Eddie Howe stated this week he is looking forward to the 'intriguing' managerial battle he will be facing on Saturday afternoon against Claudio Ranieri's Leicester City.
Currently in second place, title-chasing Leicester are full of confidence, maintaining an unbeaten start with a 1-1 draw against Tottenham last week. On the other hand, Bournemouth got their first points on the board last week and will be hoping to earn the club's first ever Premier League points at home.
Surprise package
The task will not be easy, however, with City being the surprise package of the season so far. Yet again, last week Riyad Mahrez proved to be a huge part of their impressive start, scoring the equaliser against Tottenham less than a minute after falling 1-0 behind. His efforts have not gone unrecognised, along with fellow winger, Marc Albrighton, receiving nominations for August's Player of the Month award. Bournemouth are very organised and structured when they play, though they will struggle to contain the creativity of the wide-men of City.
A player looking to get off the mark for Bournemouth is summer-signing, Max Gradel. Ironically coming through the ranks at Leicester, the forward went on to spend a number of years in France and last season netted 17 times, along with three assists. Without a goal to his name, the Ivory Coast international could rise to the occasion in front of a lively home faithful against one of his former employers.
In-form Wilson
Callum Wilson's confidence will be sky-high after his hat-trick away at West Ham last week, and City's defence have a tough job on their hands trying to contain him, especially since they have not kept a clean sheet in their first three games.
Bournemouth are an attacking side, taking a very structured and are happy to keep possession until a chance opens for them. However, the Foxes will not fear this, as in their last ten games, they have an average possession of only 40%. In these ten league games, they have won seven of them.
Both sides boast a huge attacking threat, with Jamie Vardy and Shinji Okazaki both impressing Leicester fans with their work rate as well as link-up play, and Wilson now netting for Bournemouth, so it would be difficult to predict an outright winner. Although, with the problems both sides can cause one another, plenty of goals can be expected at Dean Court.
