Bournemouth vs Aston Villa Prediction: Stalemate in Dorset

AFC Bournemouth's form has been improving in recent weeks and they earned a well-deserved victory at Arsenal last weekend in the Premier League. They are back at the Vitality on Saturday (17:30, Sky Sports Main Event) as they host Aston Villa, who are still gunning for a top-five finish.

Read on for my Bournemouth vs Aston Villa predictions, aided by the latest team news and match odds.

Football Odds

Team News 

Bournemouth are without the services of Enes Unal (ACL), Luis Sinisterra (thigh) and Ryan Christie (groin) due to injury. After an impressive victory at Arsenal, boss Andoni Iraola may be tempted to stick with the same XI.

Adam Smith was replaced at right-back by Julian Araujo, while Marcus Tavernier came in for Antoine Semenyo on the right side of the attack. Lewis Cook was restored to the engine room in place of Alex Scott.

Following his red card against Manchester United being overturned, Evanilson responded with the winning goal at the Emirates last time out, which should give him a boost ahead of the weekend - as well as the fact that he scored in the reverse fixture against Villa back in October.

Villa are without Marcus Rashford due to a hamstring problem and the Manchester United loanee is set to miss the rest of the season, so it looks like he has played his last game for the West Midlands outfit.

Star midfielder Youri Tielemans is set to miss the rest of the season with a muscle injury, which could present a huge blow for the visitors in their pursuit of a top-five finish.

Unai Emery has no other injury troubles for the trip to Dorset, though, and this has played a huge role in their recent form, with the Villans winning six of their previous seven matches in the top flight.

Ollie Watkins will lead the line and he could once again be joined in the final third by Morgan Rogers, Marco Asensio and John McGinn. In Tielemans' absence, one would expect Amadou Onana to line up next to Boubacar Kamara in the engine room.

Bournemouth vs Aston Villa Odds

Bournemouth have won two of their last four games in the league and they are 6/4 to come out on top on Saturday.

Three of their previous five outings have been stalemates and the draw is marketed at 13/5.

Villa are 9/5 (which has an implied probability of 35.7%) to collect the three points, and they have won six of their past seven matches in the top flight.

Seven of Bournemouth's last nine fixtures in the PL have produced goals at both ends and BTTS is on offer at 1/2.

Draw and both teams to score @ 3/1

Both teams are in good form coming into this and there is just one place between them in the standings, with Villa currently seven points ahead of the Cherries. Bournemouth's European prospects appeared to fade when they went on a six-game winless run, but a couple of victories in recent weeks look to have put them back on track.

They are eighth, which should secure Conference League football for next season, but the Cherries are tussling with Brentford, Brighton & Hove Albion and Fulham for that spot, with just two points separating the four clubs.

With three games left to go, they cannot afford to drop points, and neither can Villa if they are to enjoy Champions League football for another year. They have the far greater momentum coming into Saturday's clash but Bournemouth are proving to be tricky customers again, and they did give the visitors some grief at Villa Park as Evanilson scored a last-gasp equaliser back in October.

There's a lot at stake for both teams in the final weeks and I think this could lead to a tight affair on the South Coast, in which the two sides cancel each other out. I'm adding both teams to score to this selection as seven of Bournemouth's past nine league contests have produced goals at both ends.

Evanilson anytime goalscorer @ 13/8

This man denied Villa three points in the reverse fixture, which could prove crucial at the end of the campaign if the Claret and Blues are unable to finish inside the top five.

The Brazilian has been having a respectable debut campaign for Bournemouth, scoring 10 goals in 28 Premier League matches, including five in his last eight. The striker is in good form coming into this game, and he holds a psychological boost of having scored against Saturday's opponents already in 2024/25.

I think Evanilson can cause Villa more problems on home turf and I think he is a shrewd selection to get on the scoresheet.

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