Next up for our 2024/25 Fantasy Premier League (FPL) team previews is Bournemouth.
Under the new management of Andoni Iraola, the Cherries finished 12th in the league last season.
In these team guides, we’ll be looking at the best players from each club for the upcoming campaign. We’ll also take a stab at predicted line-ups for Gameweek 1, review pre-season and more.
We’re harnessing Statsbomb and Opta data to help us along the way.
These are usually Members-only articles but we’re making this one free to all as a taster of what you can expect.
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BOURNEMOUTH: REASONS TO BE CHEERFUL
Bournemouth finished last season with a total of 48 points, which is a record high for the club. Andoni Iraola will be hoping to improve on this and push for a top 10 position, which they were only one point away from last season.
The manager himself has been one of the main positives. From conservative performances of the previous regime to front-foot displays under Iraola, the Cherries were one of the most aggressive pressing teams of 2023/24.
When it comes to the underlying stats that matter to FPL managers, xG and xG conceded, the Cherries were on the right side of average:
Whilst Dominic Solanke (£7.5m) was the main attacking threat for goals, there were contributions from elsewhere.
Antoine Semenyo (£5.5m) and Justin Kluivert (£5.5m) chipped in with 15 goals between them, while even Marcos Senesi (£5.0m) delivered nine attacking returns from defence.
BOURNEMOUTH: REASONS TO BE FEARFUL
Last season, Bournemouth underperformed defensively, conceding 67 goals over the season from an xGC of 58.84. This placed them joint-fourth for most goals conceded, alongside Nottingham Forest.
A positive to take is that 40% of those goal concessions came in the first 11 Gameweeks, when the team were very much in transition and faced with a nasty run of games.
From Gameweek 12 onwards, only four teams conceded fewer goals.
The biggest worry is that the Cherries face losing their talisman as Spurs are in talks to sign Solanke, who has a £65m release clause.
They’ll surely reinvest some of that money in a replacement but can they replace the goal contributions of their outgoing striker? It’s a big ask.
BOURNEMOUTH: SUMMER TRANSFER ACTIVITY
Key Transfers In:
| FWD | Enes Unal | Getafe (£13m) |
| GK | Alex Paulsen | Wellington Phoenix (£850k) |
| FWD | Daniel Jebbison | Sheffield United (£1.5m) |
| DEF | Dean Huijsen | Juventus (£12.8m) |
Key Transfers Out:
| DEF | Lloyd Kelly | Newcastle United (Free) |
| FWD | Jamal Lowe | Sheffield Wednesday (Free) |
| MID | Emi Marcondes | Released |
| DEF | Ryan Fredericks | Released |
| GK | Darren Randolph | Released |
| MID | Joe Rothwell | Leeds United (Loan) |
| FWD | Kieffer Moore | Sheffield United (£2m) |
PRE-SEASON REPORT
| Jul 21 | Bournemouth 1-1 Wrexham (Harder Stadium, Santa Barbara) | Senesi (Billing assist) |
| Jul 25 | Bournemouth 1-1 Arsenal (Dignity Health Sports Park, Carson) | Semenyo |
| Aug 4 | Bournemouth 1-0 Rayo Vallecano (Vitality Stadium) | Sinisterra |
| Aug 10 | Bournemouth v Girona (Vitality Stadium) |
At the time of writing, Bournemouth still have one friendly to go.
New signing Dean Huijsen (£4.5m) is one to keep an eye on. He was an impressive watch as he lined up in central defence alongside Illia Zabarnyi (£4.5m) against Rayo Vallecano in the Cherries’ latest pre-season game, later partnering Senesi.
Huijsen has also already impressed Iraola due to his versatility to play on the left and right. Whilst it is unlikely that Huijsen will be starting games early on in the season, it is to be expected that he will provide some competition in defence later on in the season.
Solanke was not included in the squad for their latest fixture against Rayo Vallecano after picking up an injury earlier in the week. Whether that was a smokescreen for his potential exit is another question.
OPENING FIXTURES
Bournemouth’s opening five fixtures are a mixed bag at best.
The Cherries do at least come up against Nottingham Forest and Everton in their opening three fixtures. They were two of the four lowest scorers in the division last season.
More appealingly, in Gameweeks 6 and 7 they have fixtures against newly promoted teams: Southampton (h) and Leicester (a).
A better, more sustained run starts in Gameweek 10.
Bournemouth’s early fixtures also rotate fairly nicely with those of Aston Villa and Southampton, which makes a £4.5m defensive option all the more tempting:
BOURNEMOUTH’S PENALTY AND SET-PIECE TAKERS
Providing Solanke remains at the club, which is looking increasingly unlikely, he is Bournemouth’s first-choice penalty taker. The Cherries were awarded three penalties in 2023/24, all taken by Solanke.
Who will step up if he goes? Ryan Christie (£5.0m) has taken them for Scotland, while Enes Unal (£5.5m) also has a lot of experience – if not a great record – from 12 yards.
Philip Billing (£5.0m), Tavernier, Unal, Alex Scott (£5.0m) and Justin Kluivert (£5.5m) shared direct free-kicks – but none of them were successful:
Tavernier and Lewis Cook (£5.0m) were mostly responsible for corners and indirect free-kicks in 2023/24, with Scott and Christie also chipping in.
BOURNEMOUTH: PREDICTED GAMEWEEK 1 LINE-UP
Kluivert has not played at all in pre-season, while Billing, Cook, Solanke and Chris Mepham (£4.5m) were also not involved in the penultimate friendly against Vallecano on August 4.
However, Iraola has said that he expects only Unal, Tyler Adams (£5.0m) and David Brooks (£5.0m) to miss the start of the season.
Ryan Jebbison (£4.5m) could cover for Solanke and Unal in Gameweek 1 at least, although Semenyo does have experience leading the line.
BEST FPL OPTIONS
Solanke would – under different circumstances – be the obvious attacking pick from the Cherries. He firmly led the way as the top scorer for the club with 19 goals from an xG of 19.63. He was Bournemouth’s talisman, on penalties and central to their attack. Unfortunately, his time at the club looks to be coming to an end.
Semenyo’s new classification as a midfielder could provide a significant boost to managers as he will now benefit from extra points for goals and clean sheets. In just 25 starts, Semenyo produced eight goals and four assists last season.
Minutes are sometimes a worry with Iraola’s wealth of options out wide but Semenyo cemented himself as a regular more as the season went on, starting 21 of the final 25 games he was available for. Any benchings tended to come in three-game weeks.
In defence, Senesi previously topped the charts by supplying more attacking returns than any other Premier League centre-back in 2023/24. Subbed on during a pre-season game against Wrexham, Senesi found himself on the scoresheet once again, thanks to a close-range header.
It is worth noting, however, that Senesi overperformed his expected data last season. He scored four goals from 2.02 xG and banked five assists from 2.50 xA.
With tight budgets, it may be sensible to look for cheaper options in defence, such as Illia Zabarnyi (£4.5m) who was Bournemouth’s second-highest-scoring defender last season.
Milos Kerkez (£4.5m) picked up two assists in 2023/24 and has the potential to get into more central positions this season if Luis Sinisterra (£5.0m) plays on the left wing. With Lloyd Kelly (£4.5m) gone, too, you’d think his minutes would get a significant boost.
ONES FOR THE WATCHLIST
All eyes will certainly be on Solanke whilst Spurs pursue the striker.
Unal – currently injured – and budget forward Jebbison will be on the Fantasy radar, then, but you’d think the Cherries would look to striking reinforcements in the transfer market. Until the window closes, we won’t know who will be leading the line this season.
Whoever lines up in goal can provide a budget-friendly goalkeeper option – it’s just we’re not 100% sure who that is.
Noberto Murara Neto (£4.5m) and Mark Travers (£4.5m) shared game-time against Vallecano, with the latter given a chance to impress at the back-end of 2023/24 when there was little to play for.
Travers has been linked with a move away, however.
In 32 appearances, Neto kept seven clean sheets and made 3.53 saves per 90 minutes. Considering Bournemouth’s improved defensive numbers after Gameweek 11 last year, he could be a good budget-saving punt if his first-choice status is secured. One to monitor.
