Bournemouth welcome Arsenal to the Vitality Stadium as they look to end Mikel Arteta’s unbeaten start to the season, and earn their first three points of the campaign in the process.
Currently winless, the Cherries have drawn three and lost three of their opening games, and currently sit narrowly above the relegation zone.
But with games against fellow relegation candidates Everton, Wolves and Burnley to come in the next month, they will be hoping to find some form sooner rather than later.
Form suggests that that is unlikely to come against Arsenal, but with the home crowd behind them, Bournemouth will be hopeful of springing a surprise.
Read on for how we expect the Cherries to line up, and the latest team news from the South Coast.
Predicted XI
Team News
Bournemouth are suffering from a whole host of issues and will be without several players in their hunt for a first win of the season.
Lloyd Kelly will be out until after the international break after limping out of action in their most recent Premier League outing.
“Lloyd was injured the other day. He finished the game, as you saw, with a small injury”, Iraola explained. “But even if it is a small injury, it is not going to be easy to have him before the international break because it’s ten days until we play Everton.’
He will be joined on the sidelines by Chris Mepham, who is following ‘the same timetable’ as Kelly.
Also out are Alex Scott (knee), Emiliano Marcondes (Ankle) and Ryan Fredericks (Calf), with none of the trio expected to be back before the international break.
The most concerning issue, however, is in the striker spot. Dominik Solanke limped out of action in midweek and there is significant doubt over his fitness for Saturday’s clash.
‘Unfortunately, he couldn’t finish the game’, the Cherries boss explained. ‘Probably the worst part of the evening. We’ll see how he presents (Thursday) if the ankle is swollen or not. But we have a very tight schedule, not even three days. It’s going to be tough.’
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