Bournemouth vs Everton: Cherries Search for First Points Against In-Form Toffees

AFC Bournemouth continue their hunt for their first points after Eli Junior Kroupi was sidelined by injury, following a narrow defeat against Manchester City.

The Cherries play their first home fixture in gameweek two, facing Everton. They had a dramatic return to the 2026/27 campaign, with their first game up against eight-time Premier League champions Manchester City.

Bournemouth’s narrow defeat to City demonstrated their defensive resilience, remaining competitive until Gvardiol’s stoppage-time winner. Their vulnerability lay in defending set-pieces, having conceded 18 goals from them last season. However, they have sought to address this vulnerability over the summer by introducing their first set-piece coach, Nicolas Gagnon.

He worked with Canada in the World Cup and previously at Southampton and in Saudi Arabia. After City, Marco Rose said the late defeat was ultimately a “question of power”. He explained Bournemouth need to “work on details” after the defeat.

Last season’s corresponding fixture saw Everton win 1–0 at Bournemouth in December 2025. However, Bournemouth have a strong overall record, winning nine of their last 12 meetings with Everton across all competitions. This is more victories than against any other opponent the Cherries have faced.

Despite this, Everton have won their last two encounters with Bournemouth, both by 1–0.

Everton also had an action-packed return to the stage, defeating Crystal Palace 2–0 to secure three points for David Moyes’ side. They carried their momentum into the second round of the Carabao Cup (EFL) on Wednesday, defeating Preston 4–0, with Thierno Barry scoring a hat-trick.

The 23-year-old Frenchman has been making quite an impression, with a goal in the first Premier League fixture and three more in the Carabao Cup.

It is a stark contrast to his position at the end of last season, having faced a 14-match goal drought after arriving from Villarreal for £27 million.

Four goals in two games puts the striker in impressive early-season form, giving Bournemouth another attacking threat to account for.

Everton will be walking into the Vitality Stadium with a surge in confidence after two competitive wins. However, Bournemouth still have potential areas to exploit within Everton’s line-up.

Merlin Röhl has made his loan move permanent after spending last season on loan at Everton from SC Freiburg. Röhl started as a right-back against Crystal Palace despite his position in midfield.

He provided quality on the right and handled defensive demands better than expected. Moyes praised Röhl’s performance and said:

“I think they’ve seen Merlin Röhl play really well.”

Bournemouth’s Marcus Tavernier will likely face Röhl directly on the left, and he has already shown an early-season attacking threat by scoring against Man City. Adrien Truffert’s overlapping runs could allow Bournemouth to create 2v1 situations against Röhl on Everton’s right flank.

Bournemouth have already secured European football by finishing sixth in the 2025/26 season, making history for their 127-year-old club. They went into the final week of the season having secured a top-seven finish and a Europa League spot.

With more travelling and less recovery time for Bournemouth, fatigue potentially poses a threat to the squad later in the season. Additionally, player rotation affects the starting XI, a potential weakness as the team’s focus is divided between domestic and European fixtures.

It calls into question whether Bournemouth’s Europa League involvement makes squad depth more important and whether their new additions will be able to maintain this.

They have made moves to strengthen their squad ahead of European football. The performances of new additions such as António Silva and Álvaro Rodríguez, alongside the retention of key players, will be put to the test as Bournemouth seek to step up in European and domestic competitions.

Meanwhile, for Everton, speculation over Jack Grealish’s return continues as the transfer window closure inches closer. Moyes said there was “no final decision” on Grealish returning permanently and that there was “no guarantee”, while saying Everton remain in the recruitment market.

Kroupi’s foot injury indicated he could be out of the squad for several months, creating an attacking deficit in the squad.

Bournemouth are already dealing with multiple attacking absences, including Amine Adli, placing greater responsibility on Tavernier, Rayan and Evanilson on the attacking front. This essentially means Everton’s defence could potentially have fewer attacking threats to manage.

Bournemouth are also without defenders Julian Araujo and Veljko Milosavljevic, further limiting Rose’s squad options, while Ryan Christie returns from suspension.

Everton are also dealing with midfield absences, with Tim Iroegbunam and Christian Nørgaard unavailable, while Hayden Hackney remains a doubt. James Garner’s return provides Moyes with some relief, but further disruption in midfield could affect Everton’s options against Bournemouth.

With both sides facing contrasting starts to the season, today’s clash presents Bournemouth with an opportunity to respond after their narrow defeat to City. At the same time, Everton look to maintain their early momentum.

Bournemouth’s ability to contain Thierno Barry and exploit Everton’s right flank could prove decisive, with both teams looking to secure an important three points at the Vitality Stadium.

Predicted Line-ups

Bournemouth — 4-2-3-1

• GK: Djordje Petrović

• RB: Adam Smith

• CB: James Hill

• CB: António Silva

• LB: Adrien Truffert

• CM: Lewis Cook

• CM: Alex Scott

• RW: Rayan

• CAM: Justin Kluivert

• LW: Marcus Tavernier

• ST: Evanilson

Everton — 4-2-3-1

• GK: Jordan Pickford

• RB: Merlin Röhl

• CB: James Tarkowski

• CB: Jarrad Branthwaite

• LB: Vitalii Mykolenko

• CM: Harrison Armstrong

• CM: Hayden Hackney

• RW: Iliman Ndiaye

• CAM: Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall

• LW: Tyrique George

• ST: Thierno Barry