Bournemouth take centre stage in our latest 2026/27 Fantasy Premier League (FPL) team preview.
Here, we discuss their best FPL picks for the upcoming campaign, predict the line-up for Gameweek 1, review pre-season, detail their set-piece takers, assess the summer transfer activity and more.
REASONS TO BE CHEERFUL
PRE-SEASON ENCOURAGEMENT
Bournemouth are unbeaten in pre-season so far.
The attacking unit, in particular, has excelled, netting 21 goals in their four friendly matches, notably against some decent-ish teams.
New head coach Marco Rose has a reputation for high-intensity, attacking football, which has immediately played out on the pitch.
You can’t read too much into pre-season form, of course, but there should at least be a feel-good factor at the Vitality Stadium ahead of next week’s trip to Manchester City.
KLUIVERT’S RETURN TO FITNESS + SILVA
Justin Kluivert (£6.0m) missed a large part of the 2025/26 season due to a knee injury, and subsequently ended the campaign with only two Premier League goals.
Remember, he racked up 18 attacking returns in the previous season (12 goals, six assists), so his return to fitness could be key.
He might even be Bournemouth’s first-choice penalty taker.
Add to that the arrival of centre-back Antonio Silva (£5.0m), a £25.7m purchase from Benfica who has experience in the Champions League, Europa League and for Portugal, and Bournemouth’s starting XI looks pretty solid on paper.
REASONS TO BE FEARFUL
EUROPEAN FOOTBALL
Playing in the Europa League represents uncharted territory for Bournemouth.
Juggling Thursday-Sunday football can take a bit of adjustment, so the Cherries will have to get used to playing twice per week, with shorter preparation time in between games.
They’ll get their first taste of European action on September 16/17, which takes place just a few days before their home encounter with Liverpool in Gameweek 5.
New head coach Rose also has a lot to live up to after last season’s sixth-place finish under Andoni Iraola.
KROUPI INJURED
Eli Junior Kroupi (£7.5m) netted 13 Premier League goals in his debut season on the south coast, the most of any Bournemouth player, but he has recently suffered a foot injury.
Having undergone surgery in July, he won’t be available for three months, a blow given his impact in 2025/26.
Kluivert is at least back fit, while Brazilian winger Rayan (£6.5m) will hope to kick on after his January arrival, but Kroupi’s absence will likely be felt.
Key central midfielder Alex Scott (£6.0m) has also been linked with a move to Chelsea, so that’s a mooted transfer to monitor.
BOURNEMOUTH: SUMMER TRANSFER ACTIVITY
Key Transfers In:
| FWD | Alvaro Rodriguez | Elche (£25.7m) |
| DEF | Antonio Silva | Benfica (£25.7m) |
| DEF | Juanlu Sanchez | Sevilla (£10.4m) |
Key Transfers Out:
| DEF | Marcos Senesi | Tottenham Hotspur (free) |
| DEF | Alex Jimenez | Fiorentina (loan) |
| FWD | Enes Unal | Getafe (free) |
Bournemouth have already secured a replacement for Marcos Senesi (£6.0m), with Silva coming in from Benfica for £25.7m.
There are other like-for-like positional changes elsewhere, with Alvaro Rodriguez (£6.0m) and Juanlu Sanchez (£4.5m) in for Enes Unal and Alex Jimenez.
- Who is Bournemouth’s new £6.0m FPL forward Álvaro Rodríguez?
- Can £5.0m Silva be Bournemouth’s ‘new Senesi’ for DefCon points?
BOURNEMOUTH: PRE-SEASON FPL REPORTS
| Jul 24 | Bournemouth 4-1 St Pauli (n) | Gannon-Doak (Tavernier assist), William (Christie assist), Jebbison (Toth assist), Diakite (Adli assist) |
| Jul 30 | Bournemouth 5-2 Augsburg (n) | Evanilson (Kluivert assist), Toth (Jebbison assist), Gannon-Doak (Jebbison assist), Tavernier (Dacosta assist), Unal (Tavernier assist) |
| Aug 4 | Bournemouth 10-1 Genoa (h) | Scott (Evanilson assist), Kluivert pen (Truffert assist), Kluivert (Truffert assist), Kluivert pen (Gannon-Doak assist), Scott (Jebbison assist), Brooks pen, Jebbison (Smith assist), Dacosta (William assist), Unal (Stevens assist), Unal (Dacosta assist) |
| Aug 8 | Real Betis 2-2 Bournemouth (a) | Tavernier (Evanilson assist), Evanilson (Toth assist) |
| Aug 15 | Mainz v Bournemouth (a) |
Form Players: Jebbison (2 goals, 3 assists), Kluivert (3 goals, 1 assist), Evanilson (2 goals, 2 assists), Tavernier (2 goals, 2 assists), Unal (3 goals), Dacosta (1 goal, 2 assists), Toth (1 goal, 2 assists), Scott (2 goals), William (1 goal, 1 assist), Truffert (2 assists)
OPENING FIXTURES
Bournemouth sit bottom of the Fixture Ticker in the first eight Gameweeks, which deters investment initially.
Remember, the Cherries will also have to deal with a heavier schedule in 2026/27, having qualified for Europe. Their first taste of European football will get underway between Gameweeks 4 and 5.
Rose’s side do have some respite from Gameweek 9, however.
PENALTY + SET-PIECE TAKERS
PENALTIES
Three players took penalties for Bournemouth last season – but a different Cherry altogether may be first choice!
Antoine Semenyo (£8.5m), Marcus Tavernier (£6.0m) and Kroupi all took two spot-kicks in 2025/26. The former is now on the books of Manchester City, of course, while Kroupi is out injured, likely till November.
A free run for Tavernier, then? Not quite.
Kluivert, who had been first choice in 2024/25, was off the field (mostly due to injury) for all six penalties that Bournemouth were awarded last season:
Kluivert’s two spot-kicks in pre-season seem to cement his place as first choice – although it should be said that Tavernier wasn’t on the field at the time. David Brooks (£5.0m) did take a penalty in the same 10-1 win over Genoa but Kluivert had gone off by that point, and Brooks has never taken a competitive penalty.
SET-PIECES
Tavernier and Scott shared the majority of corners and indirect free-kicks towards the end of the 2025/26 season.
Brooks would occasionally chip in when on the pitch, but it was mostly the above.
Tavernier sat joint-fifth among all FPL assets for direct free-kicks last season (seven), scoring once.
BOURNEMOUTH: PREDICTED FPL GAMEWEEK 1 LINE-UP
Silva’s arrival from Benfica should see him start in central defence alongside James Hill (£5.5m). Another new arrival, Juanlu, will hope to oust Adam Smith (£4.5m) at right-back.
Tyler Adams (£5.0m) hasn’t featured in pre-season to date due to injury, so Lewis Cook (£5.0m) could take his central midfield role. Ryan Christie (£5.0m) serves a ban in Gameweek 1.
Further forward, Kluivert will likely fill Kroupi’s No 10 spot.
You’d be surprised if the front three were to change from last season, with Rayan and Tavernier flanking Evanilson (£6.0m).
BOURNEMOUTH: BEST FPL OPTIONS
Bournemouth’s fixtures over the first eight Gameweeks are really poor, so we can probably put their assets on hold for now.
Unless, of course, you are on a Gameweek 2 Bench Boost strategy, when the Cherries host Everton at the Vitality Stadium.
Cheap-ish options like Djordje Petrovic (£4.5m), or Marcus Tavernier (£6.0m)/Justin Kluivert (£6.0m) further forward, could fit the bill if you are opting for that approach.
BOURNEMOUTH: ONES FOR THE FPL WATCHLIST
From Gameweek 9, when Bournemouth’s fixtures really improve, there are a range of options worth considering, provided the Cherries can still shine under Rose.
Firstly, James Hill (£5.5m) and Adrien Truffert (£5.5m) at the back. Both of these players were superb FPL assets in 2025/26.
Truffert racked up 165 points, thanks to six assists, a goal and 11 clean sheets. He also weighed in with 24 defensive contribution (DefCon) points. Hill meanwhile never looked back from Gameweek 19, combining three assists with 26 DefCon points, the most of any defender and six more than Senesi in that period.
In midfield, Rayan (£6.5m) really impressed after his January arrival, with five goals and two assists in 13 starts and two substitute appearances. Managers could save some money with Tavernier and Kluivert, of course, with a 2025/26 underlying stats comparison between those options included below.
We’ll overlook Adam Scott (£6.0m) until his future is clearer. His 30 DefCon points were beaten by only four other players in his position, but he did provide just five attacking returns in 37 matches.
Eli Junior Kroupi (£7.5m) should certainly be added to your Watchlist upon his return from injury – and that might just be when the fixtures are turning for the better in late October.
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