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Andoni Iraola said he does not believe in “momentum” and “confidence” in the Premier League despite Bournemouth moving into the top half of the table after their win over Tottenham.
The Cherries earned an impressive victory over Spurs on Thursday, with Dean Huijsen’s first-half header the difference on the south coast to pile more misery on Ange Postecoglou.
Bournemouth have now won successive Premier League games for the first time since April, but are on the road this weekend as they take on winless Ipswich Town at Portman Road on Sunday.
Iraola’s side find themselves just a point adrift of the European places after 14 games of their campaign, but the Bournemouth boss was quick to temper expectations at this early stage.
“I don’t trust too much in this momentum and confidence thing. The league is so tight. The levels are so small, from a win to a loss, so we have to reset,” Iraola said.
“We have a difficult game away at Ipswich with just two days of recovery. We cannot continue thinking of the standings or of the points, just competing every game. For me, the end of the season is too far away. We cannot look much further.
“We will have to show it [that they are better than last season]. If we finish with better than 48 points, then we will be. If not, then maybe not. We really don’t know. We are having great nights this season, especially at home against difficult opposition, and we are getting the points.”
Just a couple of chill guys getting three points pic.twitter.com/dzZRg2x0Xn
— AFC Bournemouth (@afcbournemouth) December 5, 2024
Ipswich, meanwhile, remain in search of that elusive first victory after falling to a narrow 1-0 defeat to Crystal Palace on Tuesday.
The Tractor Boys also face a difficult task this weekend against a side they have not beaten in their last six league meetings, though five of those matches have been drawn (L1).
Kieran McKenna confirmed he would be without Ben Johnson and Kalvin Phillips for the encounter, eluding that changes to his side could be made for the visit of the Cherries.
“We made some changes on Tuesday night that were necessary. It’s not going to be the same XI every game,” McKenna said.
“On Tuesday you could see the challenge for a couple of our younger players having to play Saturday-Tuesday in the Premier League for the first time.
“We’d like to have one or two more available to rotate, but in general we’ve still got a pretty healthy squad.”
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Ipswich – Liam Delap
No one has been involved in more goals for Ipswich than Delap (seven) in the Premier League this season, though he has failed to register a goal involvement in his last three games.
Bournemouth – Justin Kluivert
While not being able to add to his record-breaking hat-trick against Wolves in midweek against Tottenham, Kluivert will be keen to continue his goal-scoring form away from home.
He has scored four goals in his last two Premier League games on the road, which is double the amount that he’d netted in his first 21 away from the Vitality Stadium in the competition (two).
1 – Justin Kluivert is the first player in Premier League history to score a hat-trick of penalties in a single match, with teammate Evanilson also the first to win three penalties in the same game in the competition. Spotted. pic.twitter.com/KTDO4CYH0T
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) November 30, 2024
MATCH PREDICTION: BOURNEMOUTH WIN
This will be the first ever top-flight meeting between Ipswich and Bournemouth, making it the 1,453rd fixture to be played in England’s top division.
While Bournemouth are favoured by Opta’s data-led simulations, they have won just one of their last 11 away league games against Ipswich (D3 L7), a 2-1 win under Harry Redknapp in March 1988. Their last three league visits to Portman Road have all been draws.
The Cherries have also lost two of their last three Premier League meetings with promoted sides (W1), as many as they had in their previous 15 such matches (W8 D5).
Ipswich, meanwhile, remain without a win in any of their seven Premier League home games this season (D4 L3). In their league history, only in 2018-19 have they had a longer run without a home win from the start of a campaign (10).
The Tractor Boys have kept just one clean sheet in their 14 top-flight games this season. However, having conceded 20 goals in their first nine this term (2.2 per game), they’ve now conceded just five in their last five.
And Ipswich’s frustration has seemingly shown. They have conceded 180 fouls in their 14 Premier League games so far this season. Their rate of 12.9 fouls per game is currently the highest by a promoted side in a single campaign since Wolves in 2009-10 (13.8).
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Ipswich – 28.6%
Draw – 24.4%
Bournemouth – 46.9%
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