Bournemouth vs Brentford

Vitality Stadium forms the backdrop for an exciting Premier League meeting between Bournemouth and Brentford.

Bournemouth’s quest to secure European qualification took a hit last weekend as they spurned a two-goal cushion in a dismal 2-2 draw at Tottenham, falling three points behind the top-six pace. Winless in three consecutive league matches for the first time this season (D1, L2), Andoni Iraola’s charges must stem the bleeding, with only the bottom-three sides earning fewer points than Bournemouth’s four since the start of February pre-round. The impending home return won’t guarantee a comeback, with the Cherries losing back-to-back top-flight matches at the Vitality Stadium! Furthermore, they’ve failed to beat Brentford in a regular league season since August 2014 (D2, L6), including two winless Premier League H2Hs on this ground (D1, L1).

In the meantime, Brentford’s three-match unbeaten league run ended last weekend (W2, D1) as Aston Villa beat them 1-0, opening a six-point deficit between them and their hosts. However, the visitors should take this trip in a buoyant mood despite extending their winless home league run to seven matches (D2, L5). Indeed, after an abysmal away start to the season, Thomas Frank’s men have hit the ground running on the road, winning their last four league games outside the Gtech Community Stadium, with three of those four victories coming ‘to nil.’ Another similar result would see the Bees win five consecutive away league outings for the first time since 2010. But it’s worth noting that all four wins in that sequence came against sides from the bottom half of the table.