3 Things To Learn From AFC Bournemouth's Comeback Win At Sparta Prague

The first thing to learn from the game yesterday is that James Hill should be the 2nd choice backup to Adam Smith at right back, and there are many reasons that support this. 

Firstly, with Juanlu looking like he is going to be out for a sustained period of time and Julian Araujo is still yet to return to training, the only 2 options are James Hill and Lewis Cook.

If Cook gets moved out to right back, due to the current injuries Cherries would be limited to only Tyler Adams and Ryan Christie in the midfield. Whereas, if James Hill gets moved to right back, it leaves 3 different options for the midfield (4 once Scott comes back).

With Hill at RB, it will allow Diakite and Milosavljevic to play alongside each other. Diakite looks to be a lot more confident under Rose, and this upturn in form will only continue if he gets more regular minutes under his belt.

The second thing to learn is that Ben Gannon-Doak and Amine Adli are both a lot more impactful when coming off the bench in the last 30 minutes of a game. 

When compared to both Rayan and Marcus Tavernier, both of them are a lot more tidy in possession than Doak and Adli, but on the contrary the 2 of them are more direct when in possession of the ball.

Logistically, it makes sense to have Rayan and Tavernier start the games of higher importance (Premier League & UEL Knockouts), with Doak and Adli coming off the bench to use their direct abilities against tired, or newly substituted full backs.

Finally, the last thing to learn is that there is not much difference in quality between Michele Di Gregorio and Djordje Petrovic. As mentioned in the player ratings article yesterday, MDG commanded his box well and has made some great saves in his first 4 games for AFC Bournemouth.

Balancing playing time with the 2 goalies will be difficult, as both of them have very good reasons to think that they should be starting. It is the best problem to have when there are 2 players who could both warrant a starting spot. 

As for changes to be made in the goalkeeping position, none should be made as of yet, as neither keeper has made a glaring error or succession of poor performances. Keeping Petrovic as the Premier League keeper, with Di Gregorio playing in the cups and in Europa League looks to be working a treat at the moment.