Football writer Adrian Clarke identifies the key players, team tactics and where matches could be won and lost in Matchweek 5.
Team analysis: AFC Bournemouth
Three successive victories for Bournemouth mean they are currently enjoying their best start ever to a Premier League season.
Considering they sold three outstanding members of their back four during the summer, and lost their on-loan goalkeeper, that is a remarkable feat from head coach Andoni Iraola and his players.
How have they managed to kick off 2025/26 in such impressive fashion? Ahead of a home match against Newcastle United, Adrian Clarke takes a closer look.
Fast starts and a positive mentality
Scoring first, and scoring early, always helps and that has been one of the secrets to Bournemouth’s terrific start.
Marcus Tavernier scored inside four minutes at home to Wolverhampton Wanderers, Evanilson netted after five minutes at Tottenham Hotspur, while it took Alex Scott 18 minutes to bag the opener against Brighton & Hove Albion.
Iraola’s side have set out to dominate the early exchanges in each of their last three contests, stepping on to the front foot right from the outset.
These first-half stats tell the story of a side who want to fly out of the blocks and put opponents under pressure early.
Bournemouth's first-half attacking stats v opponent in last three matches
| Statistic | BHA (H) | TOT (A) | WOL (H) |
| Score | 1-0 | 1-0 | 1-0 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shots | 6-1 | 10-0 | 6-3 |
| Expected Goals | 0.33-0.05 | 0.74-0.00 | 0.72-0.18 |
| Touches in opp. box | 17-10 | 9-3 | 16-8 |
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The Cherries’ attacking nature knocks rival teams out of their stride.
Under Iraola, they relentlessly drive forward with purpose, even if it is on the counter-attack, and that desire to score goals always gives them a chance of winning matches.
Last season, and so far in 2025/26, Bournemouth rank fourth for shots attempted.
Most shots in PL, 24/25 and 25/26
| 2024/25 | 2025/26 | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Liverpool | 648 | Man Utd | 70 |
| Man City | 607 | Chelsea | 60 |
| Chelsea | 595 | Liverpool | 60 |
| Bournemouth | 581 | Bournemouth | 57 |
| Arsenal | 546 | Arsenal | 54 |
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A fixed identity
Iroala did not deviate once from his favoured 4-2-3-1 last season, using it in all 38 league games.
He experimented with a 4-1-4-1 in the first two matches of 2025/26 before moving back to a 4-2-3-1 in the last couple of outings, but in truth both systems are similar and open to interpretation.
This familiarity allows the players to become comfortable in their roles, and the clear vision of Iraola’s tactical approach is a major plus.
They play direct, positive football as discussed, but it consistently stems from an insatiable work ethic out of possession in every match.
Aggressive and ferocious in the way they press, Bournemouth are masters at turning the ball over before springing their attacks.
Bournemouth's attacking and defensive stats, 25/26
| Statistic | Total | PL rank |
| Direct attacks | 9 | 1st |
|---|---|---|
| Pressed sequences | 49 | 2nd |
| PPDA* | 9.8 | 2nd |
| Tackles | 78 | =2nd |
| Recoveries | 195 | 2nd |
| High turnovers | 29 | 3rd |
| Shot-ending turnovers | 6 | =3rd |
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*Passes Allowed Per Defensive Action (PPDA) is the number of opposition passes the pressing team allow before making a defensive action to win the ball back
This way of playing came to the fore against Wolves as you can see below, when Tyler Adams produced a fabulous challenge on Jean-Ricner Bellegarde, and from that tackle, Tavernier scored from Antoine Semenyo’s pass.
Eddie Howe’s Newcastle will be very wary of this super strength.
When these two sides last met at St James’ Park in January, the Cherries’ pressing game caused the hosts huge problems in an impressive 4-1 success.
Coping with key departures
The latest transfer window saw Iraola’s defensive options decimated, with his first-choice central defenders and left-back all moving on to European giants.
High-profile departures under Iraola
| Players | Club | Position |
| Illia Zabarnyi | PSG (2025) | DEF |
|---|---|---|
| Dean Huijsen | Real Madrid (2025) | DEF |
| Milos Kerkez | Liverpool (2025) | DEF |
| Dango Ouattara | Brentford (2025) | FWD |
| Jaidon Anthony | Burnley (2025) | FWD |
| Philip Billing | FC Midtjylland (2025) | MID |
| Chris Mepham | West Brom (2025) | DEF |
| Dominic Solanke | Spurs (2024) | FWD |
| Kieffer Moore | Sheff Utd (2024) | FWD |
| Lloyd Kelly | Newcastle (2024) | DEF |
| Jefferson Lerma | Crystal Palace (2023) | MID |
These are extremely difficult players to replace, but the Cherries have taken it in their stride.
Adrien Truffert has been terrific at left-back while Marcos Senesi and new signing Bafode Diakite are also growing in confidence as a pair.
In Diakite’s absence, 18-year-old centre-back Veljko Milosavljevic was fabulous on his debut last weekend against Brighton.
He made nine clearances, three ball recoveries, an interception and a successful tackle, while also showing great recovery pace.
An eye for talent
Iraola’s exceptionally clear tactical identity helps greatly when they need to recruit replacements.
With the style and shape remaining unchanged, he can target individuals with very similar traits and qualities to those he has lost.
Bournemouth’s scouting set-up targets players who are usually under the age of 25.
Across the last two seasons they have identified developing talent and pounced to sign them very quickly.
Dean Huijsen, now at Real Madrid, is a great example of that, joining them after making just 15 Serie A appearances for Juventus and Roma.
They will be hoping Eli Kroupi (64 first-team appearances for Lorient), Milosavljevic (36 first-team appearances), Ben Gannon-Doak (37 first-team appearances) and loanee Alex Jimenez (26 Serie A appearances) are similar gambles that pay off.
Semenyo the star man
It has been a blistering start to 2025/26 for exciting winger Semenyo.
He scored twice at Liverpool in Matchweek 1, a virtuoso individual display packed with power and pace, and since then he has added two assists and a goal from the penalty spot.
Semenyo's goal involvements this season
Last season only Mohamed Salah and Cole Palmer had more shots than Semenyo, so his form is not a huge surprise.
Yet when you look at where he ranks in multiple categories, it is impossible to argue that he is not one of the players of the season so far.
Semenyo's attacking stats, 25/26
| Statistic | Total | PL rank |
| Goals and assists | 5 | =1st |
|---|---|---|
| Expected Goals | 2.67 | 2nd |
| Shots inside box | 11 | 2nd |
| Shots | 12 | =2nd |
| Dribbles completed | 9 | 3rd |
| Chances created in open play | 7 | =4th |
Newcastle cannot be sure of where Semenyo will play or pop up during the course of the match this weekend, so making plans to curtail his influence will not be easy.
The Ghanaian's touch map this season highlights how varied his positioning has been.
Semenyo's touch map, 25/26
He is possibly more creative off the left wing (as shown below), with David Brooks used on the right.
Yet his unforgettable brace against Liverpool, and his assist for Scott came in matches where he was used on the opposite flank.
So until kick-off, Howe and his Magpies side are unlikely to be sure where Bournemouth’s key man is going to feature.
Holding that tactical card up his sleeve is a fine margin plus for the astute Iraola.
While it may be difficult to sustain a 75 per cent win rate, Bournemouth should feel very proud of the start they have made.
Most teams that lose so many key players at once from one department would have suffered more, but the Cherries’ long-term strategy and clear tactical blueprint has made them impressively robust.
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