Game Week 35 Predictions: Bournemouth to win at the Emirates

Bournemouth eye European hopes as they face a rotated Arsenal side focused on PSG; can the Cherries do the double at the Emirates?

Bournemouth has a huge opportunity to take out Arsenal who has other priotities on Saturday at the Emirates, will the Cherries take their chances? (Photo credit: GOAL)

 Arsenal vs Bournemouth

Emirates Stadium

5:30pm

This is a dead rubber for Arsenal; everything they have must be thrown into the game they have away at PSG on Wednesday; Bournemouth should fancy their chances in this one.

The Cherries could still make Europe – definitely not the Champions League – but a top-eight finish should be enough to see them in one of the other two European competitions, so they must take advantage of Arsenal’s frailties on the domestic front.

Only two points separate Bournemouth from Fulham, who currently sit in 8th spot on the log, and this should give confidence to the Cherries. Andoni Iraiola has done amazingly well with the club this season; he would love to crown it with an unprecedented European berth.

For Arsenal, the loss at the Emirates to PSG jolted them back to planet Earth after the surreal experience of the win over Real Madrid. Now they’re in danger of elimination after suffering a 1-0 loss in the first leg of their semifinal clash.

Bournemouth were just a wink away from doing the double over United last weekend, but a loss of concentration in the final minutes saw United level matters through Rasmus Hojlund; they must take the lessons they learnt from that game to the Emirates on Saturday.

Arsenal is expected to rotate; some of their fans must be worried about their second spot on the log. Manchester City won on Friday night to cut Arsenal’s advantage in second to three points, and a win for Newcastle could see it cut to two points. Is Arsenal joining the Champions League qualification battle?

Arsenal could hand starting roles to the likes of Raheem Sterling, Ethan Nwaneri and Alex Zinchenko as they try to keep some of their best legs fresh for the trip to Paris. Mikel Merino and Ben White returned in the first leg, so they’re available for selection.

Bournemouth saw the red card given to Evanilson against Manchester United rescinded. This means the Brazilian is available to start against Arsenal. Enes Ünal, Luis Sinisterra and Ryan Christie are the only players unavailable for this fixture.

Watch out for Antoine Semenyo and Justin Kluivert; the latter scored from the spot in the first leg as Bournemouth claimed their second-ever victory against Arsenal. Will they be able to do the double over Mikel Arteta’s men? Time will tell as both square up on Saturday at the Emirates.

Verdict: Bournemouth to win this one.