Wednesday’s English Premier League slate matches up two teams in the midst of immense struggles. Bournemouth and Tottenham struggled through the first half of the season and have been in rough form as of late. Both are seeking to turn their fortunes around and will fight hard for all three points at Vitality Stadium in Bournemouth.
Bournemouth are +110 favorites to win at DraftKings Sportsbook, and the Spurs are +235, with +270 odds of a draw. Let’s dig into a prediction and pick for this Bournemouth vs. Tottenham match.
Bournemouth vs. Tottenham prediction, pick
It has been another strange season for Spurs. Last year, Tottenham dropped to 17th place, their worst finish since 1977. Accustomed to competing for Champions League bids, if not titles, it was unfamiliar territory. Yet they also did something unusual last season: won a trophy. Champions in the Europa League, it was odd to see such a gap between their domestic failures and European success.
This year has been more of the same. Sitting at 13th in the EPL table, they’re nowhere near competing for placement in any European competitions. Yet they are playing well in Champions League group stage play, on pace to qualify for the next round. It’s a performance that leaves manager Thomas Frank scratching his head, searching for solutions. It seems a major upheaval is underway, as Spurs begin selling off parts of their ill-fitting squad.
Bournemouth are in the process of some reshaping as well. At 15th in the table, they need to worry about avoiding a relegation battle, and that only becomes more difficult with the departure of Antoine Semenyo. Bournemouth’s danger man will be sorely missed once his move to Manchester City is finalized. Attackers like Marcus Tavernier, Eli Junior Kroupi, and Evanilson will be left to pick up the pieces of their high-flying attack.
It’ll be an interesting clash of skills. Tottenham lack creativity in attack outside of Mohammed Kudus, but have played respectable defense this year. Bournemouth has conceded the fourth-most goals in the league, and the three worst defenses belong to teams in the relegation zone, but have piled up a lot of goals. They’re eighth in total scoring, and the seven teams ahead of them are the top seven teams in the table.
Will Tottenham’s defense contain a dangerous attack? Can their own attack take advantage of a leaky Bournemouth back line? These are tough questions to answer. The key here is away form; the Spurs are 5-3-2 in away matches this year, matching well with Bournemouth’s 4-4-2 home record. That puts these clubs on near equal footing. I think this match is more of a coin flip than the odds indicate, so I’ll take the value that Tottenham provides.
