Aston Villa will face newcomers Bournemouth in the opening game of the season tomorrow.
Last time these two clubs faced each other, it was back in January, in the fourth round of the FA Cup. It was a fierce encounter between the two sides at Villa Park, but Villa edged the game, with a 2-1 victory over Bournemouth, after a sublime finish, by Aston Villa midfielder Carlos Gill. Aston Villa and Bournemouth have only played five times against each other, and the FA Cup game, was the not only the first encounter in the FA Cup ever between the two teams, but their first match for 27 years.
Back in the 1987-1988 season, was when the two sides last met in a league match, and they played each other home and away in that season. Villa won 2-1 at Bournemouth, and then drew back at home 1-1. In that season, Villa finished runners-up in the Second Division, and also gained promotion, whereas Bournemouth finished 17th out of the twenty-three teams in the league, after a tough season.
There first ever encounter between these two Premier League clubs, was in the Third Division, all the way back in the 1971-1972 season. Unfortunately for the Villans, they took a hefty loss at Bournemouth, losing 3-0, and will not hope for that score line against them this season. In the same season, they played back at Villa Park against the Cherries, and dished out some revenge for the heavy defeat earlier in the season, by beating them 2-1, a result which Villa have interestingly beat Bournemouth all three times when they have won.
Obviously the fact that Villa and Bournemouth have only faced each other once in the last 27 years, doesn’t help give an indication of how this game might plan out, but as it was a tough test for Villa to knock the Cherries out in the FA Cup earlier this year, they definitely can expect the same performance Bournemouth showed then. With Bournemouth gaining promotion to the Premier League last season, they know they need to step up again for this campaign, but so will Villa, after another relegation fight last season, Villa will need to get off to a good start. I expect nothing less than a fierce encounter for the first game of the season, between these two sides. Villa will also be hoping that records do count for something from the past, as they will look to continue a 2-1 victory streak, which they have beaten Bournemouth by, in their last two meetings.
