Standouts for Bournemouth as they remain in the Premier League

There have been several surprise packets this Premier League season, with Arsenal’s tilt at the title, Newcastle United’slikely top four finish, and Chelsea and Leicester City’s abysmal season just a few. As a result, if you’re a fan of a Premier League club, picking where you will finish in the league table hasn’t been the easiest of tasks.

One group of fans who will be particularly pleased with how their 2022/23 campaign has panned out is Bournemouth. After being promoted from the Championship, the Dorset-based outfit were favoured with those who bet at the beginning of the season to be relegated.

However, with just two fixtures remaining (at the time of writing), Bournemouth are clear of the relegation zone and have booked their spot in the Premier League for at least another season. While it hasn’t been the most successful of campaigns, of which includes 11 wins, 19 losses and six draws, they can take a lot of confidence away from finishing above traditional league heavyweights Everton, Leeds United and Leicester City – all three of whom are garnering a short price in the premier league relegation odds to join Southampton in the Championship next season.

Their ability to remain in the top-flight is down to a myriad of factors, but it’s the performances of their key members in crucial games that is the biggest reason they have avoided going down.

With that in mind, read on as we dissect the standouts for Bournemouth throughout the 2022/23 season to date.

Dominic Solanke

Coming off the back of an incredible Championship season in which he netted 29 goals and bagged six assists, striker Dominic Solanke came into the Premier League with plenty of expectation. While his statistics this season aren’t as staggering as they were in England’s second-tier competition, he has still been an ever-present threat upfront for the Cherries.

The 25-year-old has scored on six occasions this season, to go along with seven assists. It was Solanke’s performance against Tottenham Hotspur which particularly stood out, as he had a hand in all three of Bournemouth’s goals en route to a 3-2 victory away from home.

Philip Billing

Another player who had plenty of expectation heading into this season was midfielder Philip Billing, whose 10 goals and 10 assists in the Championship last season impressed fans and pundits alike. Similarly to Solanke, as expected, his numbers in the top-flight aren’t as eyepopping as they were in the league below – with seven goals and one assist to his name.

However, those compact statistics don’t tell the full story. When looking at the detailed stats, Billing has been an exceptional facilitator and great on the defensive side of the ball. With 77% of accurate passes, 64% of his aerial battleswon and more than half of his overall defensive duels won, the Danish 26-year-old has been having an enormous impact on his team’s fortunes every week.

Gary O’Neill

Arguably the biggest standout for Bournemouth this season has been their manager Gary O’Neill. After taking over the role in August of last year, many felt it was inevitable that the Cherries would be relegated at the conclusion of the 2022/23 campaign. Couple that with the fact that he has had to deal with a number of injuries to his key players, and O’Neill could be forgiven if he was unable to lead this team to another year in the Premier League.

However, he has managed to do just that, and given the prospects at the beginning of this season – avoiding relegation should not be seen as anything other than a success for the club.