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Bournemouth Team Preview 23/24

Updated: Aug 8, 2023

Welcome to The Draft Society’s team-by-team previews, a vital part of the 23/24 Draft Kit! These articles will provide a one-stop-shop for all the important Fantasy EPL themes from a Fantrax perspective. With players to watch, players to avoid, points projections and early season fixtures analysis, we've got it all covered. Our Draft Premier League Team Previews will help set you up to dominate your draft!


Check back often! Our team previews will be updated throughout the summer as any new transfer, injury, or rotation developments come to light.

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Check out our 23/24 Draft Kit for all the pre-season information you could ever need. We've got a Live Draft Aide, Draft Rankings, Team Previews, Cheat Sheets, Strategy Articles, Draft 101, plus so much more!


Bournemouth Team Preview 23/24

Check out our in-depth look at Bournemouth's prospects for the new EPL season below. This information will form a key component to your draft prep and set you up to dominate your draft! The Cherries managed to survive last season, but will they thrive in this one?


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Fantasy Flashback

Let's review how Bournemouth players fared in 22/23, with an emphasis on their Draft Premier League fantasy assets. But, we'll also discuss any pertinent info regarding managerial tactics, formation, injuries, etc. What can we learn from their performance in the last campaign?


Note: The following table is interactive. Desktop users can apply the Filter, Group, and Sort buttons to arrange the data to their preferences. Mobile users can tap on a player card to view all data points. The table can be reset to its default state by refreshing the page. Filtered for over 7 PPS and 10 starts minimum.


Not a whole lot to look at huh? Solanke was the highest drafted Cherries player last season and performed at a similar level. Billing did well from a total points perspective, starting 32 times and averaging 8.2 PPS (points per start). He had a few purple patches but otherwise was mostly a replacement level midfielder. Tavernier flourished in the beginning of the season, taking set pieces and generally looking like a bargain draft pick before getting injured and missing much of the middle of the season. In January, in came Ouattara and Hamed Traore, 2 quality signings. Ouattara started often on the wing, generating excitement and chances, while Traore had a short, but memorable time in the starting XI at the 10 before a season ending injury. He scored 9.9 PPS in 5 starts and took the majority of set pieces while doing so. The only other player worth mentioning was Mathias Vina, who also came in during the winter window, and offered 8.8 PPS in 5 starts at left back at the end of the season. Bournemouth looked into re-signing Vina on a permanent deal but seemingly decided against it, signing Milos Kerkez instead (more on him below). For the sake of completion, Adam Smith, the CB's, Jefferson Lerma (gone), Lewis Cook, Joe Rothwell, Ryan Christie, and the rest were all below replacement level and very rarely worth rostering.


Overall Team Performance

A rocky season, complete with managerial and ownership changes, ultimately saw the Cherries stay up. Scott Parker started the season in the dugout, complained openly about ownership not giving him a Premier League-ready squad, then proceeded to get only 3 points from his first 4 games. He lost his final game 9-0 to Liverpool and was unsurprisingly fired before September. In came Gary O'Neil as caretaker manager for 12 games, the first 6 of which they were undefeated. It seemed like the owners were biding their time to appoint someone else, but ended up granting Gary the permanent role after some success. After his first 6 though, they only got 5 points from their next 12 games. They played some turgid football, rarely cracking 1 xG and often conceded multiple goals. In mid February, however, the Cherries' ship was seemingly swiftly righted, and they won 7 of their last 16 games, more than enough to stay up and ultimately finish 15th, 5 points off relegation.


O'Neil's work integrating the January signings must be commended, but the Cherries never found much consistency and got the occasional ugly win during a purplish patch. Many fans wanted O'Neil in the manager of the season conversation for the job he'd done keeping them up and many more were upset upon his firing this summer. But to the outside observer, Bournemouth rarely passed the eye test, as witnessed by them finishing last in the xPts table (according to Understat), thus demonstrating their luck in staying up. The new management, led by Bill Foley, who bought the team in December, seemed to agree and decided to make a change in the summer (as we'll discuss below).

 

Fantasy Forecast

Past is prelude, as they say. So, turning to the 23/24 season, we've got 3 question marks surrounding Bournemouth at this moment, player projections,3 key players to keep an eye on, 3 players we're staying away from, and an analysis of the Cherries' early-season fixtures.

 

3 Question Marks

Not everything is crystal clear and predictable at Bournemouth . These are 3 questions surrounding the Cherries that we’re grappling with this preseason. We’ll try to note whether or not (and how much) these questions are affecting our perceptions of Bournemouth's fantasy assets.


Iraola Impact - This is the key one. Bournemouth made the semi-surprising offseason move to sack Gary O'Neil, replacing him with Andoni Iraola, one of the top up-and-coming managers in the world, and a "master of organized chaos", according to Sid Lowe. It was something of a coup for a nearly relegated side to come away with a manager rated so highly and sought after by Europe-involved teams. Previously working for Rayo Vallecano in Spain, Iraola got them promoted then achieved two impressive league finishes on a shoestring budget. His teams always attempted to play on the front foot and got many impressive results versus the Barcas and Madrids of the league. Iraola is a former player (and captain) of Marcelo Bielsa and a disciple of his fast-paced and chaotic style of play. Everything revolves around possession of the ball and winning it back when given up. He coaches a high-press style, generating loads of turnovers and shots as a result. The downside, of course, like many high-pressing teams, is susceptibility on the break, and the inherent risk-reward of always "going for it", even against the best sides in the world. This often leads to games in which multiple goals are conceded.


The Spaniard tends to set up in a 4-2-3-1 and uses wing play (both wingers and wide backs) heavily to set up his attacks. He also has his teams play more vertically than most, with long balls from the CB's to the wings rather than steady build up through the CM's. Stylistically, this bodes well for the wingers and wide backs, but maybe not so much for the others. Still, an improved attack is an improved attack. Whether his tactics translate to the Prem, and particularly the Cherries, is the key remaining question. Will he be more of a De Zerbi or a Bielsa (in his second season)? Do Bournemouth have the players to play the way he wants? You can bet on them being exciting and the attack likely improving but beyond that...? More below.


Preferred Attack - There's a lot of bodies in attack and midfield and potentially more incoming (watch out for an Alex Scott signing). Ouattara, Traore, and Tavernier all showed flashes last season. David Brooks is on the mend and got some significant minutes at the end of last season. Justin Kluivert was just brought in for €11m. Ryan Christie, Jaidon Anthony, Kieffer Moore and Antoine Semenyo all were involved last season. Solanke looks the safest at the moment due to limited competition up top (Moore and Semenyo are his closest backups), but the wing spots, the CAM/10, and even 1 CM/8 spot currently appear up for grabs. Billing was the most nailed last year and might have the best grasp on the 8 spot, barring any more signings, but could also play in the 10. Ouattara and Brooks, as lefties, are predominantly RWs but have shifted on occasion. Kluivert is predominantly a LW but has played some RW as well. Tavernier can play across both wings, the 10, and even the 8 and was arguably their most influential player last season. Traore is probably the most positionally limited as largely a central attacking mid, unlikely to play on the wings. As you'll see below, the season projections represent that uncertainty and none of the attackers, bar Solanke, are predicted to start more than 65% of their games. As a result, there's plenty of risk and reward based on opportunity, and we may not know the real answers until the end of preseason or even weeks into the season. It may end up coming down to who best fits Iraola's system. Which wingers and attacking mids can effectively press, are direct, can get into the box, and score. Drafting Cherries will either result in value or heartbreak. 7/25 Edit: Tavernier has been ruled out to start the season (likely a few games) so Kluivert should have an easier path to the LW role and Hamed Traore to the CAM


Can the Defense Do Enough to Stay Up? - Bournemouth are still 3rd favorites to be relegated. They've got more offensive firepower (both in the front and backline) via acquisitions and newly-fit players. But how will a young defense, coupled with no proper defensive midfielder cope with teams running at them on the break, once their press is broken or from regular buildup. The answer last year was poorly and they were not even playing such a high risk style. They also lost their captain Jefferson Lerma, a steadying hand in the engine room, who've they yet to replace. Without a proper DM anchor, I worry for a backline that may consist of 19 year old Kerkez, 20 yo Zabarnyi, 26 yo Senesi, and either aging captain Adam Smith or18 year old Ivan Fresneda (more on that possibility below). They'll likely have more of the ball, hence not lending defensive assets to as many defensive ghosts, but they will also likely concede more high xG chances. As a result, I'd expect their defensive assets to be highly variable, with worse floors as well as low ceilings. But in real world terms, will their offense be able to compensate for their defense? The hype for Iraola and the attack is there, but the generally ahead-of-the-pack oddsmakers still think it'll be a tough season for the Cherries, largely due to their defense conceding too often.

 

23/24 Player Projections

Below, you'll find our season projections for Bournemouth fantasy assets. Our projections are created using a number of contributing factors such as past performance, fixture difficulty ratings, anticipated minutes played, and more. PPS (Points Per Start) and ProjFPts (Projected Total Points) refer to Fantrax Default Scoring.

Many of the Cherries' fantasy outcomes this season will depend upon how their new manager changes the way they play. We've discussed that in detail above but the gist is: expect the offense to get better, and the defense to get worse. As such, there's 7 attack-minded players in our top 100 WAR projections. Like last year, Solanke and Billing are projected to be the most stable of assets, starting often, and averaging in the 8-9 range. Perhaps we see more goal involvements for Solanke in an improved attack and a raised ceiling, but his ADP doesn't leave much value currently. The wingers and attacking mids Traore, Tavernier, Ouattara, and Kluivert are all expected to produce, but their number of starts is very uncertain. More on that and Kerkez below.

 

3 Players to Watch

We've highlighted 3 players (and some honorable mentions) from Bournemouth that we're keeping an eye on. Some players mentioned below may be sleepers. Some may be up-and-coming youngsters. Some may be vying for a spot in the XI. Whatever the case, we'll tell you why we're watching these 3 in EPL Draft Fantasy this year.


Milos Kerkez

Position: Defender

22/23 Points: 316.5 (in Eredivisie)

22/23 Points Per Start: 10.7 (32 starts)

Recommended Draft Pick: Picks 130+ (Round 11 in a 12 team league) but would go as low as 110 if need be

Analysis: Bournemouth's recruiting tactics changed dramatically after Foley and co. took over. Since January, they've signed some of the most promising U-23 players from abroad, and Kerkez is no different. The semi cherry-picked Twitter stat was that Kerkez is 1 of 5 U19 players, and the only defender, to have 10+ returns in all competitions from Europe’s top 15 leagues this season. Kerkez is a 19 year old left back who played for AZ Alkmaar in the Eredivisie and UEFA Conference League last season, and previously played for AC. Milan, before they released him. This past season was a real coming out party for him and he was sought after by many UCL-involved sides, including Lazio and Benfica, but ultimately chose to come to the Cherries due to Iraola's style of play.


Kerkez, on paper, is a good fit for the Iraola system, as a full back who gets forward very well. He's quick, he's direct, he dribbles well, he crosses well, he overlaps well. He's well rounded enough (and quick enough) to be able to sustain that attacking output and be competent defensively. Quite aggressive in tackling and intercepting, Kerkez should do well on both sides of the ball fantasy-wise, racking up ghosts, but may get caught out in real life on occasion. Speaking of fantasy, Kerkez put up 10.7 PP90 and 8.1 GP90 last year in the Eredivisie for a 4th place Alkmaar. He'll likely be on the other end of the table this season and concede many more than 1 goal per game. Whether his ghost points can consistently outweigh multiple concessions will be the key driver for whether he's a roster keeper for the season. But his well-rounded stat line and attacking contributions, coupled with an Iraola system that favors wide, direct players, makes me think he's a worthwhile punt in the late rounds. Take Matias Vina last season as a proof of concept. Kerkez currently has no ADP, so let's keep him our little secret shall we?


Justin Kluivert

Position: Midfielder

22/23 Points: 181 (in La Liga)

22/23 Points Per Start: 11.2 (15 starts)

Recommended Draft Pick: Picks 90 - 110 (Late Round 8 - Mid-Round 9)

Analysis: As mentioned above, Bournemouth attackers face a lot of uncertainty in terms of rotation and who's preferred. Kluivert gets the nod here as my selected attacker, predominantly due to his cheapest draft price (current ADP of 121). As such he's the lowest risk, and highest relative payoff. Kluivert has had an up and down career but is coming off an impressive season on loan at Valencia and the sky is the limit. I think Kluivert has a good chance of getting the most minutes in the attack and here's why. Iraola likes his wingers as direct goalscorers, good at getting in the box, and pressing high. Compared to his most likely-competition on the left-hand side, Marcus Tavernier, Kluivert was much better (albeit in an easier league and better side) at accruing non-penalty xG and xA last season. He's also a hard worker but he'll have to get better at pressing and will likely need to dribble more, but Iraola will also like his proclivity to shoot often. Opportunity wise, he can play both LW and RW and Iraola even said that he can play through the middle, so could get minutes there when Solanke rests. If Kluivert can stay healthy like he did last season, he may also have a leg up on his winger competitors. Fantasy wise, Kluivert put up a respectable 11.2 PP90 and 7.9 GP90 in La Liga last season for a 16th placed Valencia. Bournemouth should finish similarly and I have faith in Iraola's chaotic attack, so I'm backing the best goal & assist accruing winger the Cherries likely have to be an undervalued asset this draft season. The downside is he's new to the league and faces competition for a starting role, but the price is still right for a mid-late punt. As of 7/25, Tavernier has been ruled out to miss the beginning of the season which will help Kluivert's chances at nailing down a win spot to begin the season.


Potential RB Signing

Position: Defender

22/23 Points: NA

22/23 Points Per Start: NA

Recommended Draft Pick: Picks 160+ (Round 14+ in a 12 team league)

Analysis: Read the Kerkez logic and apply it here. Bournemouth are rumoured to be chasing Ivan Fresneda, a 18 year old RB from Spain, previously linked with Arsenal, among others in recent times. If they do manage to bring him or another competent RB in, I'll be interested in taking a late, late round punt on them in Iraola's system. Fresneda isn't as attacking, nor fantasy friendly (6.1 GPP90) as Kerkez, but if you look at the graph comparing Kerkez and Adam Smith (their current RB) above or see Smith's lowest WAR projection of any player in the league, you'll see why there is reason for optimism. Again, the downside is a very leaky, very young backline, but potential upside is there.


Honorable Mention(s):

I really do like all of the Cherries attackers and think they still all currently offer some value at their ADPs. There is a case to be made for all of them producing well. Solanke should step up his goal contributions in a higher-powered attack, but they may bring in a new ST to compete for starts. Traore and Tavernier looked great last season and take set pieces for a team that will likely win far more fouls and possession. Ouattara is the best dribbler on the team, probably the most direct RW and has a very high ceiling. Likely, they'll all represent value at various points of the season, but as for who starts the season in the XI, it's a tossup at this point in time.

 

3 Players to Avoid

It's not all sunshine and rainbows at the Vitality. At least, not as far as Draft Fantasy Football is concerned. Below, we will also highlight 3 fantasy assets that we're not so thrilled about. These are the 3 Bournemouth players you might want to avoid come draft day.


Phillip Billing

Position: Midfielder

22/23 Points: 275 (62nd overall)

22/23 Points Per Start: 7.9 (34 starts)

Recommended Draft Pick: 120+ (Round 11+ in a 12 team league)

Analysis: Billing was fine last season. A replacement level mid (in a 10 team league) scores around 7.5 PPS. Billing got over that, just, but overperformed his xG+xA and actually had a median PPS of only 6.0. The major difference there was due to a small purple patch complete with multiple returns. Due to the plethora of attacking options, Billing will likely face stiffer competition this season and be forced to consistently play deeper in the 8 position. Possibly more importantly, Billing comes with the little-known risk that there's a decent chance he leaves Bournemouth this window. He's in the last year of his contract and so far has shown no signs of wanting to re-sign. As such, Foley may be inclined to sell to recoup 20-25m before he leaves for free next offseason. This may be, in part, why they're pursuing Alex Scott (a similar attacking 8-ish profile) so heavily, despite their quantity of options seemingly available. I dont like wasting a 10th round or earlier pick on that sort of downside with little upside in terms of PPS. In fact, he's the type of player I'd avoid altogether if you're someone who's active on waivers.


Ryan Christie

Position: Midfielder

22/23 Points: 182 (139th overall)

22/23 Points Per Start: 7.1 (22 starts)

Recommended Draft Pick: Don't

Analysis: Christie is a hard worker and a great presser. Iraola loves pressing! Unfortunately, Christie's time as a valuable member of the Cherries may be coming to a close. He's got little to no end product and he's far from direct, 2 key ingredients to Iraola's style of play, on top of pressing. He's also in the last year of his contract, and so far has had no discussions with the club to extend. He says he wants to stay but the club may feel differently. He wasn't better than a replacement player before and even if the offense improves, he faces loads of competition at every position, so is unlikely to reap the benefits. Punt elsewhere in the late rounds of your draft.


Defence Bar Kerkez or New Attacking RB Signing

Recommended Draft Pick: Nowhere, never, no way

Analysis: For so many reasons, avoid the rest of the defence. As touched on above, Iraola's style lends itself to high xG chances against, breakaways, and the threat of conceding multiple. On top of that, outside of maybe Kerkez, these BOU defenders are just not great statistically. 2.3 PPS for Smith, 4.2 for Kelly, 3.8 for Senesi. Unless your league greatly rewards long balls and doesn't include negatives for goals conceded, stay away.


Honorable Mention(s):

I think the David Brooks hype is too much after starting a few games at the end of season and coming back from cancer. Bournemouth have a lot of healthy competition in the wide spots and Brooks' more midfielder-esque profile doesn't appear to fit Iraola's idea of a winger. His draft price probably still isn't too bad, just don't go early on him and expect him to be amongst the best Bournemouth assets.

 

Early-Season Fixture Difficulty

The way that teams come out the gate has big implications in EPL Draft. A red hot start creates red hot trade targets. A dismal start means plummeting player values and losses for your fantasy team. Check out our thoughts on Bournemouth's early-season fixtures and our analysis of the fantasy implications they will have.

The colors above represent fixture difficulty by position with red being the most difficult and green being most favorable. The number in parentheses represents the average fantasy points (in Fantrax Default Scoring) scored by players in that position.

Mediocre to poor fixtures to begin the season for Iraola's troops. They look okay on paper only considering last years results, but 3-4 of the 5 teams (barring Brentford) are expected to be improved this season, at least offensively. I'd be avoiding any BOU defensive streamers and taking a wait and see approach on Kerkez and the BOU back line in general to determine whether they'll concede few enough to not outweigh his offensive contributions. For the attacking players like Solanke, Tavernier, Traore, etc, if they're starting, you'll likely be starting them in all of these games and hoping Iraola's attack clicks quickly. Players probably won't go up or down a ton in value, barring possibly Kerkez if they concede many, so he could be a possible trade-in late target after this stretch.


 

23/24 Bournemouth Predicted Lineup


The following lineup represents our prediction for the most likely line-up for the long-term for Bournemouth in the upcoming season. We can't account for injuries or new transfers, but this should provide a reasonable guide for who will be the preferred starters for the majority of Premier League matches this season.


The Cherries have added starters to last season's team most notably Kerkez and Kluivert, who walk in the Starting XI. Smith's injury means that Anthony is likely starting the season at RB. There is some chance of rotation in the midfield positions as the team waits out Tavernier's injury which could see players primarily considered wingers make appearances in the centre of the pitch.


 
 
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