Bournemouth will welcome Southampton to Vitality Stadium this Wednesday for their 12th Round fixture of the 2022/23 Premier League season.
Venue: Vitality Stadium (Bournemouth)
Key Statistics
Bournemouth are unbeaten in their last six league games (W2, D4).
Bournemouth have beaten Southampton just twice since the turn of the century (D4, L8)
They have kept three clean sheets in five home league games this season.
Southampton have lost their last three away games without scoring a goal.
The visitors have won just one of their last seven games (D1, L5).
They are on a run of 19 straight EPL away games without a clean sheet.
Bournemouth have failed to win 12 of their last 14 PL games played on a Wednesday (D3, L9).
Head to head
In ten Premier League meetings between both sides, Southampton have four wins while Bournemouth have two wins.
Latest performances in all competitions
Bournemouth: D-W-D-D-W
Southampton: D-L-L-L-L
Bournemouth
Bournemouth will look to continue their impressive start to life under interim manager Gary O’Neil when they welcome their South-coast rivals to the Vitality Stadium on Wednesday.
The Cherries have been given a new lease of life under Scott Parker’s former assistant who has guided the club to a six-game unbeaten run since taking over in late August. A commendable 2-2 draw at Fulham over the weekend was the most recent of these results, with Bournemouth showing their spirit by scoring two early goals.
Talk has continued to grow around whether O’Neil will be given the Bournemouth job permanently, but the picture will become more clear once the club’s impending takeover is complete.
For now, the 39-year-old Englishman will be focused on keeping his side’s unbeaten run going for another game as they look to cement their place in the top half. Currently, they sit in the tenth position, level on points with Liverpool, who beat them 9-0 earlier this season, albeit with a game more.
Should they avoid defeat here, they would match their club-record seven-game Premier League (PL) unbeaten run from the 2017/18 campaign. Such an outcome would perhaps be made that much sweeter against South Coast rivals Southampton, who they have only beaten twice since the turn of the century (D4, L8).
Possible Bournemouth starting line-up
Mark Travers; Jefferson Lerma, Chris Mepham, Marcos Senesi; Adam Smith, Ben Pearson, Philip Billing, Jordan Zemura; Marcus Tavernier, Ryan Christie, Dominic Solanke.
Injured: Lloyd Kelly, David Brooks
Doubtful: Ben Pearson
Suspended: None
Southampton
Southampton will travel to Vitality Stadium looking to win their first league game since a 2-1 win over Chelsea in August.
The Saints have been in a terrible run of form since the beginning of September, with four losses and a draw in the five games they have played since then. Their last outing was a 1-1 draw with West Ham and ended a run of four consecutive losses and two games without a goal.
Despite getting a point from the game, it wasn’t enough to keep them outside of the bottom three. They come into this tie sitting in 18th place and in danger of getting relegated.
Their lowly league position which has resulted from them winning just two of their opening ten games has left many questioning boss Ralph Hasenhüttl’s job security. Yet the Austrian might not panic yet as he posted an identical return of points at this stage in 2019/20 but still finished in a respectable 11th position.
If he wants his side’s resurgence to begin here, they will have to find at least a couple of goals to secure a win, or end a run of 19 straight PL away games without a clean sheet.
The Saints have recently been woeful on their road trips, losing ‘to nil’ in their last three away games. However, two narrow defeats to Wolves and Villa suggest that even if they lose again, it shouldn’t be a landslide.
Possible Southampton starting line-up
Gavin Bazunu; Kyle Walker-Peters, Duje Caleta-Car, Mohammed Salisu, Romain Perraud; James Ward-Prowse, Ainsley Maitland-Niles, Joe Aribo, Mohamed Elyounoussi; Che Adams, Adam Armstrong.
Injured: Valentino Livramento, Armel Bella-Kotchap
Doubtful: None
Suspended: None
Prediction
Bournemouth 1-1 Southampton
