Aston Villa will aim to continue the excellent unbeaten run when they welcome Bournemouth to Villa Park on Saturday.
The 2024/25 Premier League season resumes on Friday with Gameweek 9, with the latest round of fixtures kicking off with the game between Leicester City and Nottingham Forest at the King Power Stadium. Saturday does not have an early kick-off, with the action starting with four simultaneous afternoon games, including Aston Villa vs Bournemouth at Villa Park.
Aston Villa did not make an ideal start to the 2024/25 season, losing only two games into the new campaign. However, the Villans have barely put a foot wrong since then, dropping points only twice while embarking on a ten-match unbeaten streak. The run includes three victories in the UEFA Champions League in as many games, including a shock win over Bayern Munich.
Unai Emery’s men clinched their third win in the UEFA Champions League earlier this week, beating Bologna 2-0 to scale the summit of the table. Meanwhile, the hosts are fourth in the Premier League standings, with Liverpool four points ahead. As for Bournemouth, the visitors come into this game on the back of a shock 2-0 victory over Arsenal last weekend.
Very few would have given the Cherries any chance against Arsenal. However, Andoni Iraola’s men produced a dogged performance that broke Arsenal’s back, with the result taking them to 11th in the Premier League standings. Iraola will hope his team can now embark on an unbeaten run to pull away from the relegation zone.
The corresponding fixture last season saw Aston Villa come from a goal down to beat Bournemouth 3-1, with Morgan Rogers, Moussa Diaby, and Leon Bailey finding the back of the net. The Hard Tackle takes a closer look at the encounter ahead of the latest meeting between the two sides.
Team News & Tactics
Aston Villa
Unai Emery has a new roster issue hampering his preparations ahead of his side’s latest fixture. The Aston Villa manager will be bereft of the services of only one first-team player vs Bournemouth.
Jaden Philogene is the only absentee after seeing red last weekend against Fulham. Otherwise, Emery has a fully-fit squad, with no player on the sidelines for the home side.
Emiliano Martinez is an automatic pick between the sticks, with Aston Villa lining up in a 4-2-3-1 formation in front of him vs Bournemouth on Saturday. The backline should feature Matty Cash, Diego Carlos, Pau Torres, and Lucas Digne.
As for the midfield unit, Youri Tielemans and John McGinn should pair up in the double pivot, with the latter’s return changing the dynamics of Aston Villa’s gameplay. Morgan Rogers will reprise the no. 10 role, with Leon Bailey and Jacob Ramsey being the two wide attackers. Finally, Ollie Watkins will lead the line for the home side against Bournemouth.
Probable Lineup (4-2-3-1): Martinez; Cash, Carlos, Torres, Digne; Tielemans, McGinn; Bailey, Rogers, Ramsey; Watkins
Bournemouth
Like his counterpart in the Aston Villa dugout, Andoni Iraola has a new injury concern to worry about ahead of the trip to Villa Park. The Bournemouth manager will be without two first-team players on Saturday.
Alex Scott is the latest absentee, with the 21-year-old midfielder undergoing knee surgery this week. In addition, Luis Sinisterra is unavailable due to a knock. Otherwise, Iraola does not have any absentees.
Kepa Arrizabalaga will take his spot between the sticks, with Bournemouth lining up in a 4-2-3-1 formation in front of him vs Aston Villa on Saturday. The backline should feature Adam Smith, Illia Zabarnyi, Marcos Senesi, and Milos Kerkez.
As for the midfield unit, Ryan Christie will line up alongside Lewis Cook in the double pivot in Alex Scott’s absence. Justin Kluivert will reprise the no. 10 role, looking to pull the strings from advanced areas. Finally, Evanilson will spearhead the Bournemouth attack against Aston Villa, with Antoine Semenyo and Marcus Tavernier completing the numbers in the offensive department.
Probable Lineup (4-2-3-1): Kepa; Smith, Zabarnyi, Senesi, Kerkez; Cook, Christie; Semenyo, Kluivert, Tavernier; Evanilson
Key Stats
- Aston Villa earned four points from last season’s two Premier League meetings with AFC Bournemouth: a 2-2 draw at Vitality Stadium in December 2023 and a 3-1 home victory in April this year. Meanwhile, the Cherries’ two wins in their seven away games against Villa in all competitions were by a 2-1 margin in the Premier League in April 2016 and August 2019 (D1 L4).
- Aston Villa have earned as many as 17 points after eight Premier League matches of a season for only the third time and the first since 1998/99 when they accrued 20 points at the same stage. The Villans are unbeaten in six league games, winning four of them. Their longest unbeaten run in the Premier League last season was seven, from November to December.
- Bournemouth have lost six of their nine most recent away matches in the Premier League, including the last two without scoring.
- Bournemouth and Aston Villa have benefitted from a league-high six goals or assists by substitutes this season.
- Aston Villa striker Ollie Watkins has five goals in his last five Premier League appearances and has had five goal involvements in four outings vs Bournemouth, scoring once and providing four assists.
Player to Watch
Morgan Rogers
While the spotlight has rightly shined brightly on Ollie Watkins and Jhon Duran this season, one player has quietly enjoyed an excellent start to the 2024/25 campaign. Morgan Rogers has continued carving a place for himself as an undisputed first-choice attacker under Unai Emery with game-changing performances.
The 22-year-old kick-started the comeback for Aston Villa last weekend against Fulham. The Englishman will hold the key with his blistering runs and ability to find a teammate in a pocket of space. Expect another game-changing performance by Rogers this weekend.
Prediction
Aston Villa 2-1 Bournemouth
Bournemouth’s recent away record in the Premier League is one to forget, losing six of nine games on the road, including the last two without troubling the scorers. However, the win over Arsenal will give Andoni Iraola’s men a spring in their step, and they might even catch Aston Villa off-guard by finding the back of the net first.
Aston Villa have already won 10 of their last 11 points in the Premier League by coming from behind and will likely add to that tally this weekend. While the effects of playing multiple times in a week might start showing soon, that will not happen on Saturday, with Morgan Rogers and Jhon Duran delivering the goods to earn a comeback victory.
The Hard Tackle predicts a come-from-behind 2-1 win for Unai Emery and his charges, with the Aston Villa manager extending his unbeaten run in the Premier League against Bournemouth to seven games, emerging victorious in all five outings at home.
