Saturday’s match at the Stadium of Light was a five-goal thriller that featured a comeback win, 10 bookings and one red card.
SENESI TO MISS GAMEWEEK 14
Two of those bookings were particularly costly to Bournemouth.
Marcos Senesi (£5.0m), who is FPL’s fourth-most owned defender, and David Brooks (£5.0m) were cautioned for the fifth time this season. They’ll now miss the Gameweek 14 visit of Everton.
Given the tough matches that follow for the Cherries (except Burnley in Gameweek 17), could it be a good time to offload Senesi – particularly for those trying to exhaust their free transfer allowance ahead of the Gameweek 16 top-up?
Worse was to come for the Cherries when Lewis Cook (£4.9m) was sent off for violent conduct late on. He’ll miss the next three league games.
Senesi at least bowed out with yet more defensive contribution (DefCon) points.
SEMENYO BACK – BUT BLANKS AGAIN
Antoine Semenyo (£7.8m) returned after a one-game absence and was straight back in the Cherries’ XI. He lasted 90 minutes (as he had done on all of his previous 11 starts), too, hopefully a sign that the ankle niggle from earlier this month is no longer a big hindrance.
While he’s not hit the heights of early season for a while (distracted by transfer rumours or just natural regression from the unsustainable form of Gameweeks 1-7?), he was, alongside fellow winger Amine Adli (£5.4m), Bournemouth’s brightest spark.
Three shots and four chances created were healthy-sounding. Those bare numbers sometimes don’t tell us much on their own (the three efforts were low-xG) but he most definitely should have had an assist – the below absolute sitter from Evanilson (£7.0m) was created by Semenyo.
Not only did Evanilson miss but salt was poured into the wounds by Adli following up to score the rebound. That handed the profligate Brazilian an undeserved assist!
Evanilson was to blame for another near-miss later in the game. Semenyo’s deflected cross looked like it may have been heading in of its own accord – one angle suggested so, another that it may have hit the post – but either way, Evanilson should have held his run instead of straying offside for his tap-in.
In terms of assist potential, you’re only as good as the striker finishing the opportunities. Unfortunately for Semenyo, Evanilson’s shot-to-goal ratio is a dire 3.8% in 2025/26…
MORE SET-PIECE STRUGGLES
Tyler Adams‘ (£5.0m) McLean-esque stunner from the centre circle put Bournemouth 2-0 up.
Then, the capitulation.
A soft-ish Sunderland penalty was followed up by two set-piece goals, converted by Bertrand Traore (£5.5m) and substitute Bryan Brobbey (£5.5m).
As Andoni Iraola pointed out after the game, the Cherries are haemorrhaging goals from dead-ball situations at present. Can Michael Keane (£4.6m) and co benefit in midweek?
“It’s an area that is costing us a lot.
“The other day, the two goals come from set pieces. Aston Villa, three goals from set pieces today, two goals from set pieces.
“We’re talking about seven goals in the last three games. It doesn’t matter the amount of goals you score, the amount of chances you have. If you are conceding seven goals from set pieces in three games, we got one point and normally you will get zero.” – Andoni Iraola to the Bournemouth Echo
The Cherries have now conceded two or more goals in six of their last eight league matches.
ALDERETE RETURNS AS LE FEE RETAINS PENALTIES
Omar Alderete (£4.1m) returned to the Sunderland XI after a four-match absence.
He finished one contribution away from DefCon points, with Dan Ballard (£4.6m) the only Mackem to deliver on that front.
Regis Le Bris took the opportunity to move to a back four for this contest, ditching Trai Hume (£4.5m) and Lutsharel Geertruida (£4.5m).
With successive trips to Liverpool and Manchester City to come, it may be that the back five is reinstated in the next two Gameweeks.
Enzo Le Fee (£4.9m) emerged with a 13-point haul, having scored from the spot and then assisted Brobbey’s winner from a corner. Both of Le Fee’s goals this season, and his only two ‘big chances’, have come from 12 yards.
Remember that Habib Diarra (£5.3m) was meant to take the Black Cats’ next penalty but the midfielder is currently injured. If he’s fit, he’ll be off to AFCON soon, too.
Fellow budget midfielder Granit Xhaka (£5.2m) assisted Traore’s strike for his fifth attacking return of 2025/26. As with the rest of the Sunderland squad, the DefCon points have dried up a bit: he’s delivered just once in the last five Gameweeks. That’s true of Nordi Mukiele (£4.2m), too.
Brobbey’s goal puts pressure on Wilson Isidor (£5.6m) up top. Regardless of form, the quick turnaround between the next two matches will probably bring his 10-match starting run to an end.
