AFC Bournemouth vs Tottenham Hotspur Predictions

• Both teams have scored in Bournemouth’s last five league matches
• Seven of Tottenham’s last nine league matches have gone over 2.5 goals
• Four of the last six meetings have seen both teams score and over 2.5 goals

Defences look set to be exposed

Tottenham are the Premier League’s ultimate Jekyll and Hyde side and the difficulty in predicting which one shows up from one week to the next points to an entertaining encounter on the south coast at Bournemouth.

Spurs won 4-1 at home to Aston Villa and trounced Manchester City 4-0 at the Etihad in November but they were also beaten 2-1 when entertaining Ipswich while on Sunday they were held to a 1-1 draw against Fulham.

Ange Postecoglou’s side have lost on away league trips to Newcastle, Crystal Palace and Brighton this season and they are sure to be tested at Bournemouth, who have defeated both Arsenal and Manchester City at home this term

The Cherries had endured back-to-back defeats against Brentford and Brighton but a 4-2 victory at Wolves on Saturday has steadied the ship and the goals have been coming freely in their top-flight fixtures.

Andoni Iraola’s side have seen both teams score in their last five league matches and they have failed to score only once in their last eight league outings.

With Tottenham having a number of defensive injuries to contend with – goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario and centre-backs Micky van de Ven and Cristian Romero all missed the latest 1-1 draw with Fulham – Bournemouth should get plenty of chances to make a breakthrough.

Goals to flow on the south coast

But Spurs remain a potent force in forward areas, failing to score only once in their last nine league outings, and with Heung-min Son, Brennan Johnson and James Maddison in their ranks they are always going to carry a threat.

So backing both teams to score and over 2.5 goals could be the way to go, especially given the fact Tottenham have managed only two clean sheets in their last 11 league games.

Bournemouth’s 13 league games have featured 39 goals while Tottenham’s have seen 42 goals, and there should be plenty more entertainment between the sides at the Vitality Stadium.

Seven of Tottenham’s last nine league fixtures have gone over 2.5 goals and they have had plenty of thrilling encounters with Bournemouth in recent seasons, with three of the last six meetings ending 3-2 one way or another.

With that in mind, a small investment on a 3-2 Spurs victory could also reap the rewards.