Cherries welcome Toffees to dismantled Dean Court
AFC Bournemouth return to Vitality Stadium on Saturday as they welcome Everton who are making the 226-mile trip down South.
It is the Cherries’ first home game of the Premier League season after their visit to Etihad Stadium last Sunday.
Marco Rose’s side were overturned by Manchester City, who scored two late goals to break Cherries’ hearts and win the game 2-1.
Marcus Tavernier scored the opener in the first half for Bournemouth, the first ever time that the Cherries had taken the lead at the Etihad Stadium.
However, set piece woes and a well worked winner saw Enzo Maresca claim his first win as City Boss.
Tomorrow’s opponents, Everton, played out their home opener at the Hill Dickinson Stadium against Crystal Palace.
Goals from Thierno Barry and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall helped the Toffees claim a 2-0 win.
What happened last season?
When the Toffees visited Vitality Stadium in December 2025, they ran out as victors in a low-scoring 1-0 win.
It took until the 78th minute for the deadline to be broken, with Jack Grealish scoring the winning goal.
Junior Kroupi did score late in stoppage time of the first half however VAR quickly ruled it out for offside.
It was a game that frustrated Cherries fans, a result also that was jammed in the middle of an 11-game winless run.
Team News
Ryan Christie is back available for the Cherries after serving his three-game suspension, which was handed to him last season after getting sent off against Fulham.
The likes of Juanlu, Tyler Adams and Alvaro Rodriguez would have had more hours of training in the week and will be looking to have a big involvement in Saturday’s game.
Everton might be missing star man Iliman Ndiaye, who is currently being heavily linked with a move to Manchester City.
Construction zone
Supporters heading to the game will notice some very big changes tomorrow as they approach the ground.
Vitality Stadium is now considered more of a construction zone rather than a football stadium, with works to increase the capacity in full swing.
The South East and North West corners of the stadium are nearing completion, and the installation of an outer perimeter fence means fans will have better access to the stadium grounds.
The pitch has been completely stripped and replaced to be in line with UEFA standards, and the washed-out red seats have been swapped out for fresh, black seats.
Prediction Time
I am going to stick with what I said on this week’s podcast episode, I’m going with a 1-0 home win for the Cherries.
It will be a tight affair with Everton looking very strong in their first two games of the season.
I do think the Cherries will show their quality across all areas of the pitch and Dean Court will be rocking so I hope they can come away with all three points!
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