Two sides gunning for a European place lock horns in the Premier League this week as Bournemouth welcome Brentford to the South Coast.
The Cherries come into this game 10th in the league with 39 points from 28 games. With survival all but secured, Andoni Iraola's men now have their sights set on a top seven finish, a goal they'll feel is perfectly achievable. They sit just four points behind this week's opponents, who currently occupy 7th place, so a win here will put them within touching distance.
Their form is solid, with the Cherries unbeaten in their last seven games, although four of those have been draws. Their most recent game was a 1-1 draw with Sunderland, a game that could have gone either way on the balance of play. On home soil, they have two wins, two draws and one defeat from their last five.
Bournemouth are usually a reliable BTTS selection, with eight of their last ten games in all competitions seeing both teams score. Over 2.5 goals have also been scored in five of their last ten matches, putting them slightly above the league average for that metric.
Brentford, meanwhile, are having arguably their strongest season since promotion and will feel like they have the momentum to finish in the top seven. The Bees played out a cracker in Lancashire at the weekend as they won 4-3 at Burnley in a rollercoaster of a game that saw them sacrifice a 3-0 lead before eventually netting a stoppage-time winner.
Their form on the whole is mixed, with three wins, one draw and three defeats from their last seven in the league. Their away form, though, has been excellent, with Keith Andrews' men winning five of their last six league games on the road. They also have an excellent head-to-head record against the Cherries, going unbeaten in nine meetings, winning all of the last five.
With five of the last six clashes between the two seeing over 2.5 goals and BTTS occur, we don't expect this one to be a dull affair, but it's one we fancy the Bees to nick.
Bournemouth 1-2 Brentford
