Premier League | Gameweek 26

Feb 22, 2025 at 3pm UK

Vitality Stadium

Bournemouth vs Wolves

Match preview

Bournemouth have been one of the surprise packages of the season and Andoni Iraola's side have been in fine form in recent months, losing just one of their last 15 games in all competitions (W10 D4).

The Cherries have won three of their last four Premier League games and extended their unbeaten run on the road in all competitions to eight games (W6 D2) after a 3-1 win at lowly Southampton last weekend thanks to goals from Dango Ouattara, Ryan Christie and Marcus Tavernier.

Iraola's men capitalised on the defeats of Chelsea and Newcastle United to move up to fifth in the table, just one point behind fourth-placed Manchester City and four behind third-placed Nottingham Forest. The Cherries are just five points off last season's top-flight record of 48 points with 13 games remaining, and need just one more win to equal last season's tally of 13.

Bournemouth return to the Vitality Stadium this weekend, where they lost 2-0 to league leaders Liverpool last time out, and have not lost consecutive home league games since October 2023, when they lost 2-1 to Wolves.

Nevertheless, Bournemouth will fancy their chances of picking up maximum points on Saturday as they have taken 20 points from their last 10 PL home games and have also won three of their last four top-flight meetings with Wolves, albeit all three on the road.

Wolves' recent run of form in the Premier League - five defeats in their last six games - has not made for good reading, but Vitor Pereira can take some positives from his side's performances in their last two games against Aston Villa and Liverpool.

A fortnight after beating Aston Villa 2-0 on home soil, a spirited Wolves side went down 2-1 at league leaders Liverpool last weekend, despite a "fantastic" second-half performance in the eyes of Pereira, whose side prevented Liverpool from registering a single shot on target in the second half of a match at Anfield for the first time since records began in 2003-04.

However, picking up valuable points is the priority for Wolves, who remain 17th in the Premier League and in danger of relegation after 18th-placed Ipswich Town took a point last time out to move to within two points of safety.

Wolves have enjoyed their recent visits to the Vitality Stadium, having not lost any of their previous four top-flight away meetings with Bournemouth, alternating draws (2) and victories (2), which is their longest unbeaten run away from home in the history of the division.

However, Saturday's clash with the Cherries will be Wolves' fourth successive away game in the PL against a team that started the day in the top six, and they have lost each of the other three. In fact, the Old Gold have won just one of their last 28 away games against top-six sides (D3 L24) - a 2-1 victory over fourth-placed Tottenham in February 2024.

Recent Performance

Bournemouth Premier League form:WDWWLW

Bournemouth form (all competitions):DWWLWW

Wolverhampton Wanderers Premier League form:LLLLWL

Wolverhampton Wanderers form (all competitions):LLLWWL

Team News

Bournemouth are still without Evanilson (foot), Enes Unal (ACL), James Hill, Marcos Senesi, Julian Araujo (all hamstring) and Adam Smith (muscle) through injury, but Julio Soler is expected to return to the Cherries this week after finishing runners-up with Argentina in the South American Under-20 Championship.

Iraola was boosted by the return of Alex Scott and Luis Sinisterra last weekend and the former could be in contention for a start in midfield, although Tyler Adams and Ryan Christie are expected to continue their partnership in the middle of the park.

Bournemouth's Dango Ouattara has been involved in nine goals in his last 11 Premier League games (six goals, three assists), as well as in his first 60 league appearances (three goals, six assists), and the Burkina Faso international could continue to feature up front for the Cherries.

For Wolves, Enso Gonzalez, Yerson Mosquera, Leon Chiwome and Sasa Kalajdzic remain sidelined with knee injuries, while January signing Emmanuel Agbadou looks set for a spell on the sidelines after pulling a hamstring in the defeat at Liverpool.

Sam Johnstone, Rodrigo Gomes (both unspecified) and Hwang Hee-Chan (hamstring) will all be assessed after missing the Anfield defeat, but on the plus side, Pereira has been boosted by the return to training of Jorgen Strand Larsen, who could be in contention to return to the matchday squad.

New midfielder Marshall Munetsi made a surprise appearance as a makeshift striker when he came on in the second half against Liverpool. It remains to be seen whether Pereira will start with the Zimbabwean in the middle on Saturday, with the possibility of a three-man attack featuring Goncalo Guedes, Pablo Sarabia and star man Matheus Cunha, who has scored in each of his last three games.

Possible starting lineup

Bournemouth possible starting lineup:

Kepa; Cook, Zabarnyi, Huijsen, Kerkez; Christie, Adams; Brooks, Kluivert, Semenyo; Ouattara

Wolverhampton Wanderers possible starting lineup:

Sa; Doherty, S. Bueno, Toti; Semedo, J. Gomes, Andre, Ait-Nouri; Sarabia, Cunha; Guedes