English Premier
2026-02-28 - Bournemouth vs Sunderland
A Sports Betting Pick by Auls
Football: English Premier League
Saturday 28th February 2026 - Kick Off 12:30pm
This game is live on TV
Bournemouth
They may not have been at their best last time out, but Bournemouth picked up another point and there has to be a real belief within the squad that they can push into one of the European spots. Chasing down the top six may be difficult, but Bournemouth are in a position to attack 7th place and that should be good enough to bring European Football to the Vitality Stadium for the first time.
The Cherries are currently 8th in the Premier League table and 2 points behind Brentford in 7th, although this is a competitive portion of the Division and there are 3 points between Bournemouth and 13th placed Crystal Palace. The side have a 6-5-2 record at home in the top flight and finishing up strongly here is going to be very important for Andoni Iraola's team.
Bournemouth battled for the goalless draw at the London Stadium last weekend and they are now unbeaten in 8 in all competitions in normal time. They had won consecutive home games by the same 3-2 scoreline against Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool, but Bournemouth were unfortunate in being held to a 1-1 draw most recently by Aston Villa.
The squad is getting healthier, which will also be a positive as Bournemouth look for a strong end to the campaign.
Sunderland
The points on the board mean Sunderland are pretty comfortable with their current position in the Premier League and it has to be remembered that everyone associated with the club would have accepted a 17th place finish before the season began. Unsurprisingly there was always going to be a period when Sunderland struggled for some consistency and that is what Regis Le Bris is dealing with right now.
They have made good progress in the FA Cup and have a Fifth Round tie coming up, but Sunderland have struggled for Premier League form of late and have slipped to 12th in the standings. The Black Cats have a 2-4-7 away record in the Premier League and they have scored just 6 goals in those matches this season.
Sunderland have beaten Oxford United in the FA Cup Fourth Round, but they have won 1 of the last 5 Premier League games played around that tie and been beaten in the other 4. The one concern for the manager is that his team have begun to concede far too many goals following the 1-3 home loss to Fulham last Sunday, while Sunderland have lost 3 away Premier League games in a row in which they have conceded three goals each time.
Bertrand Traore and Dennis Cirkin are both doubts, while Reinildo has been ruled out until close to the March international break. Last Sunday was not only a difficult day because of the result, but the likes of Nordi Mukiele and Brian Brobbey picked up knocks which leave them doubtful.
Head to Head
Bournemouth led 0-2 at the Stadium of Light with 15 minutes played, but Sunderland overwhelmed them in a 3-2 victory.
Bournemouth have hosted Sunderland 5 times and lost 4, including the last fixture here in November 2016 that ended 1-2 in favour of the visitors.
Prediction
This is not the easiest fixture to predict and the pricing for a home win and for at least three goals to be shared out are very similar.
You can make an argument for goals to be scored having produced five when the teams met in the North East in November.
Both Bournemouth and Sunderland have looked vulnerable when teams have gotten forward and attacked them, but they have also been creating chances and that does offer encouragement.
However, it may actually make more sense to back Bournemouth to win as the hosts and with a squad that is looking much healthier than the one Regis Le Bris will be bringing down to the South Coast.
Bournemouth have been scoring a lot of goals at home in recent games and they will get forward and use pace and power in the final third to test this Sunderland rearguard. They will also be well aware that Sunderland have just not looked as secure in recent weeks and they have conceded at least three goals in 4 of the last 7 Premier League games played.
That includes in each of the last 3 away League fixtures and Bournemouth can certainly expose that here.
Scoring twice may be enough to earn the three points when you think Sunderland have scored just 6 top flight away goals all season.
Injuries at both ends of the field are problematic for Sunderland and the manager may not want to risk those carrying knocks.
This could just leave Sunderland a little short and Bournemouth have picked up their levels in recent outings to believe they may have enough to earn three points to remain firmly in the hunt for European Football come the end of the season.
The Statistics :
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The Pick :
Bournemouth 2-0 Sunderland
