- Leicester City make the trip to Bournemouth on Saturday
- Vitality Stadium is the venue for the 3pm kick-off
- Bournemouth Echo journalist Tom Crocker previews the clash
- The Cherries are on a four-game unbeaten run in the Premier League
Promoted to the top flight this season as Sky Bet Championship runners-up, the south coast outfit currently lie in a mid-table position having beaten Nottingham Forest, alongside draws against Wolverhampton Wanderers, Newcastle and Brentford - after O’Neil’s appointment.
Heavy defeats to Manchester City (4-0), Arsenal (3-0) and Liverpool (9-0) made it a difficult welcome back to life in the Premier League but the team have since managed clean sheets in two of their last three home games.
“It’s been a strange start,” Crocker told Matchday Live this week. “They haven’t got a permanent manager in charge yet, but where they sit right now, they are pretty happy with how it has gone so far over the last couple of months.
“I think it breaks down into two parts. When Scott Parker was in charge, he got off to a great start beating Villa on the opening day, then had three of the toughest sides of the league and got well beaten in all three.
“They are sitting 13th and for a newly promoted team, they’ve only lost to those three teams, and all the other games they have very much been in and got points from, which is a pretty good start and quite under the radar. They’ve managed to tighten up the defence after losing 9-0 at Liverpool.
“Since then, it’s been about trying to steady the ship. Gary O’Neil has come in on an interim basis and has done a very well. Unbeaten so far, a win and three draws. It’s all ticking along quite nicely.”
Bournemouth’s summer signings include defenders Marcos Senesi from Feyenoord, Ryan Fredericks from West Ham United and Southampton loanee Jack Stephens. Barcelona goalkeeper Neto has also arrived, alongside midfielders Marcus Tavernier (Middlesbrough) and Joe Rothwell (Blackburn Rovers). A lack of goals has been an issue, with just six scored in the league this term.
“When they came up, everyone was pretty much writing them off, especially with recruitment,” the south coast-based journalist explained. “Fulham and Forest have spent a bit more money and Bournemouth lost some players and didn’t really do too much or bring too many in, which worried a few people.
“There were concerns that they might struggle to compete at all in this league, but they’ve shown in the last couple of weeks that they can very much compete. A lot of the top six teams they are going to struggle with, but I think that’s the case with a lot of the teams.
“They’ve got to get points off everyone else and I think if they end the season in 17th, they’d be very happy with that, and then try and build from there, but they just have to stay in the league for now having come up this season. That’s the main aim.
“They haven’t scored at home since the opening day, which is far from ideal. I think they showed at Forest, from 2-0 down, to score three in the second half. They got a draw at Newcastle just before the international break and had a few chances then.
“They don’t create loads of chances, they pick their moments and when they do get forward, and do look quite dangerous, but the final bit has just been lacking a little bit. I think there are goals in the team, but the focus has just been sorting out the back first and making sure they are in games to give themselves a chance.
“Long term, I think they’ll try and change that a little bit and be a bit more progressive. After the Brentford game, O’Neil wasn’t too pleased with how they played in that one, they didn’t create much at all. It’s key for them to show a bit more going forward, especially at home, and I think that’s been the focus this week.
“We’ll see how much of that has come to the fore in the game on Saturday, but he was also keen to stress that he’s not going to throw everything at it and give up on the defensive side of things.”
Looking ahead to the Cherries’ meeting with Leicester City on Saturday, a 3pm kick-off at Vitality Stadium, Crocker acknowledges that the Foxes will arrive with renewed confidence, but still believes it will be another game that the hosts are targeting to take points from.
He added: “It’s a strange feeling because at the start of the season you would have thought anything against Leicester would have been a bonus, but the way they’ve started and been playing prior to Monday night, Bournemouth have a chance.
“It will be interesting and much more difficult than it would have been before. Leicester will be flying now. The target will be to get something from the game and keep the points ticking over. I imagine they would be relatively pleased with a point.
“But they do need to get a win at some point, as the bottom half of the league is tightening up again. While they are 13th, it’s just three points to the bottom three, so it could all change. There are a few points available for them in the next few weeks.”
All times BST.