournemouth after an ankle injury sidelined the Welsh midfielder in recent weeks.
Julio Soler (unspecified), Will Dennis (ankle), Ben Doak, Marcus Tavernier (both hamstring), Tyler Adams, Justin Kluivert (both knee) and Matai Akinmboni (muscle) remain absent.
Villa could welcome Ollie Watkins back after he missed their 1-0 defeat to Brentford due to a hamstring injury.
Amadou Onana could also feature after he was an unused substitute against the Bees due to a knock.
Alysson (knee) could make his debut if he passes fitness checks but Andres Garcia (hamstring), Youri Tielemans (ankle), John McGinn and Boubacar Kamara (both knee) remain absent.
When is Kick-Off?
Bournemouth host Villa at Vitality Stadium on Saturday 7 February at 3pm GMT, untelevised live in the UK.
Stat Attack
- Bournemouth are winless in their last six league meetings against Villa (D2, L4).
- Villa have claimed seven points in their five previous Premier League trips to Bournemouth (W2, D1, L2)
- Watkins has scored in both of Villa’s last two visits to Bournemouth (W1, D1).
- Evanilson have scored in each of Bournemouth’s last two home matches (W2), which saw the Cherries beat Tottenham then Liverpool by 3-2 results.
- Villa is yet to concede in two away top-flight games in 2026 (W1, D1), having won 2-0 at Newcastle and drawn 0-0 at Crystal Palace.
Prediction
Having found their feet again in the past month, Bournemouth just need to keep building momentum to get back into the hunt for European qualifications – especially after a clinical smash-and-grab 2-0 win at Wolves despite having been outplayed attack wise in both halves.
Villa meanwhile again just didn’t have the end product at home in a frustrating defeat to a resilient Brentford defence but in between their last two domestic home games, they did win at Newcastle, which will give them some optimism on top of their recent head-to-head form against the Cherries.
With that in mind, I expect this to be a close game because I can imagine Bournemouth trying to replicate Brentford’s sucker-punch display but Villa should have enough quality to get something here, so a draw feels like a fair call.
Prediction: Bournemouth 1-1 Aston Villa
Result: Bournemouth 1-1 Aston Villa
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