Please, try again later
That week between Christmas and New Year is always a tough one to navigate, but for Bournemouth fans it has been tougher than most. Trips to Tottenham and Manchester United were never likely to yield much in the way of point scoring opportunities, but the travelling fans won’t have been prepared for the duo of thrashings they were on the receiving end of.
Spurs won 5-0 at Wembley before a new-look Man Utd hammered them 4-1 on Sunday to continue their rather disappointing winter form. They have now won just 2 of their last 10 Premier League games, although you can’t be overly hard on them after facing Manchester United (twice), Arsenal, Manchester City, Liverpool, and Spurs during this spell.
Now, The Cherries can look forward to more optimistic fixtures on the calendar. Watford are first up, and they face Everton, West Ham, Chelsea, and Cardiff over the next month or so. This should give them the chance to push back up the table, and the fact that they are still only 3 points adrift of 7th place is impressive, given their recent form.
Watford are hovering just above their opponents in 9th place with a 2 point cushion over them. They have also had a poor run throughout the winter months, winning 2, drawing 3, and losing 5 of their last 10 league games. Unlike Bournemouth, however, The Hornets haven’t had a particularly challenging run of fixtures to contend with.
Eddie Howe’s real weapon is his sides’ home record this season. They have lost 3 of their 10 Premier League games at the Vitality Stadium, but those defeats have come against Manchester United, Arsenal, and Liverpool. Their form against the more evenly matches teams is excellent, only dropping points against Everton and Southampton and beating the rest.
In their last 11 matches, Bournemouth have played sides in the top six, seven times, and lost all. They are coming from two outings they will want to quickly forget about, having picked a 4 – 1 loss to Manchester United and a 5 – 0 loss to Tottenham Hotspur. The next run of four matches are in winnable category for Bournemouth and they will want to go for the kill to cushion themselves though they will have to be cautious of this Watford side that recently beat Chelsea, before being forced to a draw by Newcastle United. Just like Watford, Bournemouth have managed one clean sheet in the last five matches but while Bournemouth have managed three points from a possible 15 in the last five matches, Watford have picked eight, and will thus be favorites heading to this clash and having scored in each of the last six matches, they will pose a real threat to Bournemouth, who have just one clean sheet in the last 12 matches. Bournemouth have managed six points in their last five home league games and have scored in four of those, while Watford have five points from their last five away matches in the league and failed to score in two of those while keeping just one clean sheet. Four of the last five meetings between the two sides have produced over 2.5 goals while seven of the last 10 have ended in draws. In 16 meetings, Bournemouth have three wins and Watford six.