AFC Bournemouth vs Nottingham Forest Predictions

• Bournemouth are on a seven match unbeaten run in the Premier League
• The Cherries have not lost any of their last 10 meetings with Nottingham Forest
• Forest won their first match under Sean Dyche against Porto in the Europa League
• The Tricky Trees are winless in the league since the opening weekend of the season

Cherries to sweet for Dyche and Forest

Nottingham Forest made a winning start to life under Sean Dyche – their third head coach of an already tumultuous season – beating Porto 2-0 in the Europa League on Thursday night, but they will face a stern test when they visit Bournemouth in the Premier League on Sunday.

The Tricky Trees head into the latest round of top-flight action sitting inside the relegation zone and without a league win since a 3-1 home success over Brentford on the opening weekend.

Since then, Forest have sacked two head coaches – Nuno Espirito Santo and Ange Postecoglou – and have picked up just two points from seven matches, while they are without an away win in any competition since a 2-1 success at West Ham in May.

While their midweek win over Porto will have helped to restore belief, a trip to the Vitality Stadium to take on a hugely impressive Bournemouth, who have had a full eight days to prepare for this game, may be a step too far this early into the Dyche reign.

Bournemouth soaring on the south coast

Bournemouth were seconds away from going top of the Premier League last weekend, conceding a stoppage-time equaliser to draw 3-3 at Crystal Palace, but that shows how far they have come under Andoni Iraola.

The Cherries are unbeaten in seven league games since a loss at champions Liverpool on the opening night, while they are yet to taste defeat in the league at the Vitality, picking up 10 points from a possible 12.

It is over a decade since Bournemouth last lost to Forest, a run of 10 matches that includes six wins, most recently a 5-0 home success when they met on the south coast in January.

Three of the last five head-to-heads have been won by Bournemouth and featured over 2.5 goals, including a pair of 3-2 successes. Given the long-term form of both teams, a similar result could play out on Sunday.

Semenyo Bournemouth’s main man

There have been some strong individual performances for Bournemouth this season but there is no doubting their star man, with Antoine Semenyo boasting nine goal involvements in eight league matches – only Manchester City’s Erling Haaland has a higher total.

Haaland is also the only player to score more top-flight goals than Semenyo, whose tally of six includes two in Bournemouth’s last home fixture – a 3-1 win over Fulham.

The Ghanaian also scored in both of his appearances against Forest last season and he could be the scourge of the Tricky Trees once again.