AFC Bournemouth vs Aston Villa LIVE: Premier League result, final score and reaction
Bournemouth 2-2 Aston Villa: Ollie Watkins hit a late equaliser as Unai Emery’s side stole a point on the south coast
A late goal from Ollie Watkins grabbed a point for Aston Villa in a 2-2 draw at Bournemouth after a pulsating, end-to-end Premier League clash.
Bournemouth took the lead in the 10th minute through Antoine Semenyo but Villa levelled 10 minutes later when Leon Bailey jinked inside Milos Kerkez before lashing the ball across Neto and in at the far post.
Villa had a first-half goal chalked off for offside and Dominic Solanke looked to have sealed the deal for Bournemouth seven minutes into the second half, but as the clock ticked up towards 90 minutes Watkins steered home a brilliant header to take a share of the points.
The result keeps Villa in fourth place in the table on 29 points after 14 games, while the Cherries remain above the relegation zone in 16th spot on 13 points.
AFC Bournemouth vs Aston Villa
As two in-form teams prepare to lock horns, the players are out on the pitch, and kick-off is now just moments away!
AFC Bournemouth vs Aston Villa
By contrast, Aston Villa make sweeping changes to the team that started against Legia Warsaw three days ago: only Ezri Konsa, Youri Tielemans, Douglas Luiz and captain John McGinn keep their places. First-choice goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez joins Diego Carlos, Ollie Watkins, Lucas Digne, Pau Torres, Nicolo Zaniolo and Leon Bailey in returning to the side.
AFC Bournemouth vs Aston Villa
After Lloyd Kelly limped off against Sheffield United last time out, Milos Kerkez comes into Bournemouth's starting XI today, in the Cherries' only change from last week. Tyler Adams, Max Aarons, Alex Scott and Ryan Fredericks are among several players still unavailable to Iraola today.
AFC Bournemouth vs Aston Villa
SUBS: Robin Olsen, Matty Cash, Jacob Ramsey, Moussa Diaby, Alex Moreno, Jhon Duran, Tim Iroegbunam, Leander Dendoncker, Clement Lenglet.
AFC Bournemouth vs Aston Villa
ASTON VILLA (4-4-2): Emiliano Martinez; Ezri Konsa, Diego Carlos, Pau Torres, Lucas Digne; Leon Bailey, Youri Tielemans, Douglas Luiz, John McGinn; Nicolo Zaniolo, Ollie Watkins.
AFC Bournemouth vs Aston Villa
SUBS: Mark Travers, Luis Sinisterra, Joe Rothwell, Chris Mepham, Kieffer Moore, David Brooks, Hamed Traore, Philip Billing, Dango Ouattara.
AFC Bournemouth vs Aston Villa
BOURNEMOUTH (4-2-3-1): Neto; Adam Smith, Marcos Senesi, Illia Zabarnyi, Milos Kerkez; Lewis Cook, Ryan Christie; Marcus Tavernier, Justin Kluivert, Antoine Semenyo; Dominic Solanke.
AFC Bournemouth vs Aston Villa
Fresh from ensuring their place in the Europa Conference League's knockout phase, Aston Villa arrive on the south coast having won no less than nine of their last 11 matches in all competitions. Unai Emery's men edged out Legia Warsaw on Thursday, thereby confirming a top-two finish in Group E with one game to spare, having beaten Tottenham a few days earlier. Victory over Spurs saw Villa leapfrog their hosts into fourth place in the Premier League standings, representing the Birmingham club's best position at this stage of a season since 2009.
AFC Bournemouth vs Aston Villa
Bournemouth secured back-to-back wins by seeing off Sheffield United last weekend, when Andoni Iraola's side added a 3-1 victory to their shock defeat of Newcastle United earlier in November. As a result, the Cherries have posted three wins from their last four Premier League games and sit 16th in the table, five points above the relegation zone. It has been over five years since Bournemouth enjoyed a three-match success streak in the top flight, but another win today would both achieve that feat and lift them closer to several sides in mid-table.
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