Premier League: Wolves, Bournemouth Both Need Big Win

Wolverhampton Wanderers vs AFC Bournemouth

Wolverhampton Wanderers and Bournemouth are two teams who still have so much to play for in the last few games of the Premier League season.

Wolves are in the hunt for that final Champions League place along with Manchester United and Tottenham — who played out a 1-1 draw — as well as Sheffield United. Meanwhile, Bournemouth are in the thick of a tight relegation battle with Watford, West Ham, and Aston Villa.

Needless to say, both teams will be desperate for all three points when they meet at Molineux in midweek.

However, the Premier League 2020 betting odds will clearly be against the Cherries, who have been horrendous away from home all season long.

Talking Points

Wolves in fine form

Wolverhampton Wanderers were one of the form teams in the league before the break in play. They were undefeated in their previous five matches, with draws against Manchester United, Leicester, and Brighton, and wins over Norwich and Tottenham.

They are also still in the Europa League, which will resume in August in Germany.

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Serie A

Wolves got off to a good start as they knocked off West Ham last weekend. It took a bit of time for them to break the hosts down, but the introductions of Pedro Neto and Adama Traore after the hour mark proved decisive.

Traore delivered a wonderful cross to set up Raul Jimenez for the opener on 73 minutes, while Neto scored a second on 84 minutes to seal the win.

Jimenez has created several Premier League 2020 highlights for Wolves with 14 goals and six assists in the league this season. His fine performances have reportedly caught the eyes of several big clubs around Europe.

The emergence of Traore this season has helped Jimenez get more goalscoring opportunities. The two also combined for a goal in Wolves’ 2-0 victory over Bournemouth earlier this season.

Wolves’ biggest strength remains at the back, though. They have kept five clean sheets during their current six-match unbeaten run. They should fancy their chances of keeping another clean sheet at home against a Bournemouth attack that’s scored the fifth-fewest goals in the league this season.

Bournemouth bad away from home

Bournemouth’s struggles continued as they fell 2-0 at home to Crystal Palace in their first game back. The game was effectively over before the half-hour mark as Palace had already struck twice through Luka Milivojevic and Jordan Ayew.

As a result, Bournemouth remain in the relegation zone at 18th, although they’re tied on 27 points with West Ham and are just a point behind Watford in 16th. They have now gone winless in their last five matches with four defeats and a draw, which came at home against Chelsea.

Manager Eddie Howe’s side has been known for its attacking style of football. But this season, getting goals has been a major issue for the Cherries and has played a crucial role in their struggles. They’ve scored just 29 goals in 30 matches.

Raul Jimenez breaks Chicharito's record for the most goals by a Mexican in a single Premier League campaign — Raul Jimenez became Wolves’ all-time top goalscorer in the Premier League following his goal vs West Ham

The absence of talented young midfielder David Brooks for virtually the entire season due to an ankle injury certainly hasn’t helped.

Brooks finally made his return to the line-up against Palace and played an hour before being subbed off. He’s still working his way to full fitness, though, and may not make much of an impact moving forward.

Howe has also been unable to solve Bournemouth’s horrendous form away from home. The Cherries have lost their last six away matches on the bounce and nine of their last 10.

History

Wolves and Bournemouth have seldom been in the same division over the years, so they haven’t played each other all that often. They’ve met just five times since 2014. Two of those were in the Championship, and Bournemouth won both of those matches.

But Wolves have had the upper hand in the Premier League. They’re unbeaten in their three meetings and have claimed two wins. They won their first meeting of this season 2-1 thanks to first-half goals from Joao Moutinho and Raul Jimenez.

Betting Tip

	Wolverhampton Wanderers vs AFC Bournemouth	Wolverhampton Wanderers Asian Handicap -1.00 @ 2.16
	June 25, 01:00 (GMT+8)

SBOBET odds have Wolves priced as significant 1.61 favourites to get the win at home. Bournemouth are 5.40 to end their away losing skid, while a draw is 3.80.

Wolves have kept a clean sheet in five of their last six games, while Bournemouth have conceded at least two goals in their last five. That points to a Wolves win by around two goals, so it’s best to go on the Asian Handicap market for this match.

But for the more risk-averse, taking Wolves -1.00 would be the way to go. A Wolves win by more than two goals — which is highly likely — would win the bet. But even if they win by only a single goal, you’d still push and get your entire stake back.