Bournemouth vs Norwich Preview: Cherries looking to strengthen home run

AFC Bournemouth host an injury-struck Norwich City as both sides look for a positive result following defeats before the international break.

Since promotion back to the top flight, Norwich are one of two teams not to register a clean sheet this season, the other... Bournemouth. Both sides will be hoping that their defensive frailties can be answered as they each face one of the league's most prolific forwards.

Callum Wilson is set to make his 100th Premier League appearance for the Cherries and with the England international in red-hot form, Wilson will be hoping to mark the milestone with another strong performance. The Cherries talisman is one away from reaching 50 goal involvements in the Premier League and has scored or assisted in seven of his last 8 games.

Norwich, however, have a danger-man of their own. Teemu Pukki set the league alight with his blistering start, but the Finnish International now has only one goal in his last five league appearances. He will be hoping that his midweek brace against Armenia brings an end to what has been a quiet spell for the Norwich fan favourite.

Team News

The Canaries boss Daniel Farke will have limited options on the south coast as an incredible 14 players are unavailable or are a doubt for the weekend. Todd Cantwell, Tettey and Jamal Lewis are just a few key men that are currently subject to a late call.

Emiliano Buendia is expected to play a key role in the Norwich side with the Argentinian creating more chances and registering more assists than any other player for the newly-promoted side.

Eddie Howe’s lineup is likely to be untouched from the side that took to the field in the capital last time out, with a flurry of attacking talent on show, including Joshua King, who scored a last-minute penalty against Spain to gain his country, Norway, a crucial point in a EURO 2020 qualifier.

Previous Meetings

The last time these two sides met in the Premier League, Bournemouth ran away with a comfortable 3-0 victory on home soil. Goals from Dan Gosling, Charlie Daniels and Benik Afobe gave the Cherries maximum reward, however from the entire squad that travelled from Norwich back in 2016, only Alex Tettey remains in the setup.

The two sides were drawn against each other in the Carabao Cup last year, with Bournemouth coming out on top in what was a closely-contested game. The referee for the fourth round clash was Lee Mason, who takes charge of the fixture again this weekend. Norwich will be hoping to record a second top-flight victory against the Cherries that would see them move out of the bottom three.