Bournemouth to beat Everton despite soft centre?

Mark Lawrenson doesn't often like to give AFCB a winning prediction, but I see he can't help give the Everton fans a kick in the teeth as a former Liverpool player - you have to laugh! Despite Bournemouth's soft-centre, he has gone for a Cherries 2-1 victory over the Toffees on Sunday, and while Lawro likes to hammer AFCB for their defensive frailties, he might just be right that there will be a few goals in this game. I'll take his prediction anyway, because he won't expect AFCB to win many times this season.

The Cherries have had some great battles with Everton at Dean Court.

Everton have not found it easy to play away from home and they tend to concede on the road, while Bournemouth have to look back to their 1-0 win against Tottenham last May for their last clean sheet. It's hard to see why Everton don't play as well away from home. Certainly Pickford has not looked the most accomplished keeper in the division and like Ramsdale he is prone to make the odd mistake when trying to play out for the back, so there is a good chance that one of the keepers could give away a goal in this game.

Penalties also come along fairly frequently in Bournemouth matches and at the moment Josh King has put away the only penalty that AFCB have had  against Aston Villa. Josh has not scored in open play and would probably be more than happy to get another opportunity from 12 yards.

Scoring goals is not normally a big problem for AFCB, but with five goals from their four games, they are not quite firing on all cylinders yet. So perhaps Lawro is being a bit ambitious in predicting a couple of goals for the Cherries. He may be thinking more of Everton's defence which has seen six goals conceded in the new season. Whether you think Lawro is going to be right or not, send in your score predictions for AFCB v Everton to Cherry Chimes on Twitter. We will pick a winner from the correct entries to win a Cherry Chimes T-Shirt.

Look out for my answers to Royal Blue Mersey in a preview to the AFCB v Everton match

AFCB TV preview

Are Everton a better team than when we last met?

Everton have managed to overtake AFCB in the league but just like Bournemouth they have had their big defeats and disappointments. In fact, I'd say that being mid-table and on 27 points from 21 games is probably seen as under performing for Everton, so are they a better team than the one that had a 2-0 lead at Dean Court earlier this season and ended up only getting a point?

Bournemouth drew the first game against Everton last August
but Bournemouth had the advantage for 20 minutes
 before Adam Smith was sent off.

The game that is perhaps always special to Everton is their derby against Liverpool and while they lost that game in early December, there was lots to take out of that game and their narrow 1-0 defeat. We saw a much more energetic and go-getting Everton side that day, and while they have found it difficult to get points off of the top six, they have been playing some attractive football again.

Everton have scored 32 goals just like AFCB and they have done it with midfield goals as well as Richarlison's goals. The player that probably is not talked about as much as others is Sigurrdson. He has started to fit in much better at Everton now, and he is scoring wonderful goals again. AFCB have to put Lerma on him to try and stop his passing and look to frustrate him. Silva could also choose to bring Adeloma Lookman into their team after his excellent performance in the FA Cup last week.

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Theo Walcott has also been getting goals of late and he has a good record against AFCB. The defence is perhaps the area where Everton have not managed to make great strides this season. Pickford has his moments of brilliance and risk taking, while the older guard of Coleman and Baines are not always getting games now. But Michael Keane is said to be having a good season and he scored against Bournemouth in our last encounter. 

AFCB have to believe that Everton are not unbeatable. Lincoln pushed them close in the FA Cup and there are no surprises about Everton and the way they play. 

Daily Telegraph  - What does your team need this transfer window?
Cherry Chimes gives an opinion on AFC Bournemouth, but you'll have to register with the Daily Telegraph to read the full article.

Look out this weekend for Cherry Chimes on the Royal Blue Mersey blog 
Cherry Chimes speaks to Matthew Chandler to give a pre-match opinion on the Cherries' season ahead of Everton v AFCB.

T-Shirt Competition
Send in your score predictions for Everton v AFCB to @Cherry Chimes. We will pick a winner from the correct entries sent in by 12pm on Sunday. I have lots of medium sized T-shirts left, so come on the medium-sized T-shirt wearers!

Are Everton much better than they were under Allardyce?

Everton have started this season with a draw and a win. They are in the top half of the table and have been one of the few big spenders that have done well with their new signings. The most important factor though has to be the managerial change they made in the summer and the ability of Marco Silva to get his message across to his players in such a short time.

Last season's Everton went down to a 2-1 defeat at Dean Court

The player that has impressed most is top signing Richarlison from Watford. Everyone was staggered at the £40m price tag, but after two games it looks very good business for Everton. Stopping Richarlison will be a major part of Howe's talk with defenders this week. Richarlison has been in the goals and has been a positive force whenever Everton go forward. Both he and Theo Walcott got the goals in their last game against Southampton and the speed of Everton's attacks is certainly one of their strengths. Gylfi Sigurdsson also seems more settled in his second season at Everton and is the player pulling little passes behind the forwards to create opportunities.

While Calvert-Lewin and Niasse were major fixtures last season they have been coming off the bench. The back four though is more or less what Allardyce used with Baines, Keane, Holgate and Coleman providing protection for Jordan Pickford. The player of course who they have lost for a few games is Phil Jagielka who was sent off against Wolves. But Everton have been playing with more energy and purpose since Silva took over and it can be expected that this will be Bournemouth's hardest test so far this season.

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Sam Allardyce made Everton more solid in stopping teams find space against them. But Silva has added more attacking intent to their game. Bournemouth have to get Everton more concerned about whether they are defending well enough. That means stopping the forward runs of players like Baines and looking to get in behind Everton when he does push forward. It will be an intriguing battle between Brooks and Baines on Bournemouth's right side and Howe will have to help Brooks take on one of the most experienced left backs in the country.

Bournemouth will note though that, while Everton have been putting points on the board they have let in three goals from their first two games - they have vulnerabilities. Everton have scored first in their first two games as well and they might find things a bit more difficult if Bournemouth can get a fast start on Saturday.

Who is next on the list after Begovic commits to AFCB?

The signing of Asmir Begovic has started the summer transfer window for AFCB with a well known Premier League player. The transfer of the Chelsea keeper was always expected since last January, but who else would be a great compliment to the Cherries' squad, and just who will be next?

Is Nathan committed to Chelsea?

You have to look at where AFCB have done well and where they have had problems this season to start to draw any conclusions about the players that they could bring in. We know they have let in lots of goals, and it was important that the keeper situation was reinforced as Boruc doesn't play every game in a season.

In defence, I am hopeful that Nathan Aké will sign for the Cherries, although that deal may depend on Chelsea themselves finding a replacement for John Terry who no longer looks set to come to Dean Court. I believe the John Terry situation is the deal that may suddenly unlock other departures from Chelsea, but if Terry is not sure where to go from the offers he has, it could be a long summer to also see what will happen with Aké and the close we get to July the more likely he wold stay put. If Aké doesn't come, then spare a thought for the likes of Harry Maguire at Hull City who has been highly praised as being one of the best players for the Tigers and he has all the eagerness that Howe likes to see from players that were in the lower leagues.

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Eddie likes to get his signings early in the window so that everyone can get involved in the summer tour, but things are looking difficult already with few whispers of clear targets. The England U21 team has been a good bed rock for AFCB's attentions and if Eddie wants more quality in the middle of the park as Andrew Surman finds injuries are having an affect on the number of games he can play, don't look any further than James Ward-Prowse at Southampton as possible target - the current captain of the England U21s. Yes, the Saints would hate to lose such a player to the Cherries and see him as a future captain, but if there is as much dissatisfaction with Claude Puel's management at St Marys, as has appeared in recent weeks, then players become unsettled and it could be a good time to test the waters with a bid for the midfielder's services.

Up front, I'd say that the Cherries will be happy to have a front line of Wilson, King and Defoe with one of them on the bench at any one time. But if I had my eye's on one young striker from the Championship it would be Cauley Woodrow at Fulham, who has been on loan at Burton Albion and helped them stay up. He is out of contract in 2018, although he'll have an option to add another year at Fulham. 

Who do you want AFCB to sign?

In other news, Lewis Cook's assist helps England's U20's beat Mexico 1-0 to set up a semi-final with Italy in South Korea. Former Cherries' striker Matt Tubbs is to become a coach at Verwood Town.

A missed opportunity for AFCB

Taking on Sunderland at home after the kind of run that the Black Cats were on should have been a game that AFCB would have been relishing. In the end it was as if the players got it into their heads that they were not going to score, and that Mike Dean was set against them.

Sometimes the players need to distance themselves from the anger of the fans and the decisions that don't go for their team. I thought that AFCB were guilty at times of not doing that and by getting sucked into more of a confrontation, the match against Sunderland soon started to suit the opponent's counter-attacking set up rather than the fast passing of an AFCB side that turned to more of a frustrating, and less precise, belief that they could create something of true quality. By frantically rushing their moves and trying to gain any advantage by fair or foul means, the game started to turn against AFCB when they had started so well.

The Cherries fluffed their lines against Sunderland.

It wasn't just the missed shots on goal that were disappointing or the saves that Jordan Pickford heroically made, it was the failure of AFCB to stop and think - let's try and go about this another way. They got stuck in trying to get as many attacks in as they could, rather than perhaps taking their time to use the 30 minutes they had, against 10 men, to find a well-built goal from gradually prising an opening. In essence they were a bit too impatient. In such circumstances, when things don't come off for you they rattle you even more, and in the end AFCB only frustrated themselves in giving Sunderland a way to win the game.

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AFCB need to use their heads more in games like this when teams need more thought to be out manoeuvred. The first goal was a simple early cross with Adam Smith getting in behind, but much of the play in the second half was done in front of the 10 men rather than coming at them from the sides. I'm sure there will be further work done on breaking down a 10-man defence in training, but it is replicating the clock and the need to forge a strategy that has a better chance of working, against teams that park the bus, that AFCB will need to master the next time they are in this position.

Preston will try and hit Cherries on the break

Preston have already dispatched of Crewe and Watford in the Capital One Cup and if Eddie Howe had had his pick I'm sure it would not have been an away tie at Deepdale. Still there is sometimes plenty of merit to be put in taking on teams that are going to make a real game of it and AFCB's players need to have some tough examinations if they are to improve and learn as a group. Simon Grayson is an experienced manager and will want to get one over on Eddie Howe for sure. This Capital One tie will not be a simple matter for the Cherries to get through, but we know they can do it.

Joe Bennett could make his debut for AFC Bournemouth.

Preston may have only beaten Watford 1-0 in the last round but Marnick Vermijl's goal was scored as early as the  eighth minute and the Lilywhites held on for a long time for the win, even if they played against 10-men for most of the game. Still they beat a Premier League club albeit a slightly weakened Watford side, but the Cherries will have taken notice of Preston's ability to keep a clean sheet against such an attacking team as the Hornets.

I was interested to see that Preston played Jordan Pickford in goal ahead of Kirkland and perhaps the same choice will be made for this next game. Joe Garner (suspended) and Jermaine Beckford (rulded out) are two strikers that won't now feature for Preston, while Eoin Doyle is also out as he is cup tied. So Grayson will have to provide a changed team without his first choice strikers.

Preston have not started as well as they might in the Championship, but they have had some big teams in Hull, Ipswich and Middlesbrough and a period of adjustment will be needed.

Preston North End's team last time out against Watford in the Capital One Cup:
Pickford, Clarke, Huntington, Wright, Woods, Vermijl, Brownhill, Kilkenny, Browne, Garner, Reid.

Jason Tindall says the AFCB squad will be used for the Preston match.

My predicted AFCB line up for tonight is as follows:
Federici (GK), Smith (RD), Cook (D), Cargill (CD), Bennett (LD), Atsu (RM), O’Kane (CM), MacDonald (CM), Stanislas (LM), Kermorgant (FW) Murray (FW)