Sunderland travel the long way down to Bournemouth this weekend for a 3 pm kick-off. The Black Cats are buoyed with Adam Johnson’s return to the squad and Yedlin being available for his potential debut. On the downside, Duncan Watmore is likely to miss the trip with an illness. Here are some of the things we need to look out for against Bournemouth.
Callum Wilson
Little is known of Callum Wilson in the Premier League, as he, along with his side, are newbies to the division. Bearing that in mind, Wilson is currently joint top goalscorer in the league, along with Bafetimbi Gomis and Riyad Mahrez, all with 4 goals. Wilson’s pace and attacking movement underpin his overall ability.
Wilson scored a hat-trick in Bournemouth’s 4-3 win over West Ham. However, all three goals were gifted to him, with Cresswell being easily dispossessed by Francis, allowing him for the ball to be played straight to Wilson on the edge of the 6-yard box. The second goal again came from Cresswell, with the full back’s sloppy back pass allowing Wilson to smash it home, with his third goal coming from the penalty spot.
Fullbacks Attacking Potential
Bournemouth will have done their homework, and no doubt both Billy Jones and Patrick van Aanholt will have been looked at extensively. With both of them failing to play to the same standard they did last season, they have come under a lot of scrutiny from the Sunderland faithful. Both fullbacks for Bournemouth, Simon Francis mainly, like getting forward a lot and put the defence under pressure.
Simon Francis single-handily earned the Cherries their first goal against West Ham. Francis got down the touchline with the ball, before running into the Hammers’ full-back Aaron Cresswell. By not giving up on what seemed like a lost cause, Francis managed to get the ball back off Cresswell right on the byline, before smashing a cross right to Wilson’s feet. With the poor start van Aanholt has made, Francis will fancy his chances coming up against him this Saturday.
Fabio Borini
Borini made his second debut for the Black Cats last Sunday in the 1-0 defeat against Spurs, in what was a solid performance from the attacker. There was a lot of pressure on Borini, mainly due to his rejection of the option he received to come back to Sunderland last season.
Having spent most of last season occupying a spot on Liverpool’s bench, it will take Borini some time to get back to full match fitness. As soon as Borini does get back to full fitness, his obvious love for the club and the fans’ love for him will help him start firing in goals and assisting the team to victories. The brilliance Borini displayed in his loan spell during the 2013/14 season helped the Black Cats get to the Capital One Cup final, in which Borini scored in a 3-1 loss to Manchester City. As soon as he gets back to anywhere near that ability level, Sunderland will start playing with a lot more confidence, passion and urgency to win games.
