Bournemouth looking to get back to winning ways in Southampton clash

Andoni Iraola has now made 50 appearances for Bournemouth. This is one more than he managed at the first successful destination of his professional career, Mirandes, prior to his 136 games with Rayo Vallecano. At the Vitality Stadium, there is confidence in the Spanish coach, who was renewed after his first season in England and, on Monday night, should return to winning ways after a brief slump.

The Cherries, in their most recent matches, had to face Enzo Maresca's revamped Chelsea and Arne Slot's modern Liverpool, so they suffered defeats that broke their unbeaten record, although they did not dampen their fans or their staff too much because they are understandable. After all, the club is fighting for ambitions far away from Europe and is focused on staying in the top flight.

That is precisely why their next opponent looks like an ideal one to win again: Southampton. The Saints are one of the three newly promoted teams from the Championship and are currently in the relegation zone. To make matters worse, they will have to travel to a foreign ground, so they will not have the support of their fans, who helped to rally the squad for a 1-1 draw against Ipswich Town last week.

Another protagonist of the match that closes the sixth matchday in the Premier League is Kepa Arrizabalaga. The former Real Madrid goalkeeper is on loan at Bournemouth from Chelsea, who do not count on him, and has already made two starts. As soon as he landed in the dressing room, he was conceived as Andoni Iraola's first-choice goalkeeper, who gladly accepted his incorporation, although he had to face the bad experience of dropping Neto to the bench, who was loaned to Arsenal as David Raya's first choice.

 

September 30, 2024