Aston Villa host Bournemouth in their first Premier League game at Villa Park since returning to the top flight, following their 3-1 defeat against Tottenham Hotspur in which they led for over an hour.
For the Cherries, it's their second successive game against newly-promoted opposition, and Eddie Howe will be hoping his side fare a little better this time around after being held to a 1-1 draw at home by Sheffield United.
Match preview
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Newly-promoted Villa got their Premier League campaign off to a dream start when John McGinn took down a long ball forward and rifled it past Hugo Lloris after just nine minutes to open the scoring against Spurs.
Dean Smith's plucky outfit held firm until the 73rd minute, when Tottenham new-boy Tanguy Ndombele curled home from distance to break their resistance, after which Harry Kane scored twice as Villa collapsed.
However, it will have been an encouraging performance for Villa, who will fancy their chances of picking up points at home against non-top six opposition if they produce the same levels they did in the first 70 minutes against Spurs.
Smith will be keenly aware that, despite being a newly-promoted side, the nature of the club's expenditure - signing 12 players and spending well over £100m - will come with the expectation to emulate Wolverhampton Wanderers' terrific campaign last time out in which they finished seventh in their first season back in the Premier League, earning Europa League football in the process.
One of those signings is defender Tyrone Mings, who faces his former club for the first time since leaving to join Villa in the Championship on loan last season, before signing permanently this summer.
Bournemouth, like their hosts, will be disappointed with how they finished their opening game of the season, conceding to Billy Sharp with just two minutes of normal time remaining after Chris Mepham had given them a second-half lead.
Howe used just one substitution in that game, swapping one striker in Callum Wilson for another in Dominic Solanke, and only following Sharp's equaliser. The Cherries boss may be tempted to introduce some fresh legs from the bench earlier on against Villa to avoid a repeat.
Despite having spent the last four seasons in the Premier League, Bournemouth are operating on a rather more modest budget than their counterparts, having spent less than half the sum Villa shelled out on four purchases, as well as Harry Wilson on loan from Liverpool.
These two teams have met just seven times before, and just three times in the 21st century. Villa have won two of those three meetings - four overall - although their last clash ended with Bournemouth taking all three points at Villa Park after Steve Cook and Joshua King goals proved enough, despite a late Jordan Ayew consolation.
Aston Villa form: L
Bournemouth form: D
Team News
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Smith has plenty of options to choose from ahead of this one and handed out three full debuts, with two more new faces coming off the bench against Tottenham.
Only defender James Chester is expected to be sidelined with injury, meaning Villa could name an unchanged team for their second league clash.
Howe, on the other hand, has a fair few fitness issues to contend with. Lewis Cook, Simon Francis, David Brooks, Junior Stanislas and new signings Lloyd Kelly and Arnaut Danjuma are all unavailable.
As a result, he too may stick with the same side that faced the Blades, continuing with a three-man central defensive system.
Wilson is likely to be in the squad and may feature for the first time since joining from Liverpool, with former Huddersfield Town midfielder Philip Billing having already made his full debut, although right-back Jack Stacey - who joined from Luton Town - did not make the squad last time out.
Aston Villa possible starting lineup:
Heaton; Elmohamady, Engels, Mings, Taylor; McGinn, Hourihane; Trezeguet, Grealish, El Ghazi; Wesley
Bournemouth possible starting lineup:
Ramsdale; S. Cook, Mepham, Ake; Smith, Billing, Lerma, Rico; Fraser, King; C. Wilson
We say: Aston Villa 2-2 Bournemouth
Aston Villa were the third highest scorers in the Championship last season, but recorded the fourth-worst defence in the top half of the table. Similarly, whilst Bournemouth outscored any team outside the top six in the Premier League last year, they also conceded a whopping 70 goals - only relegated pair Fulham and Huddersfield shipped more. With two strong attacks and two leaky defences, we expect an entertaining draw with plenty of goals.
No Data Analysis info
