AFC Bournemouth vs Norwich Predictions

Bournemouth can climb into the Premier League’s top five if they can find a way to beat Norwich City and other results go their way this weekend, and the form book suggests the Cherries have a fantastic opportunity to grab the points the need.

Eddie Howe’s men were narrowly edged out by Arsenal just before the international break, falling to a slender 0-1 defeat at the Emirates despite a solid performance.

However, that defeat was Bournemouth’s first in four matches, and more notably, their reverse at Arsenal was the first Premier League fixture of the season where the Cherries failed to register.

The goal scoring threat that Bournemouth carry is such, that only five teams, including four of the division’s current top five, have hit the net more often than the Cherries since the summer.

More recently, Bournemouth scored at least twice in each of the three league fixtures they contested directly before their defeat to Arsenal, and we think the Cherries can match that output against a porous looking Norwich City defence this weekend.

The Canaries’ remarkable 3-2 win over defending champions Manchester City on September 14^th is still relatively fresh in the memory, though that unexpected win was an anomalous bright spark during what has been a dismal couple of months for the newly promoted outfit.

Ahead of their trip to the south coast this weekend, Norwich have lost five out of six in the Premier League, and their 1-5 battering at home to Aston Villa in their last outing would have left their already fragile confidence at rock bottom.

That heavy defeat left the Canaries with the Premier League’s worst defensive record, and Norwich have shipped 21 goals in total since August, conceding two or more goals in a staggering seven of their eight top flight matches since their promotion.

We think it makes sense to take advantage of Norwich’s brittle defence and ramshackle rearguard this weekend, which is why we recommend backing Bournemouth to score over 1.5 team goals on Saturday.

The Cherries averaged 2.66 goals per 90 minutes across their three Premier League fixtures before their unfortunate defeat at Arsenal, and Bournemouth have enough firepower in forward areas to tear some holes in Norwich’s paper-thin defence.

Clean sheets are rare for the Cherries however – in fact, Bournemouth and Norwich are the only Premier League clubs still searching for their first shutout of the campaign. Our correct score prediction takes that into account, and we’re tipping Bournemouth to win 2-1.