Bournemouth v Tottenham: Postecoglou says City win cannot be 'millstone' for visitors

Ange Postecoglou says Tottenham's positive displays cannot be placed as a "millstone" around their necks as they bid to return to winning ways at Bournemouth on Thursday.

Spurs made headlines by tearing Premier League champions Manchester City apart in a 4-0 away win on matchday 12, but they were subsequently held to a 1-1 draw by Fulham on matchday 13.

They have not played out the same result in any of their last eight Premier League games, flitting between wins and defeats across seven straight matchdays before Sunday's draw.

With Micky van de Ven, Cristian Romero and Guglielmo Vicario among their current injury absentees, Postecoglou says pundits and fans cannot reasonably expect total consistency.

"I know people use City as a reference point, but I was able to put on [Brennan] Johnson and [Timo] Werner, and I had Vicario in goal," Postecoglou said.

"I know people are looking for easy targets, but what the players are having to deal with is self-evident. We are going to have to protect our players.

"We don't have many options, so we will manage them the best we can. We can't play like we did against City in every game.

"With this club, everything we do well is used as a millstone to bring us down at every opportunity. We can't react to any of that.

"I just feel that the players we have at the moment are working hard to get us where we want to be, and we are still in decent shape and a decent position in the league."

Bournemouth are just two points below Spurs in the table after beating Wolves 4-2 at Molineux in a thriller last week, with Justin Kluivert becoming the first player in Premier League history to score a hat-trick of penalties.

All three spot-kicks were won by recent arrival Evanilson, leading coach Andoni Iraola to shower the Brazilian with praise.

"Evanilson has made the difference. He has been fighting with the centre-backs and the keeper. He was phenomenal," Iraola said.

"Evanilson didn't score, but he is why we won. He has won five penalties this season and we have scored four.

"It is very difficult to score three penalties in one game. Justin is someone who gives us a lot, also without the ball. He is someone who understands we need his work rate. He is giving the team a lot."

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Bournemouth – Evanilson

Evanilson has won more fouls than any other Bournemouth player in the Premier League this season (23). At Wolves, he became the first player in Premier League history to win three penalties in a single match.

Only Kluivert (five), meanwhile, has netted more league goals for the Cherries than his four this campaign.

Tottenham – Brennan Johnson

Johnson was on target for Spurs against Fulham last time out, netting his 10th goal across all competitions this campaign.

Only Erling Haaland (17), Mohamed Salah (12) and Christopher Nkunku (11) have netted more among all Premier League players.

MATCH PREDICTION – DRAW

Tottenham have won 10 of their 14 Premier League games against Bournemouth (71%), drawing two and losing two. Of all sides they have faced at least 10 times in the competition, only against Swansea City (79%) do they have a higher win rate.

They did the double over the Cherries in 2023-24, winning 3-1 at home last December after triumphing 2-0 at the Vitality in August.

Spurs average 2.5 goals per game in the Premier League against Bournemouth (35 goals in 14 matches), their highest rate against any side they have faced at least 10 times in the competition.

However, they have only won twice in six away matches in the top flight this campaign, drawing one and losing three.

Each of Tottenham's last five Premier League away wins have been to nil, including a 4-0 victory at City last time out on their travels. They have not won any of their last 14 when conceding on the road (five draws, nine defeats), since a 2-1 triumph at Crystal Palace in October 2023.

Bournemouth have three wins in their last four at home so should be expected to provide a stern test. An entertaining draw could be on the cards.

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

Bournemouth – 36.5%

Tottenham – 39.1%

Draw – 24.4%