AFC Bournemouth are back on the road this weekend as they travel to Villa Park looking to continue their strong run of form.
Bournemouth enjoyed a brilliant result against top 4 chasing Liverpool last weekend, a 1-0 victory at the Vitality Stadium moved them out of the relegation zone for a few hours at least, and gave the club a huge morale boost as they look to remain as a Premier League club next season.
Aston Villa have enjoyed some positive results under Unai Emery, but a 1-1 draw against West Ham shows they are there for the taking if Bournemouth turn up on top form.
A win for Villa could see them enter the top half of the table, a situation which looked a million miles away when Steven Gerrard was sacked in October.
Bournemouth on the other hand could move as high as 13th if other results go their way. They would also have a game in hand on some other relegation rivals including Everton and Southampton.
Bournemouth boss Gary O’Neil sat down with the media, including Nerve Sport, on Friday afternoon to preview the fixture.
On the injury front, O’Neil confirmed Hamed Traore is back in contention for this weekend’s fixture, while Illia Zabarnyi and Marcus Tavernier will be back for the next game.
Despite some recent speculation on his future with the Cherries, O’Neil confirmed that Zemura is ‘available' and is ‘in consideration’ for this weekend. However, when quizzed further on the future on Jordan Zemura at Bournemouth, O’Neil remained ambiguous saying how he personally doesn’t get involved in contract talk while mentioning the strength Bournemouth already have at the left back position.
Further good news comes in the form of David Brooks, who O’Neil confirmed would be involved tomorrow in some form. There is a chance the development squad fixture on Tuesday night could be used to Brooks’ advantage, but this is not confirmed or mentioned by the club themselves.
Throughout the season, O’Neil has no worries about his team’s motivation, saying days off are not the answer, but:
“There’s no bigger reward than three points on the board and trying to stay in the Premier League.”
One player who has proved his importance for the team this season is Dominic Solanke. Despite his strong form, his goal output has been noticeably lower than he would expect.
When asked by Nerve Sport to expand on the season Solanke is having, O’Neil responded:
“I think he’s performed well; I’d like him to score more goals of course, I’m sure he’d say the same. Part of that is a team thing, part of that is the level we are trying to play at and there will be some bits in there individually.
I’m sure once he scores one, he’ll be right back on it. But regardless of that, the work he does for the group is massive. His holdup play is brilliant, so I’m delighted with Dom.”
Kieffer Moore is the most natural competition to Solanke’s number 9 position, but the Welshman has seen a noticeable lack of minutes in recent weeks. Asked by Nerve Sport about the Welshman and his role in the squad, O’Neil commented:
“He’s an important member of our squad, they all bring their own strengths. In recent games, it hasn’t felt like the right moment to being him onto the pitch.”
Aston Villa vs AFC Bournemouth kicks off at 3 pm live from Villa Park.