Bournemouthvs.Wolves

Both sides strode to 2-0 victories in their fourth-round encounters, as the Cherries got the better of Everton, while Vitor Pereira's side ended Blackburn Rovers' journey in the competition.

Match preview

Amid the extremely tight battle for European placements in the Premier League, Andoni Iraola's expansive Bournemouth side would bring continental football to the Vitality Stadium by going all the way in the FA Cup, a competition they have never progressed beyond the quarter-finals in.

However, the Cherries have already laid down two massive markers in this season's tournament, demolishing West Bromwich Albion 5-1 in their third-round battle before Antoine Semenyo and Daniel Jebbison's strikes saw off Everton last time out.

Therefore just one win away from matching their best-ever result in the prestigious competition - getting to the last eight in 1956-57 and 2020-21 - Bournemouth should be holding loftier ambitions than another quarter-final appearance, even if their Premier League powers have waned slightly.

Indeed, Iraola's men have lost two of their three top-flight fixtures since eliminating Everton from the FA Cup, most recently succumbing to a 2-1 loss to South Coast rivals Brighton & Hove Albion in midweek to sit seventh in the Premier League rankings.

That narrow defeat at the Amex coincidentally came in the wake of Bournemouth's narrow home reverse to none other than Wolves on February 22, leaving the hosts at risk of suffering three consecutive losses at the Vitality Stadium for the first time since December 2019.

From the highs of beating Bournemouth at the Vitality to the lows of losing on their own patch again, Wolves' previous defensive nous failed them when Fulham came to town in midweek, where it took Ryan Sessegnon a matter of seconds to open the scoring.

A Joao Gomes thunderbolt did temporarily restore parity for Pereira's men, but it was a fruitless effort as Rodrigo Muniz punched Fulham's ticket to victory with a delightful dink, one that may just leave Wolves looking over their shoulder a tad.

Pereira's 17th-placed side will only be two points clear of the relegation zone if Leicester City can get the better of West Ham United on Thursday night, but they have already taken down two foes on the road in this season's FA Cup, besting Bristol City and most recently Blackburn.

The quarter-final stage is where Wolves' adventure ended in 2023-24 - few will forget the Molineux mayhem against Coventry City on that occasion - but the four-time champions have not made the last eight in back-to-back seasons since the 1990s.

In order to achieve a club first in the current millennium, the West Midlands outfit will have to make South Coast lightning strike twice after edging out 10-man Bournemouth 1-0 last weekend, but they have not won two away games against a particular team in one season since slaying Reading twice in 2002-03.

Bournemouth FA Cup form:

W

W

Bournemouth form (all competitions):

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L

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W

L

L

Wolverhampton Wanderers FA Cup form:

W

W

Wolverhampton Wanderers form (all competitions):

L

W

W

L

W

L

Team News

As well as the pain of defeat, Bournemouth saw Ryan Christie leave Brighton in physical pain due to the adductor injury that forced him off in the 26th minute of that loss; the Scotland international has actually been carrying the problem for a while but was hitherto able to soldier on.

Christie has not been ruled out of the fifth-round tie just yet, but he should take his place on the sidelines with Julian Araujo (thigh), Marcos Senesi (thigh), Enes Unal (knee) and Adam Smith (unspecified), while Ilya Zabarnyi serves the second of a three-game ban after Bournemouth failed with an appeal over his red card in the loss to Wolves.

Christie's likely absence will open the door for Alex Scott to come into the Cherries' midfield, and an FA Cup debut could now await number nine Evanilson, who made his first appearance since early January on Tuesday after recovering from a broken foot.

In contrast, Wolves did not suffer any fresh blows in their midweek defeat to Fulham, but Leon Chiwone (knee), Yerson Mosquera (knee), Enso Gonzalez (knee), Sasa Kalajdzic (knee), Rodrigo Gomes (groin), Goncalo Guedes (knee), Hwang Hee-chan (thigh) and Emmanuel Agbadou (thigh) are still missing.

Also finding the back of the net alongside recent scorer Joao Gomes at Blackburn, Matheus Cunha is bidding to score for the fourth FA Cup game in a row on Saturday, having also made the net bulge against West Brom and Brentford last season.

In terms of possible changes, Sam Johnstone ought to give Jose Sa a day off in goal, while Jorgen Strand Larsen could be brought in up front after recovering from injury.

Bournemouth possible starting lineup:

Kepa; Cook, Hill, Huijsen, Kerkez; Scott, Adams; Tavernier, Kluivert, Sinisterra; Ouattara

Wolverhampton Wanderers possible starting lineup:

Johnstone; Doherty, Toti, Bueno; Semedo, Andre, Gomes, Ait-Nouri; Cunha, Munetsi; Strand Larsen

We say: Bournemouth 2-2 Wolverhampton Wanderers (a.e.t, Bournemouth to win on penalties)

Assuming Bournemouth do not go down to 10 early doors as was the case last weekend, we ought to be in for a much different game on Saturday, one in which Wolves should feel that a diminished Cherries defence is there for the taking.

Written by

Ben Knapton

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