Fouls are embedded in the DNA of Bournemouth and they’ve started this season with similar foul numbers to last campaign. 

Bournemouth averaged 13.8 fouls committed per game in the Premier League last season and committed 20 fouls against Newcastle in this fixture last season.

Only Aston Villa and Tottenham won more fouls in the Premier League than Newcastle last season, so this a good matchup in terms of two sides that have complementary fouls won and fouls committed records.

Bournemouth have committed 13+ fouls in three of their four Premier League matches so far, with the exception coming on the opening day of the season against Liverpool. They committed 16 fouls against Brighton last time out.

It’s hard to see how Newcastle get a result here. The Magpies have only won one of their five games across all competitions this season which was a home win against Wolves, a side that have lost all four of their Premier League games this season.

Newcastle look a little blunt in the final third which is to be expected as they adapt to the loss of Alexander Isak. Bournemouth will also have a real advantage when it comes to fitness here, Andoni Iraola’s side are always full of energy, and they’ll be facing a Newcastle side that had to do a lot of running in their 2-1 defeat to Barcelona during the week.

Bournemouth avoided defeat against Newcastle in both league meetings between the sides last season and ran out 4-1 winners when the teams clashed at St James’ Park.

Tonali has had five shots across his four Premier League appearances this season (1.34 per 90) and can act as an extra shot threat for Newcastle from midfield in the absence of Alexander Isak.

Newcastle are looking for solutions to plug the goals they’re missing now that Isak has left the club. Tonali is a player who can reach double digits for goals across the course of a season and is a real shot threat for Newcastle. He showcased this in the2-1 defeat to Barcelona during the week, which was a game in which he had two shots, both were from outside the box.

Tonali averaged 1.20 shots per 90 across his 36 Premier League appearances last season and had two shots against Bournemouth in Newcastle’s 4-1 defeat against the Cherries at St James’ Park last season.

Semenyo has been in excellent form in the early stages of the season with the 25-year-old registering five goal contributions across the opening four games of the season (three goals, two assists).

Semenyo is a real handful and reflects the intense approach of the Cherries under Andoni Iraola. 

He’s had 12 shots across his four Premier League games this season (3.00 per 90) with five of those efforts finding the target (1.25 per 90). 

Semenyo had seven shots in this fixture last season; his high shot volume is a direct result of Bournemouth being quick to get shots away when they win the ball back high up the pitch - no side had more high turnovers leading to shots in the Premier League than Bournemouth last season.

Bournemouth’s underlying shot numbers are really impressive. They’re averaging 4.50 shots on target per game in the Premier League this season but this average doesn’t quite tell the full story.

Only Liverpool, Manchester City and Chelsea had more shots in the Premier League last season than Bournemouth with the Cherries averaging around 16 shots across their 19 home games last season. 

It’s a similar story when looking at their shot on target numbers. Only the three aforementioned sides averaged more shots on target per game than Bournemouth last season (5.30 per game) with this average creeping up towards 6.0 per game when looking at their home games.

Woltemade made a dream start to life at Newcastle with a brilliant header to secure all three points against Wolves last time out. This was a win that Newcastle desperately needed, it’s their only victory of the season so far.

Woltemade also showed some bright touches from the bench in Newcastle’s 2-1 defeat to Barcelona in the Champions League during the week. I thought he should have started the game having already got off the mark for his club and was impactful when he did come on, dropping deep to leave space for Gordon in the box to score.

Woltemade registered 20 goal contributions across his 33 appearances for Stuttgart last season (17 goals, three assists).

Truffert has slotted in seamlessly to the Bournemouth backline since joining from Rennes over the summer. Many were concerned about Bournemouth replacing the three players from their back four who left the club in the transfer window, but Truffert has been a solid replacement for Milos Kerkez up until this point.

He’s committed seven fouls across his four Premier League appearances (1.75 per 90) but has avoided a card. This could change here with Truffert being up against Anthony Elanga, who is a player that should be able to win a few fouls from the left back with his speed and willingness to run in behind the Bournemouth backline.

Truffert should also be tested by Tino Livramento, who also pushes up quite high down that side of the pitch. Bournemouth are quite an aggressive side overall and have committed 13 or more fouls in three of their Premier League matches so far.