AFC Bournemouth vs Bristol City Predictions

• Bournemouth have won four of their last seven home league matches.
• Bristol City have lost ten of their last 13 away Championship contests.
• Bristol City have scored in seven of their last nine away games and Bournemouth have conceded in seven of their last nine homes.
• Dominic Solanke has scored in four of the last five Bournemouth home league games.

Cherries have breathing room after Huddersfield win

Bournemouth can kick on from the big win they thoroughly deserved against Huddersfield just before the international break when they host Bristol City on Saturday.

Scott Parker’s men were so smooth at John Smith’s Stadium that it left you wondering how the two sides could have been separated by just three points at kick-off, but it’s clear that the Terriers were feeling the affects of a gruelling run of games. The Cherries now have a bit of breathing room over their closest rivals for the second automatic spot and that could take some of the tension out of the displays that had held them back before the trip to west Yorkshire.

Four points were squandered in two March home games against relegation candidates but Parker has kept his side on course for a Premier League return with some canny management. He also has a superb squad to work with and his best team on paper should easily get the better of this broken Bristol Rovers side.

Robins are shipping close to three a game on road in 2022

Only two teams in the Championship have shipped more goals than the Robins, which must be a source of immense frustration to their manager Nigel Pearson. They’ve been conceding at a rate close to two per game, which is a rate that can only be mitigated by a colossal  amount of goals at the other end.

It has not, but the Robins have scored in seven of their last nine league road trips – similar to Bournemouth’s record of conceding at home – persuading us to play the Cherries to win and both teams to score on the south coast. A quick glance at the goalscorer odds suggests that Dominic Solanke is in the sort of form where he should be backed at anything approaching even money.

Our correct score forecast of 3-1 to the Cherries is based on Bristol City averaging just under three goals conceded per away game since the turn of the year and Bournemouth having shipped exactly one goal in five of their last six at the Vitality Stadium.