Bournemouth vs Newcastle United

Vitality Stadium is the venue as relegation-battling Bournemouth and top-four hopefuls Newcastle United go head-to-head in a high-stakes Premier League showdown.

Despite putting on a resilient defensive performance at Brighton & Hove Albion last weekend, Bournemouth conceded late in a 1-0 defeat, staying stuck on a single point from six Premier League matches after the restart (D1, L5). A lack of firepower has been Bournemouth’s main problem in the post-World Cup period, with Gary O’Neil’s men netting just once in six league matches since December’s resumption. With that in mind, the ‘Cherries’ should consider themselves lucky for starting this round only two points adrift of safety. However, unless they defy an underwhelming six-game winless Premier League streak against Newcastle (D3, L3), their alarming situation may soon go from bad to worse.

In stark contrast to Bournemouth’s lackluster season, visiting Newcastle United have established themselves as legitimate top-four contenders, entering this matchday one point clear of fifth-placed Tottenham Hotspur. Despite drawing back-to-back Premier League fixtures in the build-up to this trip, the ‘Magpies’ head into proceedings riding on the longest unbeaten run in Europe’s top-five leagues (16 – W9, D7). Eddie Howe has built his side’s renaissance on a rock-solid defense that has conceded a league-low 12 goals this season. Indeed, before a 1-1 home draw against West Ham United last time out, Newcastle had gone six consecutive top-flight matches without conceding. But scoring could be a problem, with the visitors netting an average of just 0.4 goals per game across their last five league outings.