Football writer Adrian Clarke identifies the key players, team tactics and where matches could be won and lost in Matchweek 32.
Team analysis: AFC Bournemouth
After failing to pick up a victory in any of their last six Premier League matches, Bournemouth’s dreams of UEFA Champions League football have faded in recent weeks.
The Cherries can still qualify for Europe, but Monday night’s match at home to Fulham, a side three points better off than them, feels like a must-win for Andoni Iraola’s side.
What has gone awry since mid-February to cause this unexpected slump?
Lapses in defensive focus
During a fabulous December and January, the south coast side kept five clean sheets in 10 Premier League games.
Proving difficult to play against, they protected 'keeper Kepa Arrizabalaga very well indeed.
That solidity has been lost during this poor run, failing to keep a clean sheet in any of their eight outings since the start of February. Giving up leads has also become a problem.
Iraola’s men led 2-0 at Tottenham Hotspur, only to draw the game, and last time out they also scored first before taking home just a solitary point at West Ham United.
The Cherries also held an early advantage against Brentford, before throwing away that lead to lose 2-1 in mid-March.
The absence of Justin Kluivert through injury has not helped, but scoring goals is not an issue for them.
It is keeping opponents at bay that has become a problem.
Opponents are playing through their press
Bournemouth’s man-to-man marking is usually exceptionally tough to play against, but they have been undone too easily of late.
Ipswich Town and Spurs (twice) scored from moves that began with their goalkeeper, with two of those strikes coming from opposition goal kicks.
In all three examples the Cherries’ shape was not as compact as it needed to be, and consequently they found themselves outnumbered, making it easy to play around them.
In the loss at home to Ipswich, Lewis Cook was too far away from Sam Morsy initially, and Dango Ouatarra (circled) was not close enough to Jens Cajuste (No 12).
As shown here, Morsy plays a forward pass that is played one touch around the corner to Cajuste, who then had time to release Liam Delap in a one-v-one.
The Tractor Boys went on to score from this move.
In a 2-2 draw at Spurs, Pape Sarr scored from a move where they played through the thirds with ease, before Son Heung-min won a penalty to equalise.
The build-up to that spot-kick began when Kluivert was too far away from Micky van de Ven to affect his pass wide to Son…
Behind him, David Brooks then gets dragged towards Son, who plays a first-time pass inside to Djed Spence, who was left all alone during that flawed press.
From the same move, Son escaped his man-markers’ attention to win a penalty.
In isolation these are only minor mistakes, but when you close down man-to-man it is reliant on these kinds of errors not being made.
Set piece sloppiness
Two of Bournemouth’s recent concessions also came from opposition throw-ins.
At West Ham last time out, full-back James Hill was left unsupported in a 2v1 from a throw that saw Mohammed Kudus take the ball past him, before crossing for Jarrod Bowen to head home.
The Cherries also defended terribly against a long throw from Brentford in a 2-1 defeat, criminally allowing the ball to bounce inside their box.
With defender Illia Zabarnyi also switching off at the wrong time, Christian Norgaard helped himself to an easy goal.
Iraola’s side have also conceded twice from corners in recent weeks. In that same match against the Bees, Yoane Wissa loitered in an avenue of space between their zonal and man-markers (see below).
Kepa came out to punch the ball clear but was beaten to the ball by Wissa’s header…
Last time out at West Ham, Ouatarra lost his man in a penalty spot cluster, allowing Nicklas Fullkrug, to power home a bullet header.
Bournemouth’s defensive organisation from set-plays will need to improve if they are to pick up better results between now and the end of the campaign.
Costly decision making
That mistake from on-loan Kepa is one of several that have crept into his game.
It was a poor decision from the Spaniard to come out and try to take the ball off Son, giving away a needless penalty when he was not in a position to score.
The Cherries stopper also gave away a spot-kick at Brighton & Hove Albion, tripping Joao Pedro in a one-v-one.
He was right to come out and narrow the angle, but his decision to try and win the ball when always second-best was a poor one.
A collision was inevitable, and Bournemouth paid the price. Kepa’s choices during this six-match spell could have been better.
Is fatigue setting in?
When you produce the kind of high-intensity football that Iraola demands, it is bound to catch up with you physically and mentally at some point - and there are some signs this has been a factor.
The eye test tells you concentration levels have dipped, and that their tempo has also decreased.
Some stats back this up.
Across the last six matches the Cherries have run 2.3km fewer per 90 minutes than they did previously - and in central midfield they have pressurised opponents with decreased aggression.
Bournemouth stats compared per 90
| MW1-25 | MW26-31 | |
| Distance covered | 111.9km | 109.6km |
|---|---|---|
| Pressures in middle third | 125.8 | 119.5 |
| Expected goals against | 1.3 | 1.44 |
| Big chances faced | 2.1 | 2.5 |
| Expected goals/shot faced | 0.09 | 0.13 |
A combination of all the factors discussed means Bournemouth are facing more shots than before, and the number of quality chances opponents are creating against them has also risen.
To arrest their slide, Iraola must quickly fix the defensive problems that have proved so problematic across the last two months.
If he can, do not write off a spirited late season comeback from the Cherries, who know they must bring their A-game against a Fulham side who vanquished Liverpool last time out.
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