Spurs vs Bournemouth

Competition: Premier League 24/25

Date: 9th March 2025

Venue: Tottenham Hotspur Stadium

Kickoff: 14:00 (GMT)

TV: Tottenham Hotspur vs AFC Bournemouth - Stream and TV Schedule

Team News

Just 20 minutes into his comeback appearance following a knee injury on Thursday night, Spurs marksman and ex-Cherries striker Dominic Solanke was substituted after taking a heavy knock in a collision with AZ goalkeeper Rome Jayden Owusu-Oduro.

However, Postecoglou stressed on Friday that the issue was nothing more serious than a "knee to the backside" and is therefore keeping his fingers crossed that Solanke will be fine to face his former club, but a start is likely out of the question.

Defensive duo Micky van de Ven and Cristian Romero could also be in line for some minutes after making the bench in the Netherlands, while Ben Davies has not been ruled out either, but Dejan Kulusevski (foot), Richarlison (calf) and Radu Dragusin (knee) are still missing.

Bournemouth will soon welcome a key centre-back back to their ranks too, but not just yet, as Ilya Zabarnyi serves the third and final game of his suspension for his sending-off against Wolves in their Premier League loss to the Old Gold.

Zabarnyi will watch on from the sidelines alongside Enes Unal (knee), Marcos Senesi (thigh), Julian Araujo (thigh) and Adam Smith (calf), but Iraola refused to rule out Ryan Christie (groin) in his pre-game press conference.

The Cherries should be working with a largely identical squad from their cup success over Wolves, though, and Kluivert is sure to come back into the XI as he endeavours to build on a terrific record of 10 Premier League strikes away from home already this season.

Tottenham Hotspur possible starting lineup:
Vicario; Porro, Gray, Danso, Spence; Sarr, Bentancur, Maddison; Johnson, Son, Odobert

Bournemouth possible starting lineup:
Kepa; Cook, Hill, Huijsen, Kerkez; Adams, Scott; Semenyo, Kluivert, Ouattara; Evanilson

Key lines from Ange's news conference:

• "There is a chance" defender Ben Davies could return as he "has progressed and he's training".
• Postecoglou said he chose not to risk Micky van de Ven and Cristian Romero after looking at AZ Alkmaar pitch's, but after "a couple of extra days training they will both be in line to feature".
• He said it is "too early to tell" if Dominic Solanke will be available, but he added: "It is a knock so hopefully it will settle down pretty quickly."
• On the defeat by AZ: "We didn't perform and we are disappointed. The tie isn't over and we have them at home next week so we can focus on it after the weekend's game, which is my priority right now."
• He denied there was a "lack of leaders", adding: "It wasn't about individuals, as a collective we were nowhere near the level we need to be."
• On Guglielmo Vicario, who has received some criticism for his gesture to Spurs fans at full-time: "Vic is very, very passionate about this football club and what we are trying to do here. He wants to win and he wants everyone on board with that. If people think there's a bad bone in his body then they don't know him like I do. He is one of the purest human beings you can come across and he wants what is best for this team because he cares."
• He said "last night was a reflection of where we are" but "inconsistency has come from not having a consistent line-up".
• More on improving performances: "It's about consistency and performance - not about raising our worst level. There are different ways of tackling those challenges and making sure that, at the bare minimum, we compete and get the baseline performances up."
• On opponents Bournemouth: "They've been really good, and they were last year. Aggressive with and without the ball. They have some really good players who are developing. We have a clear objective that we need to play well if we want to get a result."

Match Stats

Head-to-head

• Tottenham have won six of their seven Premier League home matches with Bournemouth, losing the other.

• The Cherries are vying for a first league double over Spurs, following their 1-0 win at the Vitality Stadium in December.

Tottenham Hotspur

• Tottenham's 1-0 defeat to AZ Alkmaar on Thursday was their 18th this season in all competitions.

• Spurs have lost four of their past six matches, failing to score in three of those defeats.

• However, they have won three of the last four home games in league and cup, only losing to Manchester City.

• The Lilywhites have only failed to score once in 21 competitive fixtures at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium this season, though that was in their most recent home match, against City.

• Spurs have lost seven Premier League home games this season - their joint-most in a 38-game season in the competition, matching their tally in 1996-97.

• The north Londoners have given teenagers a combined 2,582 Premier League minutes this season, more than any other side.

Bournemouth

• Bournemouth's 2-1 defeat to Brighton was their first loss in eight Premier League away games (W5, D2).

• However, they've also lost three of their last four Premier League matches, as many defeats as they had in their previous 18.

• Bournemouth have registered 300 pressures in the final third that have resulted in a turnover this term, the most of any side. Tottenham are second on the list with 299.

• Ten of Justin Kluivert's 12 league goals this season have come on the road. He's the first Bournemouth player to score reach double figures for away goals in a top-flight campaign.

Pundit Predictions

Mark Lawrenson

All of a sudden Tottenham are starting to look vaguely competent again and it’s no surprise now that they’ve got some players back on the pitch. I like Bournemouth a lot but their form has dropped off a bit after they went on a bit of a winning spree. 

Tottenham 2-0 Bournemouth.

Alan Shearer

Bournemouth are having an unbelievable season, Spurs not so much. They had a terrible result against AZ Alkmaar in midweek. For this reason I'm going to go for an away win for Bournemouth.

Alan's prediction: Bournemouth to Win

Paul Merson

This is all going to come down to what happens with Tottenham in the Europa League. I don't think Spurs have any interest in this match. Considering their upcoming fixtures, they have no chance of getting into Europe through league standings!

So I won't blame Tottenham if they rest players this weekend. Spurs will have one eye on AZ Alkmaar and I feel Bournemouth will win because of that. Three points here would put Bournemouth in contention for a top four finish, what an incredibly exciting time for this football club.

Prediction: Tottenham Hotspur 1-2 Bournemouth

Chris Sutton

There has been talk about Tottenham wanting Andoni Iraola as their next manager if they sack Ange Postecoglou. His stock is very high at the moment, but the Bournemouth boss will just be focused on trying to secure a top-five finish.

Spurs' season is really all about how they do in the Europa League now rather than their league position.

They do have some of their big-hitters like Dominic Solanke, Micky van de Ven and Cristian Romero coming back from injury, but the question is how match-sharp will they be, and also how much Thursday's tie with AZ Alkmaar will take out of them.

Bournemouth have already beaten Spurs once this season, winning 1-0 on the south coast in December.

The Cherries play forward quickly and I am expecting them to cause Spurs more problems this time. There will definitely be goals in this, but I reckon Tottenham will score a couple too.

Sutton's prediction: 2-2

COYS