‘Quite worrying’ – Paul Merson shares his Bournemouth v Spurs score prediction

Former Arsenal midfielder Paul Merson has shared his prediction ahead of Tottenham Hotspur’s Premier League clash against Bournemouth this afternoon.

Spurs head to the south coast after an eventful week which has seen them lose to both Newcastle United and Manchester United and also suffered the disappointment of believing they had secured their place in the last sixteen of the Champions League, only for VAR to chalk off their stoppage-time winner against Sporting CP.

Bournemouth Vitality Stadium
(Photo by David Horton – CameraSport via Getty Images)

The 1-1 draw against their Portuguese opponents means that they must travel to Marseille on Tuesday with their chances of making it through to the knockout stages still at risk.

Merson believes that Spurs will return to winning ways at the Vitality Stadium but was critical of the quality of Antonio Conte’s wing-backs and the lack of creative midfielder within their ranks.

He told SportsKeeda: “Tottenham haven’t had a great week. They were a goal away from virtually qualifying for the knock-outs in the Champions League. They were well beaten by Newcastle and Manchester United, and they couldn’t win against Sporting Lisbon at home. I wouldn’t be surprised if Harry Kane got a hat-trick against Bournemouth. That’s Tottenham at the moment, and it’s quite worrying.

“Antonio Conte always plays a three-at-the-back formation, and you need to have top-draw wingbacks with this system. Tottenham have one of the best forward pairs in Kane and Son, but there’s no ammunition behind them. You’re only as good as the people who give the ball to you.

“Tottenham play with three defenders and three holding midfielders. They need a passer in their midfield. The two wingbacks that are supposed to step up in the final third aren’t good enough. If Tottenham had Reece James, Chilwell, and Cucurella, they wouldn’t be a million miles away from being a solid top-four team.

“Prediction: Bournemouth 0-2 Tottenham Hotspur.”

SpursWeb Opinion
The biggest concern this afternoon is the potential amount of changes Antonio Conte could make to his side ahead of the match against Marseille. There is a massive gulf in quality between the first-team regulars and those on the bench, you have to look no further than Cristian Romero v Davinson Sanchez for example.
However, with no disrespect to Bournemouth, our fringe players should be getting a result against the Cherries if called upon.

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