Based on both sides’ playing styles, AFC Bournemouth's match against Tottenham Hotspur should provide plenty of entertainment. Matt Furniss of Opta Analyst looks ahead to Thursday's encounter.
Across 26 Premier League matches involving Bournemouth or Spurs this season, there have been 81 goals scored.
With an average of more than three goals per match when these sides play, entertainment is guaranteed. But some of the underlying data might offer even more insight into why this match will be a must-watch.
Thursday night’s meeting may seem like a run-of-the-mill fixture between two sides separated in the table by just two points, but the high-intensity pressing style of both in 2024/25 means it is one to keep a close eye on.
Spurs and Bournemouth like to win the ball in the final third and have done so effectively this season.
This is nothing new for either side since their respective managers, Ange Postecoglou and Andoni Iraola, took over last year, and this season their pressing strategies have continued to be effective.
Heading into Matchweek 14, Spurs have regained possession close to the opposition goal more often than any other side in the Premier League this season.
Their tally of 133 high turnovers – the number of possessions that start in open play and begin 40 metres or less from the opponent’s goal – is a league high. Their per-game average of 10.2 is just below last season's 10.4, where they only trailed league-winners Manchester City's 11.0.
The metric Passes Allowed Per Defensive Action (PPDA) is useful when trying to gauge the pressing intensity of a team.
It tells us the number of opposition passes the pressing team allow before making a defensive action to win the ball back.
The lower a side’s PPDA, the more aggressively they press.
Spurs lead the PPDA ranking in the Premier League in 2024/25, with a league-low 8.6 – that’s a shade lower than last season, when they also topped the league ranking, with 8.8.
Bournemouth, like last season, are among the top seven sides for this metric in the Premier League, 11.2 this season, 10.7 in 2023/24.
Iraola’s side rank fourth in the league for high turnovers across the opening 13 matches, with 114, but no side has tallied more shots from these situations than them with 25 – level with Liverpool.
Spurs themselves rank third in this metric both this season (21) and since the start of last season (91), while they and Bournemouth are two of only six teams in the league to have reached double figures for goals following a high turnover since the start of 2023/24 (Spurs 12, Bournemouth 10).
In short, Spurs are the most adept Premier League team at winning the ball back from opponents in the middle and attacking thirds of the pitch.
Bournemouth aren’t quite as good as Spurs at doing this overall, but make the most out of these situations by turning their turnovers into shots.
Spurs have applied the most pressures to opponents in the final third in the Premier League this season with 911, while Bournemouth are second on 831. Even when they give the ball away, these two sides work hard to win it back within seconds.
Looking at counter pressures, where the team makes a pressure within two seconds of losing the ball, Spurs (801 total, 378 in final third) and Bournemouth (788 in total, 345 in final third) rank first and second coming into this encounter.
Meanwhile, only Man City (40 per cent) have made a higher proportion of their pressures in the final third this season than Spurs (37 per cent).
Assessing the running data for both sides, it’s again Spurs and Bournemouth that lead the way. No teams have made more sprints than Spurs (2,326) or the Cherries (2,186) across the opening 13 Matchweeks of 2024/25.
Meanwhile, only Brighton & Hove Albion (1,457 km) separate Bournemouth (1,459 km) and Spurs (1,453 km) in the top three positions for total distance covered.
More specifically focusing on their off-the-ball running, Spurs players have made the most intense runs to try and receive a pass or create space than any other team, with 2,258. Bournemouth rank third (1,973), behind only Spurs and Liverpool, with 1,984.
Solanke's pressure
Dominic Solanke was a key component in Bournemouth’s high press last season before he made the summer move to Spurs. Of course, his 19 league goals were a major factor in Spurs spending a reported club-record fee on him.
However, his out-of-possession work was also something that Postecoglou knew would strengthen his side. He’s been proved right.
Solanke ranked higher than every other player in the Premier League last season for pressures made (1,242), pressures in the final third (703) and pressures in the final third resulting in a turnover (142).
Overall, last season Spurs made more pressures in the final third (2,935) and pressures in the final third resulting in a turnover (591) than any other team in the division.
On an individual player level, only Solanke was ahead of Son Heung-min in both of those metrics, with 639 and 130 respectively.
So far this season, Solanke once again leads the Premier League rankings for pressures (489) and pressures in the final third (255) and those in the final third that end in a turnover of possession (60).
Solanke has missed three of Spurs' 13 matches through injury or illness, with the image below comparing his pressures across the last two seasons.
Bournemouth may not have found a direct replacement for Solanke’s out-of-possession work, but they’ve become a better collective pressing team.
Only Spurs (156) have had more final third pressures lead to a turnover of possession than Iraola’s side (139) in the Premier League so far.
With four of their players managing 19+ of these, in Marcus Tavernier (26), Evanilson (23), Justin Kluivert (20) and Antoine Semenyo (19), no club has as many players in the top 30 ranking for this metric as Bournemouth do, with four.
Semenyo has been the biggest beneficiary of Bournemouth’s out-of-possession work, attempting 11 of their shots following a high turnover this season, which is two more than any other player in the league heading into Matchweek 14.
Evanilson has also attempted seven in these situations, which is the fourth-most behind Semenyo, Ollie Watkins (nine) and Matheus Cunha (nine).
Expect to see plenty of overlapping runs at the Vitality Stadium on Thursday, too. No player has made more overlaps than Bournemouth’s Milos Kerkez (100) before this midweek round of fixtures, while Spurs’ Destiny Udogie (87) ranks second.
Dejan Kulusevski (79) ranks fifth in this metric but stands alone for players that don’t play full-back – Arsenal’s Kai Havertz (52 – 27 fewer than Kulusevski) ranks the next-highest excluding those players.
Spurs got the better of Bournemouth in both Premier League meetings last season, but the Cherries have already enjoyed impressive home wins over Arsenal and Man City in 2024/25.
After their victory at Wolverhampton Wanderers on Saturday, this match gives Bournemouth the chance to secure back-to-back wins in the league for the first time since April.
Spurs haven’t played out the same result in any of their last eight Premier League matches, flitting between wins and defeats across seven Matchweeks before drawing 1-1 at home to Fulham on Sunday.
With the erratic form of both sides coupled with the high-intensity performances by Spurs and Bournemouth, their meeting should be chaotic… in a good way.
Visit Opta Analyst for more features on the Premier League.
