At A Glance
Aston Villa travel to the South Coast on Sunday looking to pick up back-to-back away wins in the Premier League when they take on Bournemouth.
A 2-1 success against Tottenham Hotspur last weekend took Villa above Spurs into fourth place, leaving them within touching distance of the top of the table.
And Unai Emery’s side followed it up with a midweek 2-1 victory at home to Legia Warszawa in the Europa Conference League.
Bournemouth endured a tough start to the season but have seen a sharp upturn in form of late.
The Cherries were winless in their first nine matches but have since won three of their last four league games.
A brace from Marcus Tavernier and a goal from Justin Kluivert earned Andoni Iraola’s team a 3-1 win at Sheffield United last time out.
Standout Stats
Bournemouth have won four of their six Premier League meetings with Aston Villa. Their win rate of 67% is bettered only by winning 75% of their Premier League games against Huddersfield Town.
Villa's 3-0 win in March ended a run of four league defeats in this fixture.
Bournemouth have won three of their past four Premier League games, having previously been winless in 13 (D3, L10).
Villa have scored 31 Premier League goals this season, second only to Manchester City's 33. Villa's rate of 2.4 goals per game is their highest across a league season since 1931-32 (2.48).
The Cherries can also equal the club's Premier League record of three successive home victories, last set in February 2018.
This is the latest stage of a season in which Villa have started a match day in the top four since December 2009, when they lost 3-0 at Arsenal.
Bournemouth have both scored the fewest (1) and conceded the most (10) goals from set-piece situations in the Premier League this season (including penalties).
Villa have equalled their highest points tally after 13 matches of a Premier League season: also 28 in 1998-99 under John Gregory, when they drew 2-2 at Nottingham Forest in their 14th league fixture.
Dominic Solanke has scored six of Bournemouth's 14 Premier League goals this campaign. He has already equalled his final league goal tally scored in 33 appearances last season.
Villa are the only Premier League club not to have dropped a point from a winning position this season, winning all nine games in which they have led.
Andoni Iraola and Unai Emery were opposition managers in the 2021-22 La Liga. Emery's Villarreal defeated Iraola's Rayo Vallecano 2-0 at home and 5-1 away (including a goal by Pau Torres).
Aston Villa's tally of 22 Premier League wins in 2023 is bettered only by Manchester City's 26. It is already twice as many victories as Villa managed in 2022, while they last won more in a calendar year as a top-flight club in 1931 (24).
Eight players have started all 13 of Villa's Premier League matches this season, including Boubacar Kamara, who is suspended on Sunday.
The Last Meeting
Bournemouth were swept aside 3-0 when the sides last met back in March at Villa Park.
Douglas Luiz turned home Leon Bailey’s seventh-minute cross from close range to hand the hosts an early lead before Jacob Ramsey and Emi Buendía made sure of the points in the latter stages.
Ollie Watkins twice came close to adding to the advantage, as did Ramsey and Tyrone Mings.
Team News
Boubacar Kamara is suspended after accumulating five yellow cards in the top flight, while Ollie Watkins is doubtful after missing out in midweek.
Tyrone Mings and Emi Buendia remained sidelined for the long-term.
Bournemouth defender Lloyd Kelly has been ruled out for an unspecified period after he was forced off in the win at Sheffield United with a hamstring injury.
Max Aarons, Tyler Adams, Alex Scott and Ryan Fredericks remain out.
The Boss
“Their reaction was fantastic after a very bad start. When I am analysing Bournemouth, I am watching the idea and style Iraola is setting, more or less like he did in Rayo Vallecano before. I really respect him a lot because I think he is a very good coach. He’s connecting with their style, with the players they have. They are increasing their level and they are progressively getting better, feeling better at home. On Sunday it’s going to be very difficult for us and we are going to try and understand how we can play in 90 minutes being competitive, adapting to them and trying to impose our style and idea.”
Unai Emery
