Bournemouth a value bet in outright market following summer exodus

Andoni Iraola’s side are still a value pick despite the losses that they had to deal with throughout the summer.

Odds courtesy of BetWinner. Correct at time of publishing and subject to change.

Bournemouth’s impressive response

The Cherries have practically lost their entire backline to clubs considered amongst the world’s elite over the summer. Ilya Zabarnyi joined PSG for a hefty sum, while Dean Huijsen transferred to Real Madrid for slightly less. Milos Kerkez, meanwhile, went north to Liverpool, and attacker Dango Outtara completed the switch to Brentford.

Reportedly, they acquired around £186m from the transfers, which was excellent business for the club. They spent some of their earnings on new players, including Bafode Diakite, Djordje Petrovic, Ben Doak, and Amine Adli. However, their most significant work might have been keeping Antoine Semenyo.

The Cherries won two of their three games with clean sheets, losing only to the Reds. They've achieved this despite having a new backline and new players still settling in at the Vitality Stadium. It’s a testament to the fine work that Iraola has done before and during the summer.

They’ll go into the game against Brighton & Hove Albion with confidence, having defeated Tottenham Hotspur, and will back themselves to secure three more points.

Their xPTS last season of 65 was only surpassed by Liverpool and Arsenal. So, there’s strong underlying data to support the good work being done. After three games this season, only Chelsea are ahead of them by the same metric, with an xPTS of 6.16. This suggests that they will only get better despite all the changes in recent months.

Backing the Cherries

Bournemouth will face Brighton this weekend before they host Newcastle a week later, and they’ve got the quality to get something from both games. Defeat at Anfield on the opening day wasn’t desirable, but they did prove that they can compete with the best. Also, they’ve lost just one of their last five home games in the Premier League.

So they’re worth considering as a value option since they’re narrow favourites in the first game and outsiders in the second. Iraola will be confident that his side can cause problems for both the Seagulls and the Magpies. Additionally, key attackers like Semenyo and Evanilson have already started scoring.

With four goals in three games, they can hardly be considered a ‘free-scoring’ side. However, the Cherries have shown consistency in front of the goal. So far, only four teams in the Premier League have a higher xG than they do, and only three have a better xGA. This shows that their performance is not a coincidence.

Bournemouth seems like a good pick this season, regardless of whether they’re playing against teams above or below them. Their reaction to losing players this summer has been very impressive. It seems like they still have a lot of room to improve, as they only have two players over 30.