Bournemouth are back in the big time after two seasons in the Championship and it’ll be the first time in the Cherries’ history that they compete in the Premier League without Eddie Howe at the helm.
Scott Parker guided the Vitality Stadium side to automatic promotion in his first season in charge of the club.
With the new Premier League season just four days away, the newly-promoted side have completed their third summer signing with Marcus Tavernier joining the club from Middlesbrough.
Marcus, brother of Rangers captain James, joins the Dorset-based club for an initial £12m with a further £3m potentially to paid in bonuses.
Bournemouth host Aston Villa on Saturday in their Premier League opener and HITC Sport takes a look at how Parker’s side could line-up against his former England teammate Steven Gerrard’s Villains.
Bournemouth XI vs Aston Villa
Parker went with a back five in Bournemouth’s last pre-season friendly against La Liga side Real Sociedad.
Villa have a wealth of midfield and attacking options at their disposal and the former Fulham manager may continue with a back five to stifle the Birmingham-based side.
Three-time Republic of Ireland international Mark Travers will be Parker’s number one in the top-flight and the 23-year-old will build on his three prior Premier League appearances.
Adam Smith has 144 Premier League appearances under his belt and the 31-year-old’s experience in the top-flight will be invaluable to a Bournemouth backline which is fairly inexperienced when it comes to the Premier League.
Between the rest of the Cherries’ members of the back five, only club captain Lloyd Kelly (8 appearances) and Chris Mepham (25 appearances) have played in the Premier League before.
But with Nathaniel Phillips, Steve Cook and Gary Cahill no longer at the Vitality Stadium, Parker doesn’t have a wealth of centre-back options to choose from.
In Jefferson Lerma and Phillip Billing, the former Charlton, Chelsea, Newcastle, West Ham and Tottenham midfielder has two all-action midfielders that have ample Premier League matches under their belt.
Denmark international Billing scored ten goals and provided 10 assists in the Championship last season and Parker will be hoping the box-to-box midfielder can chip in with some priceless goals this campaign.
Lerma on the other hand, who is the club’s record signing at £25m, is the aggressive defensive midfielder who screens and protects Bournemouth’s backline.
With Villa possessing the likes of John McGinn, Jacob Ramsey, Emiliano Buendía and Philippe Coutinho, the Colombian international will have to be at his best to thwart Gerrard’s key creators.
HITC Sport are predicting that Tavernier will be the club’s only summer signing to make the Bournemouth starting XI vs Aston Villa.
That could well mean that Ryan Fredericks and Joe Rothwell have to settle for a place on the bench.
Capable of playing anywhere across the midfield, Tavernier scored five goals and supplied five assists for Boro last season.
Parker could well give the 23-year-old the licence to roam forward and get close to the likes of Dominic Solanke.
Having scored eight goals and laid on six assists last season, Jaidon Anthony will be hoping to have the same devastating effect in his maiden season in the Premier League.
After netting 29 goals in the Championship, the one-time England international has previously struggled to showcase the same prolific form in the Premier League.
From 63 top-flight matches, the former Liverpool man has scored just four Premier League goals. But with his confidence understandably sky high, Bournemouth’s number nine will believe he can fire the Cherries to safety if he is given the chances, starting with Saturday’s clash.
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