Premier League updates from the 2pm GMT kick-offPearson’s plain speaking and tactical rejig reap rewards at WatfordAnd feel free to email Daniel or tweet @DanielHarris 2.01pm GMT 1 min Ake is playing at left-back, presumably so that instead of fighting with Deeney, he’s shackling Sarr. 2.01pm GMT 1 min Away we go! 1.59pm GMT Daryl Gurney’s walk-on plays as the players get ready. 1.58pm GMT Here they come! 1.57pm GMT “It’ll be a game of chess in terms of who’ll make the first move,” says Steph Houghton. Er, pretty sure that’s white. 1.56pm GMT The players gather in the tunnel. 1.55pm GMT Watford have had some well good kits. Here’s Nigel Callaghan in the 1984 Cup final, taking on the ABSOLUTELY HILARIOUS John Bailey. 1.51pm GMT Today is a big day for Dominic Solanke, who has one goal in 21 Bournemouth appearances. Howe can’t afford to keep picking a striker who doesn’t score, or at least can’t when his team is losing. On which point, when is David Brooks back? If it’s soon, that could be the difference between staying up and going down. 1.46pm GMT FOOTBALLESE QUIZ TIME: Graeme Souness thinks Nigel Pearson is someone you’d want. 1.45pm GMT “We’re effectively playing catch-up now,” says Pearson, which makes me think: has any gameshow achieved such lasting verncularial impact as Going for Gold? 1.42pm GMT Foster goes on to say that Pearson has got his side mentally prepared. When he came in, he was very quick “in and out”, telling players what he expected of them, and is a manger whereas previously Watford had had coaches. 1.38pm GMT Ben Foster tells Sky that Watford needed a rocket, and Pearson was that man. That man himself says he wanted the players to enjoy themselves and not worry about things going wrong. 1.36pm GMT Breaking: Andy Hinchcliffe reckons Ake being back is important for Bournemouth. More news as i get it. 1.34pm GMT On which point, Bournemouth’s two strikers have a big role to play today (and in other revelatory news, I think the first goal will be important). But it’s rare for centre-backs to have a man each to mark, and if Lerma or Gosling can make third-man runs, Watford will have a problem. 1.29pm GMT Looking more closely at that Watford team, it looks very physically imposing, but with no small amount of wit and imagination. I strongly fancy them today, though Bournemouth pose a threat if they can get the ball wide early. 1.25pm GMT Choking up here!Respect #BOUWAT pic.twitter.com/prObdg6p5g 1.18pm GMT Eddie Howe tells Sky that his club’s circumstance represents his biggest challenge in the Premier League, but also notes that it’s more or less like this every season, with his team forced to fight to stay up. He is clear that his team will seek to attack and get the crowd going, which reminds me that today’s match is the least-fearsome crowds derby. 1.16pm GMT As for Watford, they make two changes: Kabasele is suspended and Femenia is injured, so Mariappa and Mesina get a go. 1.15pm GMT So what does it all mean? Well, huge news four Bournemouth comes with the return of Nathan Ake, who replaces Chris Mepham; at left-back, Adam Smith returns from an injury to his moral sentiments, Diego Rico dropping out; and in goal, Mark Travers replaces the minorly hamstrung Aaron Ramsdale. 1.08pm GMT AFC Bournemouth (a genteel 4-4-flipping-2): Travers; Francis, Cook S, Ake, Smith; Wilson H, Lerma, Gosling, Fraser; Wilson C, Solanke. Subs: Boruc, Surman, Cook L, Rico, Simpson, Billing, Surridge. Watford (an ungenteel 4-2-3-1): Foster; Mariappa, Dawson, Cathcart, Masina; Chalobah, Capoue; Sarr, Doucoure, Deulofeu; Deeney. Subs: Gomes, Gray, Quina, Success, Dele-Bashiru, Holebas, Pereyra. 12.04pm GMT He may call his dad “Son”; his real name may be “Nigel Pear”; but you’d have to be an absolute ostrich not to grasp that “Nigel Pearson” knows something. Claudio Ranieri may have bought pizza and such, but it was not him who built Leicester’s ludicrous league winners. As such, Watford’s recent improvement is no remote surprise. They have enough good players to stay up, and now they have a manager able to identify and arrange them in mutually advantageous manner. It would be a surprise were they to go down. Continue readingreadfullarticle
