Bournemouth will endeavour to maintain their position in the top half of the Premier League table when they welcome Brentford to the Vitality Stadium for their final home fixture of the season on Saturday afternoon.
Neither side could be separated the last time they butted heads back in September when they played out a 2-2 draw at the Gtech Community Stadium.
Match preview
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A relegation dogfight seemingly beckoned for Bournemouth following a nine-match winless start to the campaign, but Andoni Iraola's side has come on leaps and bounds since then and have accumulated a club-record 48 Premier League points with two games still to play.
The Cherries were in buoyant mood heading to the Emirates Stadium last weekend after winning their previous two matches without reply against Wolverhampton Wanderers and Brighton & Hove Albion. However, they could not get the better of title-chasing Arsenal and eventually fell to a 3-0 defeat.
Nevertheless, Bournemouth are still clinging onto 10th place in the Premier League table and are still in with a chance of equalling their highest-ever top-flight finish of ninth in 2016-17, as they sit just one point behind ninth-placed West Ham United.
Before travelling to Chelsea on the final day, Bournemouth shift their attention to Saturday's contest with Brentford who they have failed to beat in any of their last six league meetings since a narrow 1-0 win in the Championship back in 2014.
The Cherries have lost their final home league match in three of the last four seasons, but their recent home form bodes well ahead of their clash with the Bees, as they are unbeaten in their last six league games at the Vitality Stadium (W4 D2) - their joint-longest run without defeat on home soil in the top flight.
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After securing their highest-ever Premier League finish (ninth) last season, Brentford will have to settle for a bottom-half finish this time around, but Thomas Frank can at least take pride in steering the Bees to safety with games to spare.
A fourth straight Premier League campaign was assured prior to Brentford's narrow 1-0 defeat at Everton, and they have since picked up a point from a goalless stalemate with London rivals Brentford last weekend.
With two matches remaining, Brentford currently sit 16th in the top-flight standings and 10 points clear of the relegation zone, while they can only finish as high as 15th if they follow up a win over Bournemouth on Saturday with another three points in their final fixture of the season at home to Newcastle United.
Although Brentford have lost two-thirds of their Premier League games on the road this season (12 out of 18), they have come out on top in their final away fixture in each of the last three campaigns, scoring exactly three goals against Bristol City (3-1) in 2020-21, Everton (3-2) in 2021-22 and Tottenham Hotspur (3-1) in 2022-23.
The Bees have also kept a clean sheet in their last two visits to Bournemouth, including last season's goalless draw, and will be looking to keep three consecutive shutouts at the home of the Cherries for the first time since a run between 1991 and 1994 when both teams were competing in the third tier.
Team News
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Bournemouth trio Marcus Tavernier, Tyler Adams and Lloyd Kelly are all fit to return to the matchday squad this weekend, but Luis Sinisterra (thigh), Ryan Fredericks (calf) and Chris Mepham (illness) all remain in the treatment room.
Milos Kerkez will serve the third and final game of a three-match suspension this weekend, so either Kelly or Dango Ouattara could be tasked with filling in at left-back, joining Marcos Senesi, Illia Zabarnyi and Adam Smith in a four-man defence.
January signing Enes Unal contributed with a goal and an assist in his last home appearance and will be pushing to start in attack alongside 18-goal talisman Dominic Solanke, while Antoine Semenyo and Justin Kluivert will hope to retain their places in the final third.
As for Brentford, Josh Dasilva, Rico Henry (both knee), Ben Mee (ankle) and Aaron Hickey (thigh) are all out for the rest of the season, but Mathias Jensen and Kristoffer Ajer are both available for selection - the former was absent from last weekend's matchday squad with a "minor injury" while the latter was forced off with a broken nose.
Ajer is set to battle with Mads Roerslev for a start at right-back, while Jensen will be looking to force his way back into a three-man midfield at the expense of either Mikkel Damsgaard, Christian Norgaard or Vitaly Janelt.
In-demand striker Ivan Toney has not scored in any of his last 10 appearances, but he is set to lead the line and could be supported in attack by Yoane Wissa and Bryan Mbeumo, the latter scored a stoppage-time equaliser in the reverse fixture.
Bournemouth possible starting lineup:
Neto; Smith, Zabarnyi, Senesi, Kelly; Semenyo, Christie, Cook, Kluivert; Unal, Solanke
Brentford possible starting lineup:
Flekken; Roerslev, Collins, Pinnock, Reguilon; Janelt, Norgaard, Damsgaard; Mbeumo, Toney, Wissa
We say: Bournemouth 2-1 Brentford
Neither Bournemouth or Brentford will want to end the campaign on a whimper, so a strong showing from both teams is on the cards, even though they are merely playing for pride at this stage.
There was little to separate these two teams in the reverse fixture and another closely-fought contest is in store, but we believe the Cherries will edge this one on home soil.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Oliver Thomas
