Bournemouth and Fulham are all set for a bumper Championship clash between the league’s top two teams at the Vitality Stadium on Saturday. The travelling side come into the fixture off the back of securing promotion back to the Premier League following their 3-0 victory in their last outing against Preston North End. Bournemouth are looking to reduce the league leaders’ nine-point lead, and with the Cherries also having a game in hand on the Cottagers, there is still the potential, albeit unlikely, for them to end the season as the Championship’s winners.
Bournemouth and Fulham to Face Off in Fascinating Championship Clash
How Do the Recent Results of Bournemouth and Fulham Compare?
Coming into the game, Scott Parker’s side can be confident following an impressive triumph over Coventry City where they ran away as 3-0 victors. Parker’s stroke of tactical genius at half-time to switch to a counter-attacking setup ensured three points on the road getting the Dorset club back to winning ways.
Prior to that game, Bournemouth had not won in three after a disappointing 2-0 defeat at West Bromwich Albion before back-to-back 0-0 draws against Sheffield United and Middlesbrough – two sides who are pushing for play-off positions this season as the run-in continues.
𝗧𝗛𝗥𝗘𝗘 𝗛𝗨𝗚𝗘 𝗣𝗢𝗜𝗡𝗧𝗦 ❤️
— AFC Bournemouth 🍒 (@afcbournemouth) April 18, 2022
On the flip side of this fixture, Fulham have regained Premier League status under Marco Silva after an impressively dominant season with four games to spare.
Spearheaded by record-breaking talisman Aleksandar Mitrovic, Fulham have been relentless in front of goal scoring 98 times so far this season. However, in recent fixtures, the side have themselves experienced a slight blip before the euphoria of the Preston victory after consecutive defeats to Coventry and a Derby County side now relegated to League One.
In the reverse fixture, the spoils were shared at Craven Cottage after a beautifully worked Dominic Solanke goal seconds into the second half was cancelled out late on by a Tosin Adarabioyo header. Bournemouth’s fantastic kickoff routine which resulted in their goal inspired a similar exercise on the part of European giants Real Madrid, although Carlo Ancelotti’s side were less successful.
A Tale of Two Emphatic Forwards
When the two sides meet on the South Coast, it will be almost impossible to ignore the emphatic forwards for both of these sides in Solanke and Mitrovic.
Serbia international Mitrovic has already made headlines throughout the season, particularly after breaking the record for goals in a Championship campaign. The record previously held by Brentford’s Ivan Toney with 31 goals, was smashed by Mitrovic in a 2-1 win over Peterborough United way back in February.
Since then, the former Newcastle United Striker has since gone on to extend the record with a ludicrous tally now standing at 40 goals in as many games with no signs of stopping in the remaining games.
Aleksandar Mitrović has 40 Championship goals in as many games this season.
Perfectly balanced. ⚖️ pic.twitter.com/Uy3KjJvOc6
— Football365 (@F365) April 21, 2022
On the other hand, Bournemouth’s Solanke has himself proved prolific this season netting 26 times – a tally in itself worthy of leading the goal-scoring charts if not for Mitrovic’s ruthless form this season. The Englishman netted in either half of the win at Coventry to increase his count for the season.
Solanke was on target in the previous encounter between the two sides and will be hoping for a repeat but this time with three points for his side against the Championship leaders.
Bournemouth and Fulham Injury News
The Cherries have no new injury concerns going into this matchday apart from the notable admissions of Jordan Zemura and Keiffer Moore who were already side-lined with both working towards match fitness whilst Junior Stanislas seems to be out for the remainder of the season. There are no fresh problems to report for Fulham heading into the game meaning there shouldn’t be much of a selection headache for Silva.
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