Bournemouth will be eager to return to winning ways, while Everton will aim to continue a perfect start to the 2026/27 season when the two sides meet at the Vitality Stadium on Saturday.
Gameweek 2 of the 2025/26 Premier League season will extend on Saturday with four more games. The action on the day will start with the game between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest before continuing with two simultaneous matches, including Bournemouth vs Everton at the Vitality Stadium.
Marco Rose can count his team unlucky after a late winner from Manchester City condemned his team to a 2-1 defeat in Gameweek 1. The result ended a scintillating 18-game unbeaten run for Bournemouth, though there were some promising signs that the transition from Andoni Iraola to Rose will be smooth to a great extent.
On the other hand, Everton kick-started the 2026/27 Premier League season with a 2-0 win over Crystal Palace at home, with Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Thierno Barry delivering the goods. They followed that up with a straightforward 4-0 victory over Preston North End in the EFL Cup second round, with Barry scoring a match-winning hat-trick. That form will fill the Merseyside club’s fans with confidence as they aim for European qualification this term.
The corresponding fixture last season ended in a 1-0 win for Everton, with Jack Grealish scoring the match-winning goal. The Hard Tackle looks closer at the encounter ahead of the latest meeting between the two sides.
Team News & Tactics
Bournemouth
Marco Rose has received a positive update on the team news front ahead of his side’s latest fixture. The Bournemouth head coach will be bereft of the services of five first-team players vs Everton on Saturday.
Ryan Christie is available after serving his suspension. Meanwhile, Julio Soler is closing in on returning from a muscular issue, though Saturday’s game may have come too soon for him. However, Veljko Milosavljevic (knee), Julian Araujo (hamstring), Eli Junior Kroupi (foot), and Amine Adli (calf) remain in the treatment room.
Djordje Petrovic is an automatic pick between the sticks, with Bournemouth lining up in a 4-2-3-1 formation in front of him vs Everton on Saturday. The backline will feature Adam Smith, Antonio Silva, James Hill, and Adrien Truffert.
As for the midfield unit, there is no looking past Lewis Cook and Alex Scott in the double pivot, with Ryan Christie and Tyler Adams being backup options on the bench. Justin Kluivert will reprise the no. 10 role, with Rayan and Marcus Tavernier being the two wide attackers. Finally, Evanilson will spearhead the Bournemouth attack against Everton this weekend.
Probable Lineup (4-2-3-1): Petrovic; Smith, Silva, Hill, Truffert; Cook, Scott; Rayan, Kluivert, Tavernier; Evanilson
Everton
Unlike his counterpart in the Bournemouth dugout, David Moyes barely has any issues to worry about ahead of the trip to the Vitality Stadium. The Everton manager may be without only one first-team player on Saturday.
Tim Iroegbunam is the only player in the treatment room due to a groin injury. However, Christian Norgaard may be fit enough to be in the matchday squad, while Hayden Hackney should shrug off a knock to be available for the game.
Jordan Pickford will take his spot between the sticks, with Everton lining up in a 4-2-3-1 formation in front of him vs Bournemouth on Saturday. The backline will feature Merlin Rohl, James Tarkowski, Jarrad Branthwaite, and Vitaliy Mykolenko.
As for the midfield unit, there is no looking past Hayden Hackney and James Garner, with Harrison Armstrong dropping to the bench. Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall will reprise the no. 10 role, with Iliman Ndiaye and Tyrique George being the two wide attackers. Finally, Thierno Barry will lead the line for Everton this weekend, with Beto missing out again.
Probable Lineup (4-2-3-1): Pickford; Rohl, Tarkowski, Branthwaite, Mykolenko; Hackney, Garner; Ndiaye, Dewsbury-Hall, George; Barry
Key Stats
- Bournemouth have won more Premier League games vs Everton than they have against any other opponent (9). Only against Fulham (60% – 6/10) do they have a higher win rate among sides they have faced ten or more times in the division (50% – 9/18). The Toffees have won just one of their nine Premier League away games against Bournemouth (D2 L6), though it was in the corresponding fixture last season (1-0 in December).
- Bournemouth have not lost their opening home game in the last eight league campaigns (W4 D4) since a 0-2 loss to Watford in the Premier League back in August 2017.
- Everton have lost their first away game in the last four Premier League seasons, failing to score in the three most recent of those outings. Only from 1955/56 to 1961/62 have the Toffees ever lost their first away game in more consecutive league campaigns (7).
- Bournemouth’s 18-game unbeaten run in the Premier League came to an end against Manchester City. The Cherries have not lost consecutive league games since November/December 2025, with the second defeat in that sequence coming at home to Everton. On the other hand, after beating Crystal Palace last weekend, Everton will be looking to start a Premier League campaign with successive victories for the first time since 2020-21, when the Toffees won their first four under Carlo Ancelotti.
- Despite going unbeaten in their last nine home Premier League games (W3 D6), Bournemouth have won just three of their last 14 league matches at the Vitality Stadium (D9 L2). Marco Rose is hoping to become just the second manager to win his first Premier League home game in charge of the Cherries, after Scott Parker in August 2022 (2-0 vs Aston Villa).
Player to Watch
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall
While Thierno Barry, Marcus Tavernier, and Justin Kluivert were viable candidates for this section, we have picked Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall as the Player to Watch for Saturday’s Premier League clash between Bournemouth and Everton at the Vitality Stadium.
Since the start of last season, no Everton player has scored more Premier League goals than Dewsbury-Hall (9), with the midfielder netting 4.7 goals more than expected during this period (4.3 xG). Only Antoine Semenyo (+5.7) has exceeded his xG total by a higher figure than the Englishman since the start of the 2025/26 Premier League campaign. So, the Englishman will once again be the go-to player for David Moyes, as he has been since arriving from Chelsea.
Prediction
Bournemouth 1-1 Everton
This is a game where all three results are genuinely possible. Bournemouth showed promise in the Gameweek 1 clash with Manchester City, while Everton’s start to the 2026/27 campaign has been exceptional. However, a draw appears to be the likeliest eventuality, as both sides are evenly matched.
Bournemouth must be wary of Thierno Barry’s stupendous form and James Garner’s return to fitness. However, Marcus Tavernier and Justin Kluivert also look in impressive touch, and there is very little to separate the two teams. The Hard Tackle thus predicts a 1-1 draw, with Tavernier opening the scoring before Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall scores the equaliser.
