Bournemouth vs. Leicester Prediction & Betting Tips

In what promises to be an intriguing clash, Bournemouth and Leicester City are set to face off in the FA Cup 5th round on Tuesday night as both teams have their sights set on progressing further in the competition, with the chance to secure a spot in the quarter-finals at stake.

Date: 27/02/2024

Kick-off time: 19:30

Location: Vitality Stadium

Bournemouth, currently 13th in the Premier League, have navigated their way to this stage of the FA Cup with impressive victories over Queens Park Rangers, 3-2, and Swansea City, 5-0. Dominic Solanke, their prolific striker, has been in scintillating form, notching up an impressive tally of 14 Premier League goals overall, with 13 coming from open play, a rate bettered only by Erling Haaland and Ollie Watkins. Under the guidance of manager Andoni Iraola, Bournemouth have shown glimpses of their potential despite hitting a few bumps in the road, adopting a high-intensity, counter-pressing style that has yielded positive results amidst a tough transition from a more possession-based identity.

With a squad brimming with attacking talent, including the likes of Antoine Semenyo, Marcus Tavernier, Luis Sinisterra, and Romain Faivre in addition to Solanke, Bournemouth boast enviable depth, particularly in the wide areas. Their quest to reach the FA Cup quarter-final should be pretty high on Iraola's priority list given they're one of the sides too far adrift to make a run at the playoff places and are (likely) too good to be dragged into a serious relegation battle.

Leicester City, currently leading the EFL Championship, are eyeing a swift return to the Premier League following last season's relegation. Under the stewardship of rookie manager Enzo Maresca, Leicester has evolved into a formidable outfit, characterized by their ball-dominant style of play. With players like Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, Wout Faes, Abdul Fatawu, and Ricardo Pereira in their ranks that far transcend the level of the division they're currently playing in, Leicester poses a potent threat across the pitch.

Dewsbury-Hall in particular has shone for the Foxes in a role that has afforded him increased responsibility in the side as he enters this game having delivered 10 goals and 12 assists from midfield in all competitions this season

Having lifted the FA Cup in the 2020-21 season, Leicester are keen to replicate that success and secure a place in the quarter-finals. Their journey thus far in the competition has seen them dispatch of Millwall, 3-2, and Birmingham City, 3-0, so it's fair to say this will be their first test of this year's edition of the competition.

Bournemouth Team News:

Tyler Adams is still yet to make an appearance for the club after joining in the summer and is unlikely to make his debut here, while Ryan Fredericks, James Hill and Max Aarons all remain on the treatment table too.

Phillip Billing is unavailable through suspension while Lloyd Kelly is a doubt after missing the Cherries' game at the weekend.

In terms of changes to the starting lineup, one or two are likely but expect Andoni Iraola to name a very strong starting lineup here. Midfielder Alex Scott will be pushing to come into the XI, possibly at the expense of Justin Kluivert, while Luis Sinisterra could also replace Marcus Tavernier out wide.

Leicester Team News:

The Foxes are still without midfielder Wilfred Ndidi who is expected to be on the sidelines for another month or two yet. Jamie Vardy also missed out for Leicester at the weekend so his inclusion for this one is up in the air.

Like their opponents, a host of changes following their weekend fixture aren't likely and the Foxes should go full strength here. The most likely possible change would see Dennis Praet replace Hamza Choudhury, with Ricardo Pereira moving back to his preferred position of right-back.

Despite performances maintaining a good level, the results haven't been there for the Cherries of late as they come into this game amidst a period of poor form, winless in their last five games in all competitions, and their last seven in the Premier League, the most recent of which was a 0-1 defeat at home to Manchester City.

The loss to Pep Guardiola's side on Saturday evening was a valiant one and largely emblematic of some of Bournemouth's recent fixtures where the result did not match the quality of performance. Bournemouth were by no means outgunned against the Premier League champions and will feel they did enough to take home a point at least, so they'll no doubt have walked away from that game taking more positives than negatives from the performance.

Even with that defeat, Iraola's men have still only lost two of their last five outings, with the other three ending in draws, so they're hardly amidst a sporting crisis. Still, though, they need to better find a way to dispatch of sides they outplay as you could pinpoint a number of games in recent weeks that they failed to kill off, despite demonstrating a clear superiority.

The Foxes have largely been flying in the Championship this season and for large portions of the season have looked like the runaway leaders, but a recent dip in form has allowed Leeds United to cut the gap from 2nd place to 1st to six points as Enzo Maresca's side start to look over their shoulder for the first time this season.

It was Leeds who proved Leicester's formidable foe once again at the weekend as they completed a league double over the Foxes with an entertaining 3-1 win in a scintillating 1st vs. 2nd clash. The scoreline hugely flattered the Yorkshire side, however, and Leicester will feel both aggrieved and frustrated to have walked away from Elland Road empty handed given Patson Daka had a goal incorrectly ruled out for offside with the scoreline at 1-0 to Leicester after Wout Faes gave them the lead in the first half. Not only that, but Maresca' side spurned a litany of chances while 1-0 up in a second half that saw Leicester dominate Leeds before Conor Roberts netted an equaliser out of nowhere, a goal that sparked what was seemed a hugely unlikely late comeback at the time.

The loss means Leicester are now coming off the back of successive defeats for only the second time this season after Middlesbrough downed them 1-2 the week prior. Ironically, the only other time Leicester have fallen to consecutive defeats this season was back in November where, again, Leeds and Middlesbrough subjected them to two 1-0 losses in the space of a week.

Like Bournemouth, there won't be a huge degree of worry regarding recent results because while the final score has been undesirable the performance level has remained intact, and in Leicester's case they won five games on the spin prior to this two-match losing streak so there's even less cause for concern.

On paper, this about as competitive a matchup you're likely to see in a Premier League vs. Championship clash but we're still backing Bournemouth to get the job done. We think they're half a level above the Foxes and while the game should see Leicester enjoy periods of success, we fancy the Cherries to ultimately reign supreme. Bournemouth 3-1 Leicester.

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This game will be available to watch on BBC iPlayer or BBC Sport Online in the U.K., while radio coverage will be provided by BBC Radio Dorset and BBC Radio Leicester.

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