Bournemouth face Sunderland in the Premier League on Sunday, when Cherries boss Marco Rose is hoping to claim his first victory in the English top flight.
Rose has overseen a successful start to Bournemouth's UEFA Europa League campaign, beating Real Sociedad 2-1 and Sturm Graz 3-0.
Sunderland also have six points from two UEFA Europa League games.
However, Sunday's rivals have won only one of their combined 12 matches in the Premier League – the Black Cats' 1-0 home victory over struggling Fulham in August.
Bournemouth v Sunderland Tips Summary
Best Bet - Draw @ 12/5
Alternative Bet - Rayan to score @ 13/5
Bet Builder - 1st Half Draw, Marcus Tavernier 1+ shot on target & Adam Smith to be booked @ 11/1
Bournemouth v Sunderland Prediction
Best Bet: Draw @ 12/5
Bournemouth and Sunderland must cope with the demands of European football this season so putting early points on the board in the Premier League is vital for both clubs.
Marco Rose's Cherries have yet to win in the league although their first six matches included tough fixtures against Manchester City, Brentford, Liverpool and Chelsea.
Bournemouth are expected to break their duck against Sunderland this weekend but the Black Cats should be backed to grind out a draw.
Regis Le Bris made seven changes for Thursday's Europa League trip to Torreense, who play in the Portuguese second division.
That selection gamble looked as though it might backfire as the Black Cats trailed 1-0 until the 67th minute but an injury-time Noah Sadiki goal secured a 2-1 win.
Sunderland started the weekend in 17th place, one spot above Bournemouth, having also had a difficult set of fixtures.
They lost to Arsenal, Manchester City and Brighton – the top three in the table – in their last three league games but their first three matches were all tight contests.
Sunderland conceded in the 90th minute to lose 2-1 at Ipswich, beat Fulham 1-0 at home and played well in a 1-1 draw at in-form Brentford.
Bournemouth have drawn three of their first six league matches under Rose and six of their last seven home games under Andoni Iraola in 2025/26 also finished level.
One of those was a 1-1 draw with Sunderland at the end of February and the teams could be hard to separate again on Sunday.
Alternative Bet: Rayan to score @ 13/5
Bournemouth are missing injured England midfielder Alex Scott and last season's top scorer Eli Junior Kroupi so there is additional responsibility on Brazilian forward Rayan.
He missed a couple of one-on-one chances in the first half of last weekend's 5-1 loss at Chelsea but made amends against Sturm Graz in the UEFA Europa League.
Rayan came off the bench to score the Cherries' second goal on Thursday, having also found the net against Real Sociedad on matchday one.
He has yet to score in the Premier League but should open his account soon.
The youngster scored as a substitute in September's 4-0 EFL Cup win over Lincoln before claiming his second international goal in Brazil's friendly against Australia later in the month.
Rayan fired 10 shots in the home draws with Everton and Brentford and looks a good bet to score at any time against Sunderland.
Bournemouth v Sunderland Bet Builder Tip
- 1st Half Draw
- Marcus Tavernier 1+ shot on target
- Adam Smith to be booked
Pays 11/1
Sunderland's matches this season have been slow-burning affairs. They trailed Torreense 1-0 at the break on Thursday and the 1st Half Draw was a winning bet in seven of their previous eight games.
Bournemouth's Marcus Tavernier has had eight shots on target in six league starts this term and is a leading candidate to take penalties and direct free kicks for the Cherries.
Veteran right-back Adam Smith has already picked up three yellow cards in 2026/27 – two of them in Bournemouth's home draws with Everton and Brentford.
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Key Match Stats
- Seven of Bournemouth's nine games this season produced over 2.5 goals
- Evanilson has registered three assists in six league starts this term
- Both teams scored in five of Bournemouth's six Premier League matches
- Sunderland have lost four of their first six league games
- Three of the Black Cats' four victories this term were by a 1-0 scoreline
- Malick Fofana has had seven shots in 173 minutes of league action for Lyon and Sunderland
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This article was written by a partner sports writer via Spotlight Sports Group. All odds displayed on this page were correct at the time of writing and are subject to withdrawal or change at any time.
