Key events
Bournemouth v Brentford is go …
1 min: Bournemouth get the ball rolling on a sunny evening at the Vitality Stadium. They wear their usual home kit, while the players of Brentford are a vision in pink shirts, maroon shorts and pink socks.
Not long now: Referee Craig Pawson and his fellow match officials lead both sets of players out for what will hopefully be a sort of Derby of Nice between two of the top flight’s more entertaining, largely likeable and inoffensive teams.
Lewis Cook and Christian Norgaard are the skippers, with the former possibly wondering what he has to do to get in an England squad where a 34-year-old Ajax substitute is getting the nod ahead of him. OK, so Cook has been playing at right-back for a lot of this season but for my money there is no better English defensive midfielder. It’s criminal that he only has one cap to his name, which came seven years ago.
Andoni Iraola: “We’re in a good moment”
Asked about his side’s recent wobble in form during his pre-match press conference, Andoni Iraola pointed out that while his side’s last three results might have been poor, their performances were decent. “The worst game [against Wolves] was different because we had 10 players. Against Brighton and Spurs, we played very good games against good opposition. We only got one point, but we kept the same level of performance. To win games we have to change things, but I think we’re in a good moment.”
On Brentford: “They’re always efficient,” he said. “They don’t change their starting XI a lot and their game management is really good. They’ve scored late goals against us in games we should have taken more points from. We have to be complete and play the 100 minutes because they’re always there and solid in their performance.”
A manager who is almost certainly on the radar of more elite clubs than Bournemouth, Iraola has become accustomed to being asked about his future. “I’m very happy,” he said yesterday. “I’ve said it a lot of times.”
Thomas Frank: “They are having an excellent season”
Thomas Frank was effusive in his praise for both his own team and Bournemouth during his pre-match press conference. “Bournemouth have been really, really impressive,” the Brentford manager said.
“They are the best team in the league on these half transitions. They pick up the second ball and drive forward with their front four. They are having an excellent season. Both teams are having an excellent season. I like the way they press, they press extremely aggressively. We need to do well against that pressure. They’re very good at playing direct and in behind, which is what they constantly do, and do very well.”
Frank also added that, like the rest of us no doubt, he is looking forward to this evening’s battle between his right winger Bryan Mbeumo and Bournemouth’s highly regarded left-back Milos Kerkez.
An email: “What a season it has been for Forest!” writes Krishnamoorthy. “Brian Clough would have been so proud. How many of the Guardian writers guessed Forest in the top four, honestly?”
I have no idea how many Guardian writers tipped Forest to finish in the top four but my educated guess would be none. I can only speak for myself and I tipped them to be relegated.
Needless to say, I am looking forward to all those Forest fans blessed with the benefit of 20-20 hindsight ridiculing me for my stupidity, while overlooking the fact that they almost certainly presumed their team would struggle too.
I’m also not convinced that Brian Clough would be proud of this Forest side. My guess is that he would be appalled by a style of play in which they habitually concede the lion’s share of possession to their opponents and try to hit them on the break. I’m not sure Old Big ‘Ead would approve of that approach at all, however successful it might be for Nuno’s side.
Today’s Premier League results
Wolves get over the line against Southampton, while Ipswich’s defeat at the hands of Nottingham Forest means the side from Molineux are nine points clear of the drop zone. Forest are now just a point behind Arsenal in second, albeit having played one game more.
Manchester City’s draw with Brighton leaves them in fifth place, one point clear of Newcastle and the Seagulls, with tomorrow’s Carabao Cup finalists from the north-east having played one game fewer. A win for Bournemouth today will take them to sixth place in the table, a point behind City.
Today’s match officials
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Referee: Craig Pawson.
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Assistants: Timothy Wood and Wade Smith.
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Fourth official: David Webb.
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VAR: Paul Tierney.
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Assistant VAR: Lee Betts.
Those teams: As expected, Illia Zabarnyi returns from the Naughty Step to take his place in Bournemouth’s defence. It’s Andoni Iraola’s only change to the team that lined up against Spurs last weekend. James Hill drops to the bench, having deputised ably for Zabarnyi during his suspension.
Brentford field the same side that started their game against Aston Villa last weekend, a match in which they had two legitimate penalty appeals turned down and were perhaps a little unlucky to lose.
Bournemouth v Brentford line-ups
Bournemouth: Arrizabalaga, Cook, Zabarnyi, Huijsen, Kerkez, Christie, Adams, Tavernier, Kluivert, Semenyo, Evanilson.
Subs: Dennis, Brooks, Scott, Ouattara, Sinisterra, Soler, Jebbison, Hill, Winterburn.
Brentford: Flekken, Ajer, Collins, Pinnock, Lewis-Potter, Norgaard, Janelt, Mbeumo, Damsgaard, Schade, Wissa.
Subs: Valdimarsson, Van den Berg, Mee, Yarmolyuk, Konak, Maghoma, Kim, Morgan, Fredrick.
Early team news
Regularly serenaded by Bournemouth fans who have tailored the lyrics of Whitney Houston’s ‘I Wanna Dance With Somebody’ in homage to their Ukrainian centre-back, Illia Zabarnyi is expected to start today after serving a three-match ban. Out injured since November, Julian Araujo and Marcos Senesi are both back in training but will not feature today. Adam Smith and Enes Unal remain sidelined.
During his pre-match press conference, Thomas Frank said there is “a good chance” Brentford defender Sepp van den Berg will be back today after three matches out with a knee injury. Michael Kayode, Aaron Hickey and Rico Henry are all back in full training but are unlikely to be fit enough to feature, while Josh Dasilva, Igor Thiago, Fabio Carvalho and Gustavo Nunes are all out.
Premier League: Bournemouth v Brentford
Without a win in three Premier League games following defeats at the hands of Wolves and Brighton followed by last Sunday’s draw against Tottenham Hotspur, Bournemouth welcome a Brentford side seeking a club record fifth consecutive top flight win on the road to the Vitality Stadium.
Despite their poor recent results, Bournemouth haven’t actually played that badly and actually monstered Spurs last Sunday, only to gift them a point courtesy of an act of unnecessary largesse on the part of their goalkeeper, Kepa Arrizabalaga.
Qualification for next season’s Champions League remains a very real possibility for Andoni Iraola’s side but this evening they host a Brentford side with European aspirations of their own. Kick-off at the Vitality Stadium is at 5.30pm (GMT) but we’ll have team news and build-up in the meantime.