Even though Gerrard has been praised for bringing a positive mood around the club, Aston Villa could only manage a 14th-place finish last campaign.
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Bournemouth will kick-start their return to the Premier League with a difficult task at hand, as they welcome Aston Villa to the Vitality Stadium in their opener on Saturday. In their previous spell at English top flight, the Cherries were praised for their eye-catching style of football. This time though it is not clear if Scott Parker’s side will be able to entertain their supporters with a fluent passing game. They will be up against a Villa side that performed well below their expectations last season. It resulted in a change of manager and the arrival of Steven Gerrard to the hot seat.
Even though Gerrard has been praised for bringing a positive mood around the club, Aston Villa could only manage a 14th-place finish last campaign. It is something that they will be eager to improve upon in this campaign. They have also had a positive pre-season, producing some notable results, which will only improve the expectations among their supporters. On the other hand, Bournemouth finished second in the Championship to seal a Premier League return. However, their performances in the pre-season have been anything but impressive. Either way, Vitality Stadium will be in for a festive mood during the opener, making it extremely difficult for Aston Villa to play their usual game.
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Not only did Aston Villa have good pre-season results, but they have also been impressive in the transfer market. They have made some smart buys early in the window, allowing Gerrard more time to work with his new recruits. New signings Boubacar Kamara and Diego Carlos are expected to be joined in the Starting XI by Philippe Coutinho, who made his move permanent. Meanwhile, Bournemouth have had a quiet transfer window till now. To make things worse, two of their recruits Joe Rothwell and Ryan Fredericks will miss the opener due to an injury. It will be interesting to see who will replace the duo.
Bournemouth possible line-up: Travers, Smith, Kelly, Mepham, Zemura, Christie, Cook, Lerma, Anthony, Billing, Solanke
Aston Villa possible lineup: Martinez, Cash, Chambers, Carlos, Digne, McGinn, Kamara, J. Ramsey, Bailey, Coutinho, Watkins
The Premier League match between Bournemouth and Aston Villa will take place at Vitality Stadium on Saturday at 7:30 pm IST.
The Premier League match between Bournemouth and Aston Villa will be shown LIVE on the Star Sports network. Fans will also be able to watch the live streaming on Disney+ Hotstar and JioTV.
