Free-scoring Bournemouth to end 27-year wait for victory at Brighton
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Last time Bournemouth beat Brighton away from home Rick Astley topped the charts with Never Gonna Give You Up and the Cherries will need to show the same determination to keep their promotion push on track at the Amex on Friday night.
The league leaders have lost six and drawn five of the 11 meetings since that September 1988 victory and despite picking up four points from the Easter fixtures Eddie Howe’s men will need to improve if they are to end their hoodoo.
It took a late towering header from debutant Kenwyne Jones to break down a resilient Ipswich defence on Good Friday and the Dean Court crowd feared the worst when the Cherries went 2-0 down to Birmingham last time out.
The hosts eventually won out against the Blues but with south coast bragging rights up for grabs Brighton will going all out to ensure Bournemouth’s 11-year barren spell is extended.
One thing is for certain though and that is a glut of derby goals on Friday night, with just one goalless draw played out between these two sides in 20 meetings over the last 22 years.
And with that in mind it could pay to back Ladbrokes’ latest Price Boost, which sees a Bournemouth win with both teams to score priced at 7/2 up from 5/2.
And when you take into account the Cherries’ scoring stats this season and the fact they shipped two goals in the first half of their last match, this starts to look a very good price indeed.
Eddie Howe’s men have scored 13 goals in their last five league matches to take their season’s tally to a Championship best 87.
With just one clean sheet in their last four outings though the Seagulls will fancy their chances of breaching the Cherries rearguard.
As for the scorers, Callum Wilson ended a 10-game wait for a goal from open play in the comeback win over Birmingham to take his debut season tally to 20 and at 9/2 to open the scoring it could pay to back the England U21 man to build on that return to confidence.
All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.
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