Bournemouth vs Fulham

An exciting Premier League Boxing Day showdown pits high-flying Bournemouth and out-of-form Fulham against each other at the Vitality Stadium.

Bournemouth’s red-hot Premier League form continued last weekend as Dominic Solanke’s hat-trick inspired Andoni Iraola’s side to a come-from-behind 3-2 win at Nottingham Forest. The Spaniard’s in-form troops have collected a league-high 16 points across the last six rounds (W5, D1), overcoming a sluggish start to climb to 12th in the table, building a comfortable ten-point cushion on the drop zone. Despite losing their manager to suspension for this fixture, the ‘Cherries’ ought to take the field in a buoyant mood after only losing once in their last 12 encounters against Fulham (W6, D5). Reinforcing that record with another victory would go into Bournemouth folklore, as it would be their first top-flight win on Boxing Day in club history (D3, L2).

On the other hand, Fulham’s fall from grace after back-to-back 5-0 home triumphs hit a new low last weekend as they slumped to a 2-0 home loss to Burnley, making it three competitive games without a win in a row (D1, L2 – 90mins only). Worryingly for manager Marco Silva, his men have fared terribly on the road this season, registering just one victory on nine Premier League travels (D3, L5). Not just that, they’ve lost their last three away league matches, conceding 3+ goals on each occasion! On a more positive note, the ‘Cottagers’ have developed a habit of thriving on Boxing Day, going unbeaten in their last six top-flight fixtures held on this day (W3, D3).