Bournemouth

Nat Hayward
BBC Sport journalist

Bournemouth boss Marco Rose has been speaking to the media before Thursday's Europa League game against Sparta Prague at epet ARENA (17:45 GMT).

Here are the key lines from his news conference:

• Rose provided an update on midfielder Alex Toth's fitness as he has not featured since injuring his hamstring in the Europa League win over AC Milan, stating: "He had his surgery yesterday. Everything went well. We will not see him before next year. We will miss him for several months."

• On defender Juanlu, who limped out of a development game on Monday: "He twisted in the game with the under-21s. He has an ankle injury. We assess and see how we're going to do it and how long he needs."

• Asked if he will he consider rotating heavily for Thursday's game, Rose said: "We're going to travel tomorrow night and then travel on Friday to Ipswich. We have another Premier League game, very important game, and so far everyone who has been able to play has got momentum. Every player is in a good position and tomorrow we will use our squad. "

• On the challenge posed by Sparta: "It's a good team. They like to have possession and play football but on the other side they are very man-orientated in pressing. We have to find solutions but we are focused on our game. If we do it in the right way we have the chance to win the game."

• More on Thursday's opponents: "We watched their games, they have a clear idea, you can see the idea of the coach. It is mainly 4-3-3 and sometimes against Olympiacos they changed approach a bit and built up a bit with three and brought the full-back inside. They have a tall striker, good wingers for one-v-one and arrive with three, four players to score. "

• Asked if he has ever previously been on the verge of keeping seven consecutive clean sheets in management, Rose said: "I'm sure not. But we are talking too much about the clean sheets. I am happy we won the games, that is the most important thing. If we get a record like this we take it but if we win the game 2-1 I am happy with this as well."

• Rose confirmed Junior Kroupi will be added back into his European squad after this match: "We communicated it very clear when we decided to do it like we do it now. We said Junior is injured more than 60 days and we said if Junior is back we are going to have Premier League games and cup games. We made the decision to change him after four games in the European so after the next game he will be available."

• On the travelling Cherries fans enjoying their trip to the Czech Republic: "Prague is a really really nice town. My home town is two hours from here. It is a really beautiful town, you can see a lot of cultural things, and maybe the night life as well. You have good breweries and enjoy your time and be ready for the game tomorrow. We want to present them a win tomorrow."

Mark Mitchener
BBC Sport senior journalist

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In several senses, Bournemouth are going further than they have ever been this week.

Back in September, the Cherries' 2008 FA Cup nemesis Blyth Spartans' Croft Park was erased from the record books as the furthest Bournemouth had travelled for a competitive match, as they began their maiden Europa League campaign at Real Sociedad.

On Thursday, Sociedad (512 miles from Bournemouth as the crow flies) will be itself replaced by Sparta Prague (714 miles away) as the longest away trip of all time - and one which many Cherries fans have been eagerly anticipating since the draw.

The city of Prague faces a busy week, with Arsenal visiting Slavia Prague on Wednesday in the Champions League, before Marco Rose's side take centre stage at Sparta less than 24 hours later.

The city's attractions include a Museum of Fantastic Illusions,, external and supporters may be pinching themselves when looking at the run of form Rose's side have been on.

Any prophecies of doom which may have been generated by the 5-1 loss at Chelsea on the return from the international break, have been dispelled as Bournemouth have enjoyed an Oktoberfest of their own, winning six games on the bounce without conceding a goal, while scoring 16.

Even just counting Premier League games, it is the first time they have recorded three successive wins with three clean sheets.

I wrote on these pages last week about how Evanilson's all-round game has helped give the Cherries a strong spine, and the goals have kept coming for the Brazilian, who has netted in four successive Premier League games for the first time.

Fit-again Amine Adli has also scored in three of the past four games, and the Moroccan winger is one of those giving Rose a selection headache as he seeks to keep his squad fresh while playing two games in a week.

As the fans enjoy Prague, Rose may also have one eye on Sunday's trip to Ipswich before another international break gives them a fortnight without a game.

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Arsenal want to sign Bournemouth's Eli Junior Kroupi in January but face competition from Bayern Munich and Paris St-Germain for the forward. (Mirror), external

Want more transfer stories? Read Tuesday's full gossip column

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Bournemouth fan Henry Chung says Saturday's victory over Leeds United shows "how much Marco Rose has adapted to the Premier League" because it was game management that ensured they saw the win out.

The Cherries have now won six matches in a row, doing so without conceding a goal.

"Those are the sort of games we need to win this season and we've done it," said Chung. "It shows how much Rose has already learned and adapted to in the Premier League.

"At the start of the season, we threw away so many matches when we played really well. It was the game management and individual mistakes that meant we ended up dropping points.

"Against Leeds, we were not the best team on the field as Leeds were probably a bit better. We didn't have loads of chances, but we took one thanks to an error from James Trafford and we managed the game to see it out.

"To be getting three points from a game when you didn't actually play that well is so important in the Premier League - especially in a period when we are going to be playing loads of games in the Europa League and EFL Cup, before a busy Christmas break.

"It's so good to see that the team can do it."

We asked for your thoughts after Saturday's Premier League game between Bournemouth and Leeds United.

Here are some of your comments:

Bournemouth fans

Paul: Sometimes you just have to win ugly and our ability to do that against a tough and disciplined Leeds team is another sign of our progress. Smart and timely substitutions helped us see the game out with yet another clean sheet. Love this team!

Terry: Congratulations to the players. That was a really hard-fought game with everyone giving their all. It was really tight until Leeds gifted us a goal. In true Bournemouth style, no "corner tennis" towards the end but still going for goal and earning the win outright with the last kick of the game.

Andy: More of the same from AFCB - we're still living the dream and still loving it!

Malcom: Leeds gave us a tougher test than opponents in the previous five games. They showed their intent, dominating the first 20 minutes. We got a foothold in the game and had to work hard to get some momentum. Gifted a goal that seemed to settle us. Two defences that had most things in control and allowing few chances at either end. Six wins in row with 16 goals and six clean sheets, a good time to be a Cherries fan.

Leeds fans

Gary: Daniel Farke's tactics are always too defensive. We needed pace to get past the Bournemouth defence. He takes off Daniel James and puts on Anton Stach who is slow and generally ineffective. Jean-Matteo Bahoya has pace but is given only six minutes. If we stick with Farke we will be in a relegation battle. The board need to act now and bring in Eddie Howe before Manchester United get him.

Alan: Same old same old, we can't do plan A very well so where's the plan 'B'? If something doesn't change soon, we'll be playing Manchester United in the Championship next season.

Andy: Farke has to go soon or we're going down. Too many draws and he's too happy with losing and playing well. 'Always proud of my boys' is his standard answer to poor displays. Time to go.

Julian: Not great but not bad either. We just need a spark to get us going. Harry Wilson isn't quite with it yet but it will come. Bahoya looked nervous when he came on and his time will come. Tottenham up next at Elland Road. A win would change everything.

Jordan Clark and Joe Partington have been reflecting on Bournemouth's 2-0 victory over Leeds United on Saturday, as the Cherries recorded their third consecutive clean sheet in the Premier League.

It is an impressive defensive run since the 5-1 defeat to Chelsea. In all, the Cherries have three league clean sheets and a further three in cup competitions since the hammering at Stamford Bridge.

"It's an incredible stat when you think about the last game they conceded in was the 5-0 Chelsea debacle," Partington said.

"That was a really difficult day which left a lot of questions. I imagine a lot of players and management were looking in the mirror to try and find the answers on how to change that, and they have."

Looking ahead, Bournemouth face a demanding week, with a Europa League fixture against Sparta Prague on Thursday before returning to Premier League action against Ipswich on Sunday.

"I suppose the caveat is after these two games they'll get a period of time off if they're not being picked for their national teams," Partington added.

"Hopefully they can have that break to recover. This week will test their professionalism and their ability to recover and get over games quickly.

"I'd imagine in Prague on Thursday we'll see a completely different 11. The goalkeeper will change and the full backs. I'd imagine Bafode Diakite will come in, whether Antonio Silva has to play, he probably does. Lewis Cook will probably come back into the team. So it's almost a complete shift in the starting line-up."

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Sam Ashoo
Final Score reporter

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Having kept their sixth clean sheet in a row, Bournemouth can make a strong case for having the best defence in Europe right now.

A big part of that success is centre-back James Hill. The 24-year-old has featured in five of those six matches and has been excellent throughout.

His latest outing, Saturday's 2-0 win over Leeds, saw him deal comfortably, for the most part, with one of the league's trickiest strikers, Dominic Calvert-Lewin.

When Marcos Senesi left for Tottenham in the summer, some could have been forgiven for thinking it would take time for Bournemouth to find a solid new centre-back pairing. But Hill and Antonio Silva, who signed from Benfica in the summer, are proving quite the partnership.

Hill is yet to be called up by England, but if he keeps playing like this, it won't be long before Thomas Tuchel is on the phone.

Bournemouth manager Marco Rose, speaking to BBC Match of the Day: "We knew that it's going to be different today. Leeds are a really good opposition. They matched our intensity and have really good players in possession. They are physical, really hard to play and hard to beat. We came better and better, we scored the goals in the right moments and that's why we are quite happy today."

On his side trying to force errors: "We talk about it and it's always a plan of ours. It's part of our identity to be front footed. It's good if it's working out because then you get more confidence. We needed to score to gain confidence and today against a really good opposition."

On Evanilson: "That's what he did always. He was always hard working in and out of possession. The only thing he lacked was scoring by himself and that's what he's started now. I hope he's getting in a run because that's very important for us."

On seeing out victory: "We feel quite confident and you can see everyone is working hard to avoid chances for the opponent. In the Premier League, everything's possible. Then we had the quality to finish the game. I remember all the stories we had five or six weeks ago in a different situation. I'm quite happy we changed the momentum and finally rewarded ourselves."

On what's key to Bournemouth's defence: "Nothing special to be honest. We have our patterns, we know how to defend the box and we know what we have to do. We were just working on details. We stick to our plan, stick together. We are a little more alert in a couple of situations. It's about small things at this level, especially against such a good opposition like today."

Hear more from Rose on BBC Sounds here

Hit play below to hear Tyler Adams praising "incredible" Rose or listen on BBC Sounds here

Did you know?

• Evanilson is the first Brazilian player to score a Premier League goal on Halloween since Raphinha did so for Leeds against Norwich City in 2021 – the only other Brazilians to do so are Ramires and Philippe Coutinho, both on Halloween 2015.

• Bournemouth have won three consecutive Premier League games without conceding for the very first time.

Keifer MacDonald
BBC Sport journalist

Image source, Getty Images

It has been a fortnight like no other for Bournemouth.

Since earning a historic 3-0 victory over seven-time European champions AC Milan earlier this month, the Cherries have not looked back under new manager Marco Rose.

Following that emotional night at the Vitality Stadium that underlined just how far the club has come since being plunged into administration almost 20 years ago, Rose's side have added Premier League giants Manchester United, last season's Europa League winners Aston Villa and one of the league's meanest defences, Leeds United, to their impressive resume this season.

This victory against Leeds was far from vintage, with Bournemouth starting slowly and fortunate not to fall behind after Calvert-Lewin had a goal ruled out for accidental handball.

But after four matches in nine days, this was a run of fixtures focused on building momentum and putting points on the board for a side with no previous experience of balancing European football with the harsh demands of the Premier League.

Few have played a more prominent role in Bournemouth's four consecutive victories than Evanilson, who continued his fine form by making it four goals in as many games with a poacher's finish against Leeds.

The Brazilian has enjoyed mixed fortunes on the south coast since joining Bournemouth from FC Porto in a club-record deal in 2024. However, his goal against Leeds took his total number of goal contributions this term to eight - one more than he managed during the whole of last season.

Three more would see him match the 11 he managed in his impressive debut campaign, and with the Cherries flying, there is every reason to believe he can get there.

Whether you were at the game or following from elsewhere, we want to know what you learned.

Have your say on Bournemouth's performance

What did you make of Leeds' display?

Reaction and analysis to follow - and come back on Monday for a selection of your replies.

There are eight games in the Premier League on Saturday and BBC Sport will bring you every moment.

• Chelsea v Manchester United (12:30)

• Bournemouth v Leeds United

• Brentford v Nottingham Forest

• Coventry City v Sunderland - first half on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra 2, second half on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra

• Hull City v Ipswich Town

• Manchester City v Brighton - listen on BBC Radio 5 Live

• Tottenham v Crystal Palace (17:30) - listen on BBC Radio 5 Live

• Aston Villa v Fulham (20:00)

Kick-off times 15:00 GMT unless stated.

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Matt Jones
BBC Sport journalist

AFC Bournemouth's season has sparked into life and they will be looking to continue their positive form on Saturday (15:00 GMT) in the Premier League, with Leeds United the visitors to the Vitality Stadium.

After earning their first league win of the season against Sunderland a fortnight ago with a 2-0 home success, the Cherries have beaten AC Milan, Manchester United and Aston Villa by 3-0 scorelines in consecutive games across different competitions. In all competitions, they have won five in a row, scoring 14 goals and conceding none.

Leeds started the season superbly, although they have lost some momentum in recent weeks after failing to win any of their last four matches. Daniel Farke's side remain one of the most difficult teams to beat in the top flight, nevertheless.

Brazilian brilliance pushing Bournemouth forward

Even during their winless run at the start of the Premier League season, there was a sense that Bournemouth were not getting the rub of the green.

They have accrued nine points this season, which is 4.5 fewer than their expected goals for and against would suggest. In the expected goals standings, Marco Rose's side are in fifth place, whereas in reality they are 13th.

The form of their star forward Evanilson has been key to the team getting points on the board over the past fortnight. The 27-year-old, a £40m signing from Porto in the summer of 2024, is enjoying his best spell for the club so far, showcasing a creative edge to match his scoring prowess.

Evanilson has three goals and four assists in the top flight this season, giving him as many goal contributions as he managed in the entirety of the previous campaign. Only Erling Haaland, with nine goals, and Joao Pedro, with five goals and three assists, have been more productive than him in the Premier League in 2026-27.

The forward has been supported superbly by midfielder James Tavernier, who has netted five times in the top flight and six times in all competitions.

Lean pickings for Leeds' opponents

Leeds may lack a cutting edge in the final third at times – they have scored only nine goals in eight games – but they are rock-solid at the back. Only Arsenal, with five, have conceded fewer goals than Leeds, who have let in six.

Their defensive strength has been bolstered by the summer signings of goalkeeper James Trafford and centre-back Tarik Muharemovic.

Trafford has settled into life at Leeds quickly and has been one of the standout stoppers in the division. The England international has the highest save percentage in the Premier League this season (82.4%), the second-highest number of saves (30) and the third-highest number of goals prevented (1.9).

Muharemovic also looks to be a shrewd pick-up for Farke's side. The Bosnia and Herzegovina international has slotted in seamlessly on the left side of the three-man defence and has kept many a dangerous opponent quiet.

If Leeds are to stay in the hunt for European football, they will need to convert some of their dogged draws into wins. Five of their last seven games have ended in draws, while no team has drawn more matches in 2026 than the Whites, with 14.

Bournemouth are flying at the moment, with successive wins over Aston Villa, Manchester United and AC Milan.

Leeds are extremely well-structured, however, even if they are not free-scoring this season.

I am sure Daniel Farke would like his team to score more goals, but they don't give away a lot either.

Bournemouth are on a great run but I wonder how much the past week has taken out of them, and that makes me think Leeds could nick a point.

Sutton's prediction: 1-1

Read the full predictions and have your say here

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BBC Radio Leeds commentator Adam Pope has discussed Leeds' recent form with Ian Wilding ahead of Saturday's game at Bournemouth.

"Leeds are going well. There's no doubt about it, but there's a feeling just lately that they've let a few points go and that includes the Manchester United game and bottom of the table Sunderland," he said.

"The mitigating circumstances is that the first was a derby and they haven't been beaten by Manchester United in three games, and the elements were so inclement on Sunday at Sunderland that football was nigh impossible.

"So I think it's really hard to criticise Leeds for dropping points in those games.

"You don't want to be coming up against Bournemouth at the moment because the stats are frightening.

"Daniel Farke, he said that they are the form team, so I think we're in a situation where Leeds probably, if we're being realistic, could go in as you know less than favourites into this game definitely.

"[When]Tyler Adams [joined Leeds he] got injured and we never saw the best in Leeds plus he did leave for Bournemouth acrimoniously. It was really not a nice deal in the end the way it all went through.

"I think there is a bit of a bad taste and when he has played against Leeds United or been featured I think there's been a little bit of him trying to whip up the crowd a little bit as well.

"It hasn't surprised me that he's gone on to do OK. I think it was just injury really that stopped us seeing the best of him."

Listen on the link below or on BBC Sounds here.

Chelsea could have a deal worth about £90m agreed with Bournemouth for midfielder Alex Scott before January. (Mail - subscription required), external

Want more transfer stories? Read Friday's full gossip column

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Josh Lobley
BBC Sport journalist

Bournemouth boss Marco Rose has been speaking to the media before Saturday's Premier League game against Leeds at Vitality Stadium (kick-off 15:00 GMT).

Here are the key lines from his news conference:

• Rose says he is "really happy," to have Junior Kroupi back, but he still needs to build up his game time before he is ready to start.

• Alex Scott won't be in the squad for this weekend's match, but it "could be an option," to include him for the next league match against Ipswich.

• Rose explained: "When we have the international break, we have two weeks more to get him really fit. He is on the pitch, working hard and has no problems. He hasn't trained with the group so far but I am sure he will in the next couple of days - then we will see if we bring him to the squad before the break or after, to maybe be more reasonable."

• On the club's five-match winning streak: "It is [a phenomenal run] but the next challenge is waiting. Every win helps us to gain more confidence. I am quite pleased."

• He says that talks were held prior to this impressive run: "We had different talks about [different] topics; conceding too many goals, conceding set-pieces, and now we have five clean sheets in a row and have scored two or three goals in every game. It's about consistency, belief and momentum. That is football on the top level."

• On what has made it click recently: "I still think the lads adapted quite quickly to how we want to play. It helps that we haven't changed the approach in general, just details. Even in pre-season I felt we were in a good way, we just missed some situations and made individual mistakes. That is why we didn't get the results."

• On Saturday's opponents: "They are quite compact, really committed out of possession and intense. They are good in duels and have a good balance between simple solutions and a really good in-possession game. A good team and a tough challenge for us."

• On the weapons Daniel Farke's side possess: "Throw-ins and set-pieces. Dominic Calvert-Lewin is a top striker and it is really difficult to defend him. The wing-backs are really good and quite flexible and unpredictable."

Follow all of Thursday's Premier League news conferences and the rest of the day's football news

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We asked for your thoughts after Wednesday's Carabao Cup ties between Bournemouth and Aston Villa.

Here are some of your comments:

Bournemouth fans

Hugh: Showed rotation works with a strong squad. Great performance. Making it hard for the manager to pick a first team is good.

Tom: It is genuinely getting like Groundhog Day for the Cherries - go out midweek, win by two or more to nil, do the same at the weekend and repeat. We are in dream world. Hope to keep it up. Up the Cherries!

Malcolm: I have learned that whoever starts they have the trust of the manager and team-mates alike. The players know how Rose's system works and they execute the plan very well. Incoming players Soler, Juanlu and Diakite were all excellent and Rodriguez put in a shift up top. 3-0 is becoming a nice habit.

Graham: This squad of players fear no-one. Marco Rose has them playing well and this was another great result.

Aston Villa fans

Joe: Poor game from Villa and Bournemouth wanted it more than us. Would've been nice to get through to the quarter-finals but I think we need to focus on the league and the Champions League. However, I still don't think that is an excuse to play like that. I was glad to see Alysson coming on and making an impact once again. I hope this continues and that we can forget about this loss and focus forward.

Pammy: Absolutely pathetic performance and all the Villa faithful in attendance should get their hard-earned money back. Mr Emery, you might be untouchable but you got this is so wrong.

Prit: If on Saturday we saw the Dr Jekyll Aston Villa, this was very much Mr Hyde. Bournemouth had more desire, closed down our defenders, broke quickly and totally deserved the victory.

Rob: A lacklustre display from a depleted Villa team but it's hard to be annoyed when we play Barcelona at the Nou Camp next week. The League Cup is always the last priority for Unai and I'm surprised that he risked the likes of McGinn with any game time at all. The fact is we don't have a deep enough squad to compete on four fronts so we put a line through this one and move on.

Bournemouth's squad is "good enough" to win this season's Carabao Cup, says Cherries midfielder Lewis Cook.

Marco Rose's side beat Unai Emery's Aston Villa in the competition on Wednesday, and set up a quarter-final tie against Liverpool.

Rose made eight changes to the team that dismantled Manchester United last weekend and Cook believes his side got to show their impressive depth.

"Everyone who came into the team applied themselves and took the chance so, I think the squad's in a great spot right now and we're winning games - that's the main thing," Cook told BBC Radio Solent.

"I think he [Marco Rose] said before the game he's going to make changes but whoever plays deserves to play, and I think everyone played really well and it just shows where we're at as a team. We want everyone to do well."

Bournemouth owner Bill Foley, told talkSPORT last week, external that his number one ambition for the club is "to win a major trophy".

On Foley's comments, Cook added: "When Bill comes he always says how much he values us and he's proud of where we've come from but it's only the first steps so, as a club and as players we definitely want to try and win something.

"I think we've got a good enough squad for it so I think we'll give it our all and try and manage everything and take each game as it comes."

Hear the full interview above or on BBC Sounds here

Also hear from Cherries midfielder Amine Adli below and on Sounds

Hear from Marco Rose after Bournemouth's victory against Aston Villa in the EFL Cup.

Press play below or listen on BBC Sounds

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The draw for the EFL Cup quarter-finals has been completed:

Fleetwood Town v Everton or Newcastle

Manchester City v Bradford City

Crystal Palace v Sunderland

Liverpool v Bournemouth

The matches will be played in the week commencing 14 December.