Bournemouth's fall from grace has been nothing short of staggering. Once considered serious contenders for a Champions League spot, they've now devolved into hopefuls vying for a top-seven finish. The decline witnessed over recent weeks is agonizing to behold, with the once-buzzing chatter about high - level European football at the Vitality Stadium now a distant memory.

Under Andoni Iraola, Bournemouth's struggles are evident. Their last six games in the English top division have yielded no victories, and their most recent encounter against West Ham was a rollercoaster. In that topsy - turvy match, South American sensation Evanilson opened and closed the scoring, flanking Jarrod Bowen and Niclas Fullkrug's goals.

Eliminated by Manchester City in the FA Cup quarter - finals, Bournemouth's dreams of cup glory were shattered. What started as a promising 2024 - 25 season now threatens to end with the Cherries mired in the bottom half of the Premier League table. They're currently analyzing their worst home run in the top flight.

The Vitality Stadium has become a house of horrors for Bournemouth. They've lost their last four league matches at home and are on the brink of suffering a five - game losing streak for only the third time in their history. The previous such streaks occurred in 1996 and 2005, both during their time in the third tier of English football.

Midweek brought a glimmer of hope as it was confirmed that the Premier League would gain an extra Champions League spot through the UEFA coefficient. However, Bournemouth's defensive woes continue to haunt them. They've conceded two goals in each of their last five matches across all competitions, highlighting their vulnerability at the back.

While Bournemouth battles to prove their worth for European football, Fulham is on an upward trajectory. Last weekend, they achieved a significant feat by handing Liverpool their first away loss of the Premier League season. Despite falling behind to Alexis Mac Allister's stunning strike, Fulham fought back. Ryan Sessegnon, Alex Iwobi, and Rodrigo Muniz found the net at Craven Cottage, turning the game around and enhancing their own European aspirations.

A late Luis Diaz response proved futile as Marco Silva's men defied the odds to take down the champions-elect, the perfect tonic to back-to-back London derby losses to Crystal Palace (in the FA Cup) and Arsenal (in the Premier League) as they took themselves to within touching distance of the top seven.

As the Cottagers still have to take on Aston Villa on May 3, their European destiny lies in their own hands, but consistent inconsistency has prevented them from breaching the top-seven places so far; they have alternated between winning and losing their last seven Premier League games.

Precedent is therefore not on the visitors' side on Monday following their extraordinary success over Liverpool, but their goalscoring form on the road is, having netted in each of their last 14 Premier League matches away from home since their 1-0 loss to Manchester United on the opening day.

However, Fulham's attacking powers failed them in a 3-0 loss to Bournemouth at the Vitality last season, and they were pegged back twice when the Cherries visited Craven Cottage in December, as Dango Ouattara's 89th-minute leveller rescued a 2-2 draw for Iraola's outfit.

Having played through the pain of a chronic groin injury for a number of weeks, Bournemouth fulcrum Ryan Christie could not delay his inevitable surgery any longer and is now out for the rest of the season as he recovers from his recent operation.

Christie is one of two long-term absentees for the Cherries alongside Enes Unal (knee), while Justin Kluivert (unspecified), Marcus Tavernier (ankle) and Luis Sinisterra (hamstring) are all touch-and-go, but the latter is the least likely to return.

Now on nine goals for the season following his brace at the London Stadium, Evanilson could become just the fourth Brazilian to score 10 times in his debut Premier League campaign, following in the footsteps of Robinho, Roberto Firmino and Matheus Pereira.

Sticking with the Brazilian scoring theme, Fulham frontman Muniz is aiming to find the back of the net for the fourth Premier League game in a row, a feat that only one player from his country has previously managed - Richarlison.

Muniz's well-taken goal vs. Liverpool should be enough to keep Raul Jimenez at bay again, and Silva will surely see no need to make any alterations to the starting XI that took down the Reds with a scintillating first-half display.

In terms of injuries, Harry Wilson is in with a small chance of making the squad for the first time since his foot surgery in February, but on-loan Arsenal man Reiss Nelson is out for the season with a thigh problem.

Bournemouth possible starting lineup:

Kepa; Smith, Zabarnyi, Huijsen, Kerkez; Adams, Cook; Semenyo, Kluivert, Ouattara; Evanilson

Fulham possible starting lineup:

Leno; Castagne, Andersen, Bassey, Robinson; Berge, Lukic; Sessegnon, Pereira, Iwobi; Muniz