Chris Sutton shares Antoine Semenyo dilemma as Sunderland vs Bournemouth prediction made
Chris Sutton, unsurprisingly, thinks that Sunderland will fail to win against Bournemouth on Saturday.
The Stadium of Light will host Sunderland’s clash with Bournemouth this weekend, with both sides looking to get back to winning ways.
Raul Jimenez scored the winner for Fulham in a 1-0 win over the Black Cats, while former Sunderland loanee Antoine Semenyo was absent as the Cherries came from 2-0 down to secure a draw against West Ham.
However, his absence on Saturday could prove key for Bournemouth after the latest injury news.
Sunderland predicted to lose, again…
Sutton really has had it in for Sunderland this season, and it is no different this time around.
Via BBC Sport, he has predicted a 2-1 win for Bournemouth, though he reiterated how it may depend on whether or not Semenyo is fit.
“Bournemouth have had a few injuries, which might explain their drop in form, and what happens here might depend on whether key forward Antoine Semenyo is able to return for them,” he said.
“He missed last week’s draw with West Ham with illness and also has an ankle problem, but without him, his side still came back from 2-0 down to take a point – another result I got wrong.
After failing on loan at Sunderland, Semenyo has become one of the best attackers in the Premier League, and the Black Cats will be hoping he misses out.
So far this season, he has scored six and assisted three, having registered 19 total goal contributions in the previous campaign.
However, with or without him, Bournemouth have some serious attacking quality that the Black Cats will have to deal with far better than they did last time out against Fulham.
Who else should Sunderland be wary of?
While Semenyo usually takes all of the headlines, Andoni Iraola has plenty of attacking talent at his disposal.
Junior Kroupi has four goals in 10 Premier League appearances this season, having joined from Regis Le Bris‘ former side, Lorient, in the summer.
Despite having scored just one this season, Evanilson also poses a threat in and around the penalty area, with Dan Ballard likely to have to be at the top of his game to nullify his attacking qualities.
Saturday’s encounter will be a tough one, but as Sunderland have already shown, they have the ability to match most teams in the top flight.
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