Bournemouth face off with Huddersfield at the right time. The Cherries are winless in their last five matches with four of those games ending in defeat. A trip to the John Smith’s Stadium should cure their woes as they take on the Premier League’s bottom side. Huddersfield have managed just three wins this term.
They are a massive 13 points off of Premier League survival. Although there are still plenty of points left to obtain (27), they are unlikely to keep their place in the top-flight.
Manager Jan Siewert’s Terriers have gained two of their three victories at home this season. Their last home encounter against Wolverhampton Wanderers ended in a 1-0 win. Huddersfield have only managed seven goals at home, however. Meanwhile, they have conceded 22 times.
Bournemouth’s attack has tallied the ninth most goals in the league (39). Eddie Howe has several quality offensive options at his disposal and Bournemouth should have no trouble breaching Huddersfield’s defence.
Just a few weeks ago, Howe was lamenting his team’s injury situation. But it hasn’t just been Bournemouth’s player fitness that has been an issue. The Cherries have faced a difficult run of games with Liverpool, Arsenal, and Manchester City claiming victories. A defensively set out Bournemouth only allowed Manchester City one goal last weekend, but the side was picked more due to injury than for tactical reasons.
Huddersfield and Bournemouth typically play high scoring matches. It is a trend that flies in the face of Huddersfield’s goal scoring capabilities. Huddersfield have not scored more than one goal at home in the Premier League since last season. That game was against Bournemouth and it ended in a 4-1 win for Huddersfield. The last six matches between the clubs, dating back to 2014 in the English Championship, have all seen over 1.5 goals scored. Their three Premier League meetings have been especially high scoring with over 2.5 goals scored in each.
The Cherries won the teams’ previous meeting this term, 2-1. Callum Wilson and Ryan Fraser were both on target that day. Wilson has been in-form this season scoring 10 goals and adding five assists. Wilson returned to the team from injury before the Manchester City game and will be in line to start at the weekend.
Bournemouth may not be in-form, but they are playing a woeful Huddersfield. The fixture will once again see the two sides score goals, and like their earlier fixture this season, Bournemouth will come away with all three points.