Overview
Bournemouth's disappointing 11-match winless streak in the Premier League (5 draws, 6 losses) has now become a distant memory, as they have won 10 points after their last 4 unbeaten matches (3 wins, 1 draw), thereby dispelling the worry of relegation.
Bournemouth successively defeated Tottenham and Liverpool 3-2 at home, interspersed with a 1-1 draw with Brighton, before defeating Wolves 2-0 last weekend. This streak of results helped Andoni Iraola's team rise to 12th place, 13 points ahead of the relegation group and only 6 points behind the top 6.
Notably, Bournemouth proved to be very lucky against the "big guys" this season when they won 5/7 recent Premier League matches against top 3 teams (2 losses), and also won points against Tottenham, Chelsea, Manchester United and Newcastle.
However, the defense is still the weakness of The Cherries. Only the bottom 3 teams conceded more than them (43 goals), and Bournemouth is also the team that conceded the most goals from set pieces (16 goals, penalty not counted) - only less than the 2022-2023 season (21 goals) in terms of "injury" in dead balls.
Entering the reception of Aston Villa, Bournemouth aims to end a 6-match winless streak against the Midlands representative in the Premier League (2 draws, 4 losses), after having won 4/5 of their first encounters (1 draw).
On Aston Villa's side, they travel to Vitality after a period of stagnation when losing 3/6 recent Premier League matches (2 wins, 1 draw) - equal to the number of defeats in the first 18 rounds of the season (12 wins, 3 draws, 3 losses).
After a heavy 1-4 defeat to league leaders Arsenal at the end of 2025, Unai Emery's team continued to succumb 0-1 to Everton and Brentford. Notably, the defeat to Brentford took place even though Villa played with more than 45 minutes of one-man advantage.
However, Villa is still in third place, 7 points behind Arsenal and is creating a certain gap with the chasing group when the season has 14 rounds left. Their strength lies in their impressive away form.
They have won 8/10 of their most recent away matches in all competitions (1 draw, 1 loss), and Arsenal is also the team that earns more away points than Villa (21 points) in the Premier League this season.
Villa is also aiming for a 3-match unbeaten streak at Vitality Stadium for the first time, after winning 4 points in the last two away games against Bournemouth (draw 2-2 in December 2023, win 1-0 in May 2025).
Personnel situation
Marcus Tavernier (hamstring injury), Tyler Adams and Justin Kluivert (both knee injuries), Ben Doak (hamstring injury), Julio Soler (unknown) and Will Dennis (ankle injury) on Bournemouth's side are still sidelined. This weekend's match may also come too early for David Brooks (ankle injury).
Rayan managed to leave his mark with an assist in his Premier League debut against Wolves when he came on as a substitute. Coach Andoni Iraola will therefore consider giving a starting spot to the 19-year-old player, even though Amine Adli and Alex Jimenez are still direct competing options on both wings.
On the other side, Aston Villa is still missing Youri Tielemans (ankle), John McGinn and Boubacar Kamara (both knee injuries), along with Andres Garcia (brother). Newcomer Alysson is also predicted to continue to be absent even though he has returned to training this week.
Positive news for Villa is that Ollie Watkins and Amadou Onana have both been confirmed by coach Unai Emery as eligible to play. If Watkins is not ready to start, Tammy Abraham is likely to continue to lead the attack, with Morgan Rogers playing right behind.
Expected lineup:
Petrovic, Smith, Hill, Senesi, Truffert, Scott, Cook, Jimenez, Kroupi, Adli, Evanilson.
Aston Villa: Martinez, Cash, Konsa, Torres, Maatsen, Onana, Luiz, Sancho, Rogers, Buendia, Abraham.
The match between Bournemouth and Aston Villa takes place at 10:00 PM on February 7th (Vietnam time).
