Swansea City v Bournemouth: Cherries can maintain form with win over struggling hosts

Swansea v Bournemouth
Saturday, 15:00

Swansea struggling for points and goals

It has been a painful start to the season for Swansea and the memories of their successful survival battle from last season seems a long time ago. Paul Clement rightly earned widespread praise for the job he did in helping the Swans climb to safety in the last campaign. But their confidence and belief has been sapped away after a poor run which has left the side second bottom with just two wins from their first 12 Premier League games.

There is no doubt Swansea have been affected by the departures over the summer with the loss of Gylfi Sigurdsson and striker Fernando Llorente hitting their team hard. The side have only scored seven goals in 12 matches which is the second worst record in the division. Their lack of threat in the final third is a major concern and will need to be rectified in the transfer window if they are to again get out of trouble.

Cherries hitting form after tough start

Bournemouth got off to slow start to this season but the Cherries have improved significantly over the last six weeks. Eddie Howe's side were given a difficult fixture list in the opening weeks and lost their first four league matches. However there was no panic within the club despite the early defeats and Bournemouth have moved up to 13th following a promising set of results recently.

Their first win of the season came at home to Brighton and their form has been strong since a 2-1 victory at Stoke City last month. A narrow defeat to Chelsea was followed by a 1-0 win at Newcastle United and a 4-0 thrashing of Huddersfield Town last weekend. Callum Wilsonscored a hat-trick in their biggest win since April and the Cherries head into this game full of confidence and with momentum on their side.

Bournemouth better value than lowly hosts

The odds suggest it is difficult to split these teams but Swansea offer no appeal at 2.92 this weekend. The hosts have the worst home record in the league with just one win from six games. Clement's side looked lifeless last week in their 2-0 defeat at Burnley which was their fifth successive loss in all competitions.

The visitors are available to back at 2.80 and look well worth supporting in Wales. The Cherries have won three of their last four league games including their two most recent away matches. Bournemouth also have a strong recent record against Swansea winning their last three meetings. With the hosts struggling badly, this looks a big opportunity for Howe's side to claim another victory over them.

The draw is trading at around 3.25 but only one of the last six clashes between these teams have ended in a stalemate. Swansea have not drawn since September with none of their home games finishing level this season. Bournemouth have only had one draw during this campaign and the outcome does not really tempt. The best value bet in this market has to be backing the visitors at an appealing price for victory at the Liberty Stadium.

Low-scoring clash could be on the cards

Swansea have struggled badly for goals and five of their last seven games have seen under three scored. Two of Bournemouth's last three games have also had under 2.5 goals so this would be the most likely outcome in this market. But there is little in the way of value with odds of 1.72 on this and the Cherries did net four goals in their last game. With this in mind, it may be worth swerving this bet and putting faith in Bournemouth delivering maximum points.

Opta Stat

Eddie Howe's side haven't conceded in their last two Premier League games and will be looking to keep three successive clean sheets in the Premier League for the first time ever. Bournemouth can be backed at 11/5 to achieve this.

Ref Watch

Stuart Attwell is the man in the middle this weekend and the referee has only sent off Andy Carroll for West Ham at Burnley from ten games this season. The referee handed out eight red cards in 27 matches last season.

Recommended Bet

Back Bournemouth to beat Swansea at 2.80