One punter fancies Bournemouth to get off to flying start this season

So far this summer we’ve had requests for David Beckham to manage England, Wolves to be the next English club to win the Champions League, Rangers to win the Champions League in the next two years and Middlesbrough to finish in the top eight this season. And today’s Bournemouth related #WhaAreTheOdds request is another corker.

The Cherries experienced their first ever campaign in the Premier League last year under Eddie Howe.

And although they didn’t get off to the best of starts, winning just two of their first 14 games, one optimistic fan has backed his team to take the top flight by storm this year, placing a bet on Bournemouth to be in the top four by Christmas at 40/1.

And we’ve worked out exactly what the Cherries need to do to win our customer his cash.

The maths

In the last five seasons, the average amount of points needed to achieve fourth place on December 25 works out at 31.4, meaning Bournemouth would need to take 1.82 points per game in their first 17 fixtures, nine of which will be at Dean Court.

Last season, Howe’s men had 19 points to their name before their Boxing Day fixture with Crystal Palace, and would therefore need to improve on that return by a further 12 points this time around.

And although that seems like a big ask, we mustn’t forget that Howe was without three of his star players in Callum Wilson, Max Gradel and Tyrone Mings – who all had their season’s cut short last September with knee ligament injuries.

With that trio returning to full fitness, and throwing into the mix the arrival of Benik Afobe in January from Wolverhampton Wanderers, as well as the recent acquisitions of Chelsea’s Nathan Ake and record signing Jordan Ibe from Liverpool, and there’s no questioning the talent Howe has at his disposal.

For this #WhatAreTheOdds request to come in, it’s vital Bournemouth get off to a solid start.

And what better place to do that than at home to Manchester United on the opening weekend, where the Red Devils lost 2-1 last season?

After that the Cherries face away trips to West Ham and Crystal Palace, and if Howe’s men can do a repeat of last year in these fixtures, they’ll walk out of their first three games with maximum points.

Simple!

Got a special bet request for us? Send us a tweet using the hashtag #WhatAreTheOdds and we’ll see what we can do for you!

All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.