In Profile: Opponents No.4, AFC Bournemouth
The Cherries, who visit King Power Stadium on the final day of August, have played in all four of England’s professional divisions in the last 10 years and have since transformed themselves into a consistent side in the Premier League.
This year, Bournemouth celebrate their 120th anniversary, having originally been founded as Boscombe FC in 1899.
They famously caused a huge cup upset in 1984, when, under the guidance of Harry Redknapp in the fourth tier of English football, they beat holders Manchester United 2-0 in the FA Cup Third Round.
The manager
At the heart of Bournemouth’s resurgence in recent years has without doubt been 41-year-old Eddie Howe, who is currently the Premier League’s youngest manager.
When Howe succeeded Jimmy Quinn at Vitality Stadium in January 2009, the south-coast outfit sat seven points adrift of safety and 91st in the Football League pyramid with a 17-point deficit.
However, 12 wins from 21 League 2 outings under Howe led to a 21st-placed finish, and the following term, the Cherries were promoted after finishing runners-up to champions Notts County.
Two campaigns in League 1 followed, with a play-off semi-final loss to Huddersfield Town in 2010/11 denying them back-to-back promotions. In January 2011, midway through the campaign, Howe departed for Burnley, but he returned in October 2012.
That saw them finish second in League 1, resulting in them playing in the second tier for only the second time in their history following their success in 1987, before a brilliant 2014/15 campaign led to them winning the Championship by one point.
Their first-ever season in England’s top flight ended in them finishing the campaign in 16th, while the 2016/17 season saw them place ninth – their highest-ever league position.
Last campaign, Bournemouth finished 14th in the Premier League table, with them recording impressive wins over Watford (4-0), Chelsea (4-0), Brighton & Hove Albion (5-0) and Tottenham Hotspur (1-0).
The squad
One of the most outstanding partnerships of the 2018/19 season saw winger Ryan Fraser and striker Callum Wilson make Premier League history by combining for a total of 12 goals.
Wilson’s late equaliser against Southampton in April saw them surpass Alan Shearer and Mike Newell’s 11 combined goals set in 1995/96 – the highest in a 38-game season.
The former Coventry City frontman went on to score 13 times and assist a further nine goals in 2018/19, while Scotland international Fraser registered 14 assists and scored seven times.
Defensively, their acquisition of Netherlands centre-back Nathan Aké from Chelsea in 2017 strengthened their back line significantly, while captain Steve Cook, left-back Charlie Daniels and centre-half Simon Francis have all played important roles in Bournemouth’s recent success.
The trophy cabinet
Bournemouth’s most recent piece of silverware came in the form of the Championship trophy in 2015, when they pipped Watford to win England’s second tier.
They won the League 1 title in 1987, as well as the Football League Trophy, now the Checkatrade Trophy, after coming from behind to beat Hull City at Boothferry Park in 1984.
The stadium
Vitality Stadium has been the Cherries’ home since 1910, and is the smallest capacity stadium in the Premier League.
The ground was redeveloped in 2001, and the club initially planned to increase the current capacity of just over 11,000 in 2014.
However, in March of last year, they announced that their aim is to build a new stadium in nearby Kings Park.
The fixtures
Eddie Howe’s outfit have accumulated four points from their opening three games, drawing with Sheffield United, beating Aston Villa and losing out to champions Manchester City.
Over the festive period, they take on Liverpool (H), Chelsea (A) and Arsenal (H), while their final six games of the campaign sees them come up against Manchester United (A), Tottenham Hotspur (H), Leicester City (H), Man City (A), south coast rivals Southampton (H) and Everton (A).