Bournemouth vs Everton Preview: Cherries Face Early Test Against In Form Toffees

AFC Bournemouth return to the Vitality Stadium on Saturday looking to put the disappointment of their opening-day defeat behind them when they face Everton.

The Cherries were beaten 2-1 by Manchester City last weekend, but the scoreline arguably did little justice to Bournemouth’s performance. Marco Rose's side showed plenty of attacking intent through Marcus Tavernier and Evanilson, causing City problems for long periods before late goals from Marc Guéhi and Joško Gvardiol turned the game around.

From a Bournemouth perspective, the biggest positive was the willingness to attack one of the league’s strongest sides. Cherries looked dangerous in transition and were capable of exploiting spaces behind City’s defence, however, the late collapse highlighted a potential weakness: maintaining concentration and defensive structure for the full 90 minutes.

That will be particularly important against an Everton side arriving on the south coast full of confidence.

David Moyes’ team began their campaign with an impressive 2-0 victory over Crystal Palace, with Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Thierno Barry getting on the scoresheet. Everton combined physicality with a clear threat from wide areas, while their midfield showed enough quality to control important periods of the match.

Barry, in particular, represents a major threat for Bournemouth. The striker followed his Premier League goal against Palace with a hat-trick in Everton’s 4-0 Carabao Cup victory over Preston, meaning he has already scored four times this season. His physical presence could test Bournemouth’s centre-backs, especially if Everton look to play directly.

Yet Everton are not without weaknesses. Their full-back positions remain an area that Bournemouth could look to exploit, while the Toffees' attacking success against Palace came despite their opponents creating opportunities. Bournemouth’s pace and movement in the final third could therefore cause Everton significant problems.

The Cherries do have some injury concerns. Amine Adli, Eli Junior Kroupi and Veljko Milosavljevic remain sidelined, although Ryan Christie has returned to contention. Kroupi’s absence is particularly unfortunate given the attacking options he could have provided.

For Everton, Iliman Ndiaye is available despite fitness concerns, while the squad otherwise appears close to full strength.

Ultimately, this feels like a much more evenly matched contest than the opening fixtures might suggest. Bournemouth have already demonstrated that they can compete with elite opposition, while Everton have shown they possess the defensive organisation and attacking power to punish mistakes.

For the Cherries, the key will be turning last weekend’s encouraging performance into points. With home advantage and plenty of attacking quality, Bournemouth should believe they can make it a first Premier League victory of the campaign.