Bournemouth are desperate to turnaround their recent woeful form. The Cherries, who started the season well, have lost four of their last six matches. They have lost back to back games by a combined scoreline of 9-1.
Manager Eddie Howe needs his team find some defensive strength as it has now allowed 37 goals – the fifth most in the league.
Watford are ninth in the Premier League and sit 10 points behind sixth place and the automatic Europa League spot. Watford are winless in their last two games – losing one and drawing one. The Hornets drew with Newcastle over the weekend 1-1 thanks to an 82nd minute goal from Abdoulaye Doucoure.
Bournemouth have tallied 17 points from a possible 30 at home. Howe’s team has posted a +2-goal difference while winning five of 10 games at the Vitality Stadium. The Cherries’ free-flowing attack from early in the season has been stifled. But there is hope it could resume. Joshua King, David Brooks, and Callum Wilson have combined to score 18 of Bournemouth’s 28 goals.
Howe is sweating on the fitness of defender Nathan Ake. The defender was removed due to an ankle injury against Manchester United on Sunday. It is doubtful that he will feature against Watford with the game taking place just three days later. Bournemouth have already been without Simon Francis, Lewis Cook, Dan Gosling, and Adam Smith due to injuries.
Watford, on the other hand, have tallied 12 points from a possible 27 possible on the road. The Hornets have lost just twice in their last six away trips. The last time Watford met Bournemouth, however, they allowed four scores while drawing a blank in front of goal.
The last six meetings between the teams have seen goals. Just once in that timeframe has a match ended without either team scoring. That fixture came all the way back in 2016. Four of the last five games between Bournemouth and Watford have ended with over 2.5 goals.
Although Bournemouth won their earlier meeting this term, 4-0, four of the last six games between the clubs have ended in draws. Both teams are in need of points going into Wednesday’s encounter. Despite neither being near the relegation zone, it is a busy point in the season. Both will start the FA Cup at the weekend and their squads will be stretched thin. Wednesday’s fixture will end in a score draw as the two sides share the points.