Bournemouth

Bournemouth manager Marco Rose, speaking to BBC Match of the Day: "We knew that it's going to be different today. Leeds are a really good opposition. They matched our intensity and have really good players in possession. They are physical, really hard to play and hard to beat. We came better and better, we scored the goals in the right moments and that's why we are quite happy today."

On his side trying to force errors: "We talk about it and it's always a plan of ours. It's part of our identity to be front footed. It's good if it's working out because then you get more confidence. We needed to score to gain confidence and today against a really good opposition."

On Evanilson: "That's what he did always. He was always hard working in and out of possession. The only thing he lacked was scoring by himself and that's what he's started now. I hope he's getting in a run because that's very important for us."

On seeing out victory: "We feel quite confident and you can see everyone is working hard to avoid chances for the opponent. In the Premier League, everything's possible. Then we had the quality to finish the game. I remember all the stories we had five or six weeks ago in a different situation. I'm quite happy we changed the momentum and finally rewarded ourselves."

On what's key to Bournemouth's defence: "Nothing special to be honest. We have our patterns, we know how to defend the box and we know what we have to do. We were just working on details. We stick to our plan, stick together. We are a little more alert in a couple of situations. It's about small things at this level, especially against such a good opposition like today."

Did you know?

• Evanilson is the first Brazilian player to score a Premier League goal on Halloween since Raphinha did so for Leeds against Norwich City in 2021 – the only other Brazilians to do so are Ramires and Philippe Coutinho, both on Halloween 2015.

• Bournemouth have won three consecutive Premier League games without conceding for the very first time.

Keifer MacDonald
BBC Sport journalist

Image source, Getty Images

It has been a fortnight like no other for Bournemouth.

Since earning a historic 3-0 victory over seven-time European champions AC Milan earlier this month, the Cherries have not looked back under new manager Marco Rose.

Following that emotional night at the Vitality Stadium that underlined just how far the club has come since being plunged into administration almost 20 years ago, Rose's side have added Premier League giants Manchester United, last season's Europa League winners Aston Villa and one of the league's meanest defences, Leeds United, to their impressive resume this season.

This victory against Leeds was far from vintage, with Bournemouth starting slowly and fortunate not to fall behind after Calvert-Lewin had a goal ruled out for accidental handball.

But after four matches in nine days, this was a run of fixtures focused on building momentum and putting points on the board for a side with no previous experience of balancing European football with the harsh demands of the Premier League.

Few have played a more prominent role in Bournemouth's four consecutive victories than Evanilson, who continued his fine form by making it four goals in as many games with a poacher's finish against Leeds.

The Brazilian has enjoyed mixed fortunes on the south coast since joining Bournemouth from FC Porto in a club-record deal in 2024. However, his goal against Leeds took his total number of goal contributions this term to eight - one more than he managed during the whole of last season.

Three more would see him match the 11 he managed in his impressive debut campaign, and with the Cherries flying, there is every reason to believe he can get there.

Whether you were at the game or following from elsewhere, we want to know what you learned.

Have your say on Bournemouth's performance

What did you make of Leeds' display?

Reaction and analysis to follow - and come back on Monday for a selection of your replies.

There are eight games in the Premier League on Saturday and BBC Sport will bring you every moment.

• Chelsea v Manchester United (12:30)

• Bournemouth v Leeds United

• Brentford v Nottingham Forest

• Coventry City v Sunderland - first half on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra 2, second half on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra

• Hull City v Ipswich Town

• Manchester City v Brighton - listen on BBC Radio 5 Live

• Tottenham v Crystal Palace (17:30) - listen on BBC Radio 5 Live

• Aston Villa v Fulham (20:00)

Kick-off times 15:00 GMT unless stated.

Follow all of the action and reaction here

How to follow the Premier League weekend across the BBC

You can also listen to today's 5 Live Premier League commentaries on your smart speaker. Just say "Alexa, ask BBC Sounds to play Man City v Brighton" or "Alexa, ask BBC Sounds to play the Coventry match", for example.

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Matt Jones
BBC Sport journalist

AFC Bournemouth's season has sparked into life and they will be looking to continue their positive form on Saturday (15:00 GMT) in the Premier League, with Leeds United the visitors to the Vitality Stadium.

After earning their first league win of the season against Sunderland a fortnight ago with a 2-0 home success, the Cherries have beaten AC Milan, Manchester United and Aston Villa by 3-0 scorelines in consecutive games across different competitions. In all competitions, they have won five in a row, scoring 14 goals and conceding none.

Leeds started the season superbly, although they have lost some momentum in recent weeks after failing to win any of their last four matches. Daniel Farke's side remain one of the most difficult teams to beat in the top flight, nevertheless.

Brazilian brilliance pushing Bournemouth forward

Even during their winless run at the start of the Premier League season, there was a sense that Bournemouth were not getting the rub of the green.

They have accrued nine points this season, which is 4.5 fewer than their expected goals for and against would suggest. In the expected goals standings, Marco Rose's side are in fifth place, whereas in reality they are 13th.

The form of their star forward Evanilson has been key to the team getting points on the board over the past fortnight. The 27-year-old, a £40m signing from Porto in the summer of 2024, is enjoying his best spell for the club so far, showcasing a creative edge to match his scoring prowess.

Evanilson has three goals and four assists in the top flight this season, giving him as many goal contributions as he managed in the entirety of the previous campaign. Only Erling Haaland, with nine goals, and Joao Pedro, with five goals and three assists, have been more productive than him in the Premier League in 2026-27.

The forward has been supported superbly by midfielder James Tavernier, who has netted five times in the top flight and six times in all competitions.

Lean pickings for Leeds' opponents

Leeds may lack a cutting edge in the final third at times – they have scored only nine goals in eight games – but they are rock-solid at the back. Only Arsenal, with five, have conceded fewer goals than Leeds, who have let in six.

Their defensive strength has been bolstered by the summer signings of goalkeeper James Trafford and centre-back Tarik Muharemovic.

Trafford has settled into life at Leeds quickly and has been one of the standout stoppers in the division. The England international has the highest save percentage in the Premier League this season (82.4%), the second-highest number of saves (30) and the third-highest number of goals prevented (1.9).

Muharemovic also looks to be a shrewd pick-up for Farke's side. The Bosnia and Herzegovina international has slotted in seamlessly on the left side of the three-man defence and has kept many a dangerous opponent quiet.

If Leeds are to stay in the hunt for European football, they will need to convert some of their dogged draws into wins. Five of their last seven games have ended in draws, while no team has drawn more matches in 2026 than the Whites, with 14.

Bournemouth are flying at the moment, with successive wins over Aston Villa, Manchester United and AC Milan.

Leeds are extremely well-structured, however, even if they are not free-scoring this season.

I am sure Daniel Farke would like his team to score more goals, but they don't give away a lot either.

Bournemouth are on a great run but I wonder how much the past week has taken out of them, and that makes me think Leeds could nick a point.

Sutton's prediction: 1-1

Read the full predictions and have your say here

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BBC Radio Leeds commentator Adam Pope has discussed Leeds' recent form with Ian Wilding ahead of Saturday's game at Bournemouth.

"Leeds are going well. There's no doubt about it, but there's a feeling just lately that they've let a few points go and that includes the Manchester United game and bottom of the table Sunderland," he said.

"The mitigating circumstances is that the first was a derby and they haven't been beaten by Manchester United in three games, and the elements were so inclement on Sunday at Sunderland that football was nigh impossible.

"So I think it's really hard to criticise Leeds for dropping points in those games.

"You don't want to be coming up against Bournemouth at the moment because the stats are frightening.

"Daniel Farke, he said that they are the form team, so I think we're in a situation where Leeds probably, if we're being realistic, could go in as you know less than favourites into this game definitely.

"[When]Tyler Adams [joined Leeds he] got injured and we never saw the best in Leeds plus he did leave for Bournemouth acrimoniously. It was really not a nice deal in the end the way it all went through.

"I think there is a bit of a bad taste and when he has played against Leeds United or been featured I think there's been a little bit of him trying to whip up the crowd a little bit as well.

"It hasn't surprised me that he's gone on to do OK. I think it was just injury really that stopped us seeing the best of him."

Listen on the link below or on BBC Sounds here.

Chelseacould have a deal worth about £90m agreed with Bournemouth for midfielder Alex Scott before January. (Mail - subscription required), external

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Josh Lobley
BBC Sport journalist

Bournemouth boss Marco Rose has been speaking to the media before Saturday's Premier League game against Leeds at Vitality Stadium (kick-off 15:00 GMT).

Here are the key lines from his news conference:

• Rose says he is "really happy," to have Junior Kroupi back, but he still needs to build up his game time before he is ready to start.

• Alex Scott won't be in the squad for this weekend's match, but it "could be an option," to include him for the next league match against Ipswich.

• Rose explained: "When we have the international break, we have two weeks more to get him really fit. He is on the pitch, working hard and has no problems. He hasn't trained with the group so far but I am sure he will in the next couple of days - then we will see if we bring him to the squad before the break or after, to maybe be more reasonable."

• On the club's five-match winning streak: "It is [a phenomenal run] but the next challenge is waiting. Every win helps us to gain more confidence. I am quite pleased."

• He says that talks were held prior to this impressive run: "We had different talks about [different] topics; conceding too many goals, conceding set-pieces, and now we have five clean sheets in a row and have scored two or three goals in every game. It's about consistency, belief and momentum. That is football on the top level."

• On what has made it click recently: "I still think the lads adapted quite quickly to how we want to play. It helps that we haven't changed the approach in general, just details. Even in pre-season I felt we were in a good way, we just missed some situations and made individual mistakes. That is why we didn't get the results."

• On Saturday's opponents: "They are quite compact, really committed out of possession and intense. They are good in duels and have a good balance between simple solutions and a really good in-possession game. A good team and a tough challenge for us."

• On the weapons Daniel Farke's side possess: "Throw-ins and set-pieces. Dominic Calvert-Lewin is a top striker and it is really difficult to defend him. The wing-backs are really good and quite flexible and unpredictable."

Follow all of Thursday's Premier League news conferences and the rest of the day's football news

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We asked for your thoughts after Wednesday's Carabao Cup ties between Bournemouth and Aston Villa.

Here are some of your comments:

Bournemouth fans

Hugh: Showed rotation works with a strong squad. Great performance. Making it hard for the manager to pick a first team is good.

Tom: It is genuinely getting like Groundhog Day for the Cherries - go out midweek, win by two or more to nil, do the same at the weekend and repeat. We are in dream world. Hope to keep it up. Up the Cherries!

Malcolm: I have learned that whoever starts they have the trust of the manager and team-mates alike. The players know how Rose's system works and they execute the plan very well. Incoming players Soler, Juanlu and Diakite were all excellent and Rodriguez put in a shift up top. 3-0 is becoming a nice habit.

Graham: This squad of players fear no-one. Marco Rose has them playing well and this was another great result.

Aston Villa fans

Joe: Poor game from Villa and Bournemouth wanted it more than us. Would've been nice to get through to the quarter-finals but I think we need to focus on the league and the Champions League. However, I still don't think that is an excuse to play like that. I was glad to see Alysson coming on and making an impact once again. I hope this continues and that we can forget about this loss and focus forward.

Pammy: Absolutely pathetic performance and all the Villa faithful in attendance should get their hard-earned money back. Mr Emery, you might be untouchable but you got this is so wrong.

Prit: If on Saturday we saw the Dr Jekyll Aston Villa, this was very much Mr Hyde. Bournemouth had more desire, closed down our defenders, broke quickly and totally deserved the victory.

Rob: A lacklustre display from a depleted Villa team but it's hard to be annoyed when we play Barcelona at the Nou Camp next week. The League Cup is always the last priority for Unai and I'm surprised that he risked the likes of McGinn with any game time at all. The fact is we don't have a deep enough squad to compete on four fronts so we put a line through this one and move on.

Bournemouth's squad is "good enough" to win this season's Carabao Cup, says Cherries midfielder Lewis Cook.

Marco Rose's side beat Unai Emery's Aston Villa in the competition on Wednesday, and set up a quarter-final tie against Liverpool.

Rose made eight changes to the team that dismantled Manchester United last weekend and Cook believes his side got to show their impressive depth.

"Everyone who came into the team applied themselves and took the chance so, I think the squad's in a great spot right now and we're winning games - that's the main thing," Cook told BBC Radio Solent.

"I think he [Marco Rose] said before the game he's going to make changes but whoever plays deserves to play, and I think everyone played really well and it just shows where we're at as a team. We want everyone to do well."

Bournemouth owner Bill Foley, told talkSPORT last week, external that his number one ambition for the club is "to win a major trophy".

On Foley's comments, Cook added: "When Bill comes he always says how much he values us and he's proud of where we've come from but it's only the first steps so, as a club and as players we definitely want to try and win something.

"I think we've got a good enough squad for it so I think we'll give it our all and try and manage everything and take each game as it comes."

Hear the full interview above or on BBC Sounds here

Also hear from Cherries midfielder Amine Adli below and on Sounds

Hear from Marco Rose after Bournemouth's victory against Aston Villa in the EFL Cup.

Press play below or listen on BBC Sounds

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The draw for the EFL Cup quarter-finals has been completed:

Fleetwood Town v Everton or Newcastle

Manchester City v Bradford City

Crystal Palace v Sunderland

Liverpool v Bournemouth

The matches will be played in the week commencing 14 December.

Whether you were at the game or following from elsewhere, we want to know what you learned.

Have your say on Bournemouth's performance

What did you make of Aston Villa's display?

Reaction and analysis to follow - and come back on Thursday for a selection of your replies.

There are five Carabao Cup fourth round games on Wednesday and BBC Sport will bring you every moment.

• Manchester City v Brighton (19:30)

• Bournemouth v Aston Villa

• Fulham v Crystal Palace

• Sunderland v Brentford

• Liverpool v Chelsea (20:00)

Kick-off times 19:45 GMT unless stated.

Follow all of the action and reaction here

You can also listen to today's 5 Live Premier League commentaries on your smart speaker. Just say "Alexa, ask BBC Sounds to play Chelsea v Hull City" or "Alexa, ask BBC Sounds to play the Everton match", for example.

New this season: Live match updates

Fans of Premier League clubs can now get real-time scores live on their phone lock screen for every game.

Simply follow your favourite football teams on the BBC Sport app for updates throughout the 2026-27 season.

Find out more here

Image source, BBC Sport

New this season: Match of the Day Predictor

Simply predict the outcome of the six fixtures we've selected from across domestic and European competitions every week.

Players can join at any time, get involved with the latest round and start building a streak.

Read more about it here

You can find the predictor in the navigation bar at the top of this page, or on this link

Mark Mitchener
BBC Sport senior journalist

Image source, Getty Images

Bournemouth's 3-0 demolition of Manchester United - their third victory by that scoreline in four visits to Old Trafford, the other being a 4-4 draw - naturally left all the post-match headlines about the home side's failings on and off the pitch, with the future of Red Devils boss Michael Carrick in serious doubt.

However, the Cherries' run of form should not go unrecognised, after a purple patch of four games in 11 days, in which they scored 11 goals, conceded none, and racked up wins over Sturm Graz, Sunderland, AC Milan and United.

Having begun the season with a tendency to concede late in games, while failing to convert enough of their chances, Marco Rose's side have improved at both ends of the field - with standout performances from two key players in the spine of their team.

Evanilson's record of 16 goals from 67 Premier League appearances in two seasons under Andoni Iraola was modest, but as with the man he replaced - Dominic Solanke - it did not reflect the striker's all-round contribution to the team.

But the Brazilian seems to have found an extra gear under Rose, recording four goals from 11 appearances across the Premier League and Europa League, while his tally of four assists is the joint highest in the top flight this season.

Sunderland, for instance, were unable to cope with Evanilson's physicality, with defender Kevin Danso sent off for virtually rugby-tackling Bournemouth's number nine after he had wriggled clear of his markers to bear down on goal.

As well as forcing errors leading to cautions, red cards, free-kicks and penalties, an unselfish side to Evanilson's game also creates opportunities for others, with the main beneficiary being Marcus Tavernier.

The former Middlesbrough man's six goals from 12 appearances in all competitions is only two short of his season-best goal tally, with October not yet finished.

At the other end, James Hill is a perfect example of the maxim that good things come to those who wait.

The centre-back signed from Fleetwood Town in January 2022 for an initial £1m as "one for the future", and found himself loaned out to Hearts and Blackburn while having to bide his time for a sustained spell in the Cherries' side.

A 4-1 thumping at Brentford just after Christmas in 2025 proved to be the catalyst as Iraola then gave Hill an extended run in place of Bafode Diakite, and Hill has never looked back.

He played his part in the 18-game unbeaten league run which ended last season, and has shone in the recent sequence of wins, culminating in a titanic display at Old Trafford which earned him recognition in teams of the week compiled by Troy Deeney for the BBC, Alan Shearer, external for the Premier League, as well as similar XIs selected by Yahoo Sports, external and whoscored.com, external - who gave Hill a 9.47 rating, their highest of the weekend.

While one or both of Evanilson and Hill may be rested for Wednesday's Carabao Cup tie with Aston Villa, their value to Rose's Cherries cannot be underestimated.

Explore Bournemouth content on BBC Sounds

"How did we end up here?"

Those were the words emblazoned on the tifo at Vitality Stadium as Bournemouth's players walked out to face AC Milan in the Europa League.

For fans who can remember the depths of administration, the fact the Cherries are now an established club in the Premier League with European football on their schedule can classify as a sporting fairytale.

Artist John Sheehan was the creator of the tifo that Cherries fans have enthusiastically supported on social media since the memorable 3-0 victory against European aristocracy.

Speaking to BBC Radio Solent, Sheehan said: "There have been a few times when I have made artwork for brands, but nothing compared to anything like this.

"The importance around the game and the occasion - to see it up there was very cool."

BBC Radio Solent commentator Jordan Clark, who was part of the commentary team on the night, said the addition of the tifo was "powerful" to witness as it galvanised the atmosphere inside the stadium.

Sheehan, who hails from Ireland, added: "I have followed the Premier League since I was young. I have seen Bournemouth rise up through the leagues."

Listen to more from Clark and Sheehan on the media above or on BBC Sounds

Chelsea are fully focused on signing Alex Scott from Bournemouth after his move fell through in the summer, with the 23-year-old England midfielder also on Liverpool's shortlist. (Florian Plettenberg), external

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Bournemouth owner Bill Foley has sanctioned another club record contract offer for England midfielder Alex Scott, 23, with Chelsea, Liverpool, Arsenal and Tottenham all monitoring developments. (Teamtalk), external

Want more transfer stories? Read Tuesday's full gossip column

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