Key events
Southampton have just one point from their first five games, despite having an average of 60% possession across those games. What is heartening for Saints fans is that there are just two teams in Premier League history that have gone down with more than 50% possession average: Wigan 2012-13 under Bobby Martínez and Birmingham 2005-06 under Steve Bruce.
That suggests that it is not the system that is Southampton’s problem. But it is still early days yet. This is a huge game for them, and would certainly have been targeted by Russell as a rare away game which is very winnable.
It is not an exaggeration to say that Russell Martin’s Southampton squad tonight is astounding. No strikers but five of them on the bench, alongside just one defender. Will Ryan Fraser, the 5ft4in Scottish dynamo, lead the line? Or will it be Maxwel Cornet, on loan from West Ham, who hasn’t started a Premier League game since January but is in the XI tonight. Aaron Ramsdale, perhaps less astoundingly, starts against his former team.
Bournemouth have tinkered a few things since their defeat at Anfield but their XI is more or less as you would expect. Adam Smith comes into the side for Araujo and captains Bournemouth tonight. What a servant the Englishman has been for the club. Evanilson, meanwhile, is still looking for his first Cherries goal.
The teams!
AFC Bournemouth: Arrizabalaga, Smith, Zabarnyi, Senesi, Kerkez, Cook, Christie, Semenyo, Ouattara, Tavernier, Evanilson.
Subs: Travers, Huijsen, Brooks, Scott, Sinisterra, Kluivert, Araujo, Unal, Aarons.
Southampton: Ramsdale, Sugawara, Harwood-Bellis, Bednarek, Taylor, Downes, Ugochukwu, Cornet, Fernandes, Fraser, Dibling.
Subs: McCarthy, Walker-Peters, Aribo, Armstrong, Lallana, Stewart, Brereton, Archer, Onuachu.
Referee: Michael Oliver
Preamble
We are still very much in the honeymoon phase of 2024-25: after a few dates, there has been a few butterflies, a couple of nervous but excited glances and all that we know at this stage is that we are excited to know more. And in the cases of Bournemouth and Southampton, there is plenty of learn: the home side are still readjusting replacing one expensive striker (Dominic Solanke) with another (Evanilson), as well as a new goalkeeper between the sticks (Kepa), while Southampton are becoming a social experiment into how brave/stupid one football team can be in continuing to play out from the back. The Saints may still be the bookies’ favourites to be relegated, but they came awfully close to their first win of the season last time out against Ipswich – have they turned a corner?
This may not be a traditional ripsnorter of a fixture/date, or particularly romantic, but there is plenty to keep us interested. Just don’t call Bournemouth v Southampton a derby.
Kick-off: 8pm BST.
