Bournemouth vs Sheffield United

Bournemouth and Sheffield United are set to trade tackles in a bottom-half Premier League clash at the Vitality Stadium.

Bournemouth halted their disappointing seven-game winless run in the Premier League (D3, L4) last weekend with a 2-0 win at second-from-bottom Burnley, steering 11 points clear of the bottom three ahead of this round. Manager Andoni Iraola wasn’t happy with his side’s performance at Turf Moor, but he’ll take another similar outcome here as he bids to arrest a three-game winless league streak on home turf (D1, L2). Sheffield United’s visit to the Vitality Stadium is what the doctor ordered, given the current situation at Bramall Lane. However, Bournemouth can’t take this encounter lightly, knowing they’ve won just one of their nine home H2Hs against this opposition in all competitions (D3, L5). A 3-1 win in the reverse fixture suggests they possess what it takes to buck that trend this weekend.

In the meantime, Sheffield United’s nightmarish Premier League campaign hit a new low earlier this week as Arsenal thumped them 6-0 in their home setting, making it three consecutive league defeats ‘to nil.’ Nailed to the bottom of the table with only 13 points from 27 matches (W3, D4, L20), the Blades seem to be on their way back to the Championship unless they miraculously overhaul an 11-point deficit on 17th-placed Nottingham Forest down the final stretch. They’ll ideally want to embark on their path to redemption here, but the division’s worst away record (W1, D2, L10) implies a new trouble is on the horizon. It’s also worth noting that Chris Wilder’s underachievers are the only Premier League side to concede at least 30 goals on the road this season.