Two sides that looked fairly evenly matched on paper couldn’t be separated in the Monday night game – but only after a superb stoppage-time bicycle kick from teenage striker Charalampos Kostoulas (£4.8m).
Bournemouth’s injury worries were heightened, meanwhile, after their own goalscorer, Marcus Tavernier (£5.5m) hobbled off.
Here are our Scout Notes from the final fixture of Gameweek 22.
TAVERNIER ON PENS – BUT NOW ON THE INJURY LIST
As suspected, Tavernier inherited penalty-taking duties after the exit of Antoine Semenyo (£7.6m) and the serious injury sustained by Justin Kluivert (£7.0m).
He stepped up to convert from the spot in the first half of Monday’s game after Amine Adli (£5.4m) was adjudged by the VAR to have been fouled.
But just when FPL managers were getting interested, injury struck.
Tavernier pulled up with a hamstring issue in the second half, signalling to the bench immediately. He came off shortly after.
Andoni Iraola sounded downbeat after full-time.
“He is injured. It’s not a big surprise in the sense that Tavernier has had to play everything in this vicious schedule.
“At the end, he has felt his hammy and he will be out for some time.” – Andoni Iraola on Marcus Tavernier
SUB-£5.0M FORWARD NO.1
Iraola told BBC Solent Sport that there was “no chance” of getting anyone back for Gameweek 23. That presumably means David Brooks (£5.0m) will miss out again, then, along with myriad others, including Tavernier.
That bodes well for Junior Kroupi‘s (£4.6m) short-term game-time, although how effective an attacking force the Cherries can be with so many out is another question.
Kroupi made his second successive Premier League start, and his third in all competitions, on Monday. Again lining up in the ’10’, he got through 72 minutes at the Amex.
It should be noted, however, that Bournemouth are trying to add to their squad in the January transfer market.
“We are in a very, very delicate situation. The players we have need help and the club know that too. They are trying everything to make signings and I’m sure that they will come.” – Andoni Iraola
The Cherries are targeting young Brazilian winger Rayan, while a deal to sign central midfielder Alex Toth is imminent. Neither is a natural ’10’ but, for instance, Toth as an extra option in the engine room would maybe allow Alex Scott (£5.0m) to play in a more advanced role.
It’s one to monitor in the remaining fortnight of the transfer window.
And if you didn’t catch the Bournemouth Echo’s chat with Iraola on Kroupi, it’s worth reading. The Cherries boss hailed the budget forward’s defensive improvements in the ’10’ role but said “he is going to be a number nine”, hinting with the following statement that he’d ideally like to use Kroupi as relief for Evanilison (£7.0m) if he had attacking midfield alternatives:
“It’s true that now without Enes [Unal], it’s something that you have to think very well because you start both [Evanilson and Kroupi] also probably you don’t have the subs now in their positions.
“You have to think how we are going to finish the game. So yes, things that we have to think very well on and take decisions in the different games.” – Andoni Iraola on Eli Kroupi
SUB-£5.0M FORWARD NO.2
Kroupi wasn’t the only sub-£5.0m forward on show.
Kostoulas was thrown on for Danny Welbeck (£6.2m) in the 77th minute, and responded with a cracking overhead kick to rescue a point for Albion.
The Bavarian Buzz Killington was quick with the cold water.
“Yeah, he’s a big talent and now he needs to understand what it means to do this consistently, what it means to work hard for the team. But we’re, of course, pleased with him. We know what he’s capable of doing, but I think we’d all prefer to win games instead of scoring goals like this.” – Fabian Hurzeler on ‘Babis’ Kostoulas
Ultimately, despite this goal, Kostoulas is still below Kroupi and Matheus Mane (£4.5m) in the sub-£5.0m forward pecking order.
As is the case with several Brighton assets, it’s a question of trust. Do we think Hurzeler will reward him with starts? Can we rely on Welbeck’s minutes? Is Hurzeler fully convinced by Yankuba Minteh (£5.8m), who was back from injury as a substitute here? The answer may be ‘no’ to all of the above. As if to prove a point, Georginio Rutter (£5.8m) unexpectedly dropped to the bench on Monday.
Kaoru Mitoma (£6.1m) does seem to be favoured by Hurzeler more than most, when fit. Pascal Gross (£5.5m) has started three successive league and cup games since his return, too.
But the Seagulls, in general, are hard to trust. Capable of going toe to toe with the best of them (a draw at the Etihad) but then needing 90+ minutes to score against a Bournemouth side with the worst defensive record in away games, they’re difficult to rely on.
THE MATCH IN BRIEF
The game went back and forth in terms of momentum, with Brighton starting the brighter but mostly testing Djorde Petrovic (£4.5m) from distance.
Tavernier’s goal then derailed Brighton for a bit. Evanilson had four first-half efforts, the best of them a 44th-minute header that he sent narrowly wide. The Brazilian striker, who was aiming to score for the third straight league game, also hit the post with an attempt that was flagged for the tightest of offsides.
But with options lacking on the bench (Iraola loves to change things around midway through the second half), the Cherries wilted.
Late pressure finally told with makeshift targetman Jan Paul van Hecke (£4.5m) knocking the ball down for Charalambous. Van Hecke, now on five attacking returns for the season, had gone close himself minutes earlier.
There is one thing we can depend on from these two sides – Marcos Senesi (£4.8m) to get DefCon points:
Senesi did so for a league-best 17th time in 2025/26. His new centre-back partner, James Hill (£3.9m), banked DefCon points too and impressed once again.
