Bournemouth will host Championship high-flyers Leicester City in the FA Cup. Bournemouth will go into the game having just lost 1-0 at home to champion Manchester City. Leicester lost 3-1 to Leeds United in their previous matchup at the top of the table.
Preview (Bournemouth vs. Leicester City)
To go to the FA Cup’s fifth round, Bournemouth had to win their first two games. On January 6, they defeated Queens Park Rangers 3-2, and their most recent victory came against Swansea City, 5-0. The Cherries will face a higher caliber opponent in this competition. They come into the game off a five-game losing streak. It included a 1-0 league setback at home to Man City on Saturday. In their match against the Citizens at Vitality Stadium, Andoni Iraola’s team had a lot of promising traits. However, they were unable to capitalize on several excellent opportunities. They dropped to 14th place in the Premier League standings, eight points ahead of the competition.
Although Bournemouth will be optimistic of picking up points in the upcoming weeks because their next three Premier League games are against the lowest three teams—Burnley, Sheffield United, and Luton Town—their immediate goal is to secure a trip to the FA Cup quarterfinals. The Cherries defeated Leicester 2-1 in their most recent meeting at the Vitality Stadium in October 2022. The Cherries have won all three of their previous meetings with Leicester in the Premier League.
Since a Championship match in February 2014, Leicester has not defeated the Cherries at the Vitality Stadium. Similarly, they have not defeated Bournemouth since a 3-1 victory at the King Power Stadium in August 2019. Although Leicester is focused on getting back to the Premier League, the Foxes know what it takes to win this game, having famously lifted the FA Cup at the end of the 2020–21 season. This match will be the first-ever FA Cup meeting between the two teams.
Team News
Following his suspension, Philip Billing will be available for Bournemouth once more. However, injuries have kept Ryan Fredericks, Tyler Adams, James Hill, Lloyd Kelly, and Max Aarons out of the game. Head coach Iraola will make changes from the starting lineup that took the pitch against Man City in the league. Alex Scott, Danny Ouattara, and Luis Sinisterra are all expected to start in the starting lineup, with Mark Travers starting in goal. Although Dominic Solanke is once again anticipated to lead the line for the home team, Enes Unal, who impressed as a late substitution against Man City, is a strong candidate for a starting role.
Wilfred Ndidi is still sidelined for Leicester due to a leg injury, and Jamie Vardy is a serious doubt due to the same problem that kept him out of the Championship match against Leeds. For this game, head coach Maresca is also likely to make significant changes to the Foxes starting lineup, rewarding players who have shown promise thus far in the league. Dennis Praet, Conor Coady, Marc Albrighton, Callum Doyle, Ben Nelson, Brandon Cover, and Yunus Akgun could all be called into the side, with Jakub Stolarczyk receiving the nod between the sticks.
Bournemouth 2-1 Leicester City
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