Image source, Getty ImagesOnly Liverpool (12) are on a longer ongoing unbeaten run in their opening game of a Premier League season than Bournemouth, with the Cherries unbeaten in their past five such games (W2 D3).
Adam Millington
BBC Sport journalist
Image source, Getty ImagesAntoine Semenyo filled in as Bournemouth's central attacker against Nottingham Forest
Cherries boss Andoni Iraola will be pleased that his side were persistent in their battle to prevent defeat against Nottingham Forest and managed a point in their opening Premier League game.
But there were clearly still elements of his side's performance that need improving and they lacked a quality final product on Saturday.
Evanilson, who became the club's record signing on Friday, was unable to feature and Antoine Semenyo took his place as the central striker - a role he plays for Ghana, although Iraola prefers to use him as a winger.
Semenyo's position was a necessity given the lack of star striker Dominic Solanke following his move to Tottenham and he was in the right place to bundle home as Forest made a mess of clearing a corner.
Yet the boost Evanilson could provide was definitely clear: apart from a scrappy equaliser, there was little else in the way of firepower in the final third.
They definitely produced chances and were markedly improved after a poor first-half showing. With an stronger focal point up top, they could better capitalise on their creative efforts.
Image source, Getty ImagesAndoni Iraola spoke to BBC Match of the Day after Bournemouth's draw with Nottingham Forest: "I am probably pleased because you score at the end and you feel like you recovered one point. At the end we level the game. We probably had more chances but from set-pieces they are difficult. I think in the end it is fair.
"We had the momentum and we were pushing a lot, I could feel the win was close. But unluckily for us we didn't put it in, we have to live with the point.
"We were quite consistent. The level of the game was quite low, especially with the injury to Danilo. The game was quite slow.
"We didn't have a specific number nine and were changing a lot of times. I think we dealt quite well, right now we have to push and everyone has to adapt to the situation."
On Dean Huijsen's debut: "I think it was very good. It was a very difficult game for him in this atmosphere against Chris Wood, you know he will put you under pressure. He did very well. It was a good performance and he has to build on this."
Were you at the game or following from elsewhere?
Nottingham Forest fans, send us your thoughts, external
What did you make of it, Bournemouth supporters?, external
Come back to this page on Monday to find a selection of your replies
There are six games on the opening Saturday of the 2024-25 Premier League and BBC Sport will bring you all the action and reaction throughout the day.
*All times are BST
A new season, and a new challenge for BBC Sport's prediction expert Chris Sutton.
Sutton faced off against a guest for each of the 38 game weeks in 2023-24 and triumphed 21-10 (with seven draws) to secure his second predictions title in a row.
He will have a guest each week this time too, but now you can find out if you can do any better.
Sutton's opponent for the opening round of games is The Courteeners frontman Liam Fray.
Sutton's prediction: 2-1
I was wondering how Bournemouth would replace Dominic Solanke's goals and then the news broke about them bringing in Brazil striker Evanilson from Porto, which is an exciting signing for their fans.
Things have been relatively quiet at Nottingham Forest compared to what usually happens with the ins and outs there each summer, and hopefully there will be less drama when the season starts too.
I supported Forest as a boy so I always want them to do well, and I do think they will crack the Premier League eventually, and have a smoother ride. Maybe it will be this year.
Bournemouth won 3-2 at the City Ground in December, with Solanke completing his hat-trick with a stoppage-time winner after Forest had been reduced to 10 men just 23 minutes into Nuno Espirito Santo's first game as Forest boss.
I don't see this game having quite so many thrills and spills, and I am going for Forest to edge it.
Liam's prediction: 1-2
Forest are going to be bobbing around the relegation zone again and I fancy an away win here. Bournemouth will miss Solanke but they played some good football last season.
Josh Lobley
BBC Sport Researcher
Bournemouth boss Andoni Iraola has been speaking to the media before Saturday's Premier League game against Nottingham Forest (kick-off 15:00 BST).
Here are the key lines from his news conference:
On the move for Porto striker Evanilson, Iraola said: "The player is here and is going through the medical stuff. There is a lot of paperwork to do so nothing is finished. We hope we can finish the deal."
More on the Brazilian: "He's a proper number nine who has experience of playing at a high level. I think he can help us to fill the hole that Dom [Solanke] left. You have to replace as well as you can, and I think the club has gone through the plan and done the right thing."
On the completed singing Julian Araujo: "He is an offensive full-back. His profile fits us very well, he's physical and can sustain the high rhythm we want to impose. He's trained really well this week and I hope he can help us."
On full-back depth: "Right now we have three right-backs and one left-back. Adam [Smith] has experience at left-back and even Max Aarons has played there. I think we could make it work, but we'll see how the transfer market finishes."
Iraola highlighted Morgan Gibbs-White, Anthony Elanga and Chris Wood as Nottingham Forest's biggest threats: "They've signed some players, but the core of their group has stayed the same, a little bit like us. They put a lot of pressure on and we have to be ready."
Follow all of Friday's Premier League news conferences and the rest of the day's football news
Image source, Getty ImagesBournemouth midfielder Romain Faivre has joined French club Brest on a season-long loan deal.
He made six substitute appearances for the Cherries last term, having spent the first half of the campaign on loan at Lorient.
Brest finished third in the French top flight last season and will compete in this season's Champions League.
We asked for your views on Evanilson, who is set to join the Cherries for a club record £40.2m.
Here are some of your comments:
Keith: Spending so much money on one player with no Premier League experience sounds very scary but equally very exciting - if it works!
Mark: This is certainly the marquee signing we were looking for. Maybe a risk compared with Eddie Nketiah but to have a Brazil forward is a bold move in keeping with Bill Foley's ambition.
Noel: This is a great signing. I think he will fit Andoni Iraola's style. We just need a new song for him.
Mark: Good experience at Porto and has proved he can score at the top level. Puts himself about as well so should fit in pretty well and hopefully from the start. Time will tell, as it did with Dominic Solanke.
Simon: We are signing a Brazilian international striker. I'm still living the dream!
Chris Collinson
BBC Sport statistician
Bournemouth failed to win any of their first nine Premier League games following the appointment of Andoni Iraola at the start of last season.
Once they got that first league victory, they ranked highly in many statistical metrics for the remainder of the season.
The Cherries have sold leading scorer Dominic Solanke to Tottenham this summer. However, with Porto's Evanilson set to arrive as his big-money replacement, can Iraola's side continue their upward trajectory in 2024-25?
Bournemouth fans, with Brazilian striker Evanilson set to fly in for a medical today, how do you feel about the club agreeing a record £40.2m deal to sign the 24-year-old?
Here are his stats in comparison to Dominic Solanke, with Solanke scoring more in two of the last three seasons. Solanke's 29 goals in 2021-22 did come in the Championship to help Bournemouth to promotion.
Are you happy with Evanilson coming in? Or would you have liked the club to have gone for someone else?
It's that time of the year again - the annual act of foolishness in which I try to predict the outcome of the 2024-25 season for all 20 Premier League clubs.
Bournemouth - 14th
The loss of Dominic Solanke, who provided 19 Premier League goals last season, was a bitter blow to the Cherries but under the guidance of manager Andoni Iraola there will still be optimism on the south coast.
Iraola provided a measured, calm response to a dreadful start last season by sticking to his pressing principles and Bournemouth improved.
Solanke's departure will increase responsibility on Antoine Semenyo and more consistency will be expected from Luis Sinisterra now he has made a permanent £20m move from Leeds United after a loan spell.
Could be anxious times ahead but expect the Cherries, under Iraola, to survive.
Image source, Getty ImagesThe draw for the second round of the Carabao Cup has been made.
Here is the list of the ties - which are split into southern and northern sections - involving Premier League clubs:
South
AFC Wimbledon v Ipswich Town
Brighton & Hove Albion v Crawley Town
Birmingham City v Fulham
Cardiff City v Southampton
Colchester United v Brentford
Crystal Palace v Norwich City
West Ham United v Bournemouth
North
Everton v Doncaster Rovers
Nottingham Forest v Newcastle United
Leicester City v Tranmere Rovers
Wolverhampton Wanderers v Burnley
The games will take place in w/c 26 August.
Mark Mitchener
BBC Sport Senior Journalist
Bournemouth go into the new season looking for a new centre-forward after a summer of speculation over Dominic Solanke's future concluded with his sale to Tottenham last week.
I wrote on this page in February that "an eye-watering summer bid for a player close to the peak of his resale value might be reluctantly accepted" and the Cherries held firm for a club record deal that could eventually be worth the full £65m specified in the release clause in Solanke's contract - although a sell-on percentage passes to Liverpool.
Owner Bill Foley told BBC Sport last month that "two or three candidates" were lined up if Solanke departed, and although a direct replacement has yet to arrive, Bournemouth have a fortnight before the transfer window closes.
While Daniel Jebbison, 21 this week, was signed from Sheffield United as one for the future with the expectation that he would probably be loaned out this season, Iraola has used pre-season as an audition to make his case for being part of the first-team squad.
And with Enes Unal missing the start of the season with the foot injury that ruled him out of Euro 2024, Jebbison may have to stick around for now.
After a slow start last season as the squad adjusted to new boss Andoni Iraola's style of play, Bournemouth will hope to hit the ground running this term.
Unbeaten in pre-season, they have continued to recruit exciting new players from Europe in defensive duo Dean Huijsen from Juventus and Julian Araujo from Barcelona.
They will dare to dream that the right signing up front could bring the top-half finish which Foley craves.
We asked for your views on Bournemouth's newest signing Julian Araujo, after the 23-year-old joined the Cherries on a five-year deal.
Here are some of your comments:
Charl: This is exactly the type of player Bournemouth should be signing. He has a wealth of experience at the highest level, yet he is relatively young and has his best years to come. He seems a great prospect. Now we need to offload Romain Faivre and Dango Ouattara, and sign the Brazilian from Porto. Job done!
Keith: At 23 years old, Julian needs a club to flourish at and AFC Bournemouth will provide him with that opportunity.
Tony: It is good to see that we are bringing in some young talent at a very cheap price, but I do worry that we have a lot of players in the same position. We already have a lot of depth, so we should be looking at the areas that we need to strengthen - such as strikers and goalkeepers.
Andrew: He seems like a fine addition. I'm looking forward to seeing him play. A warm welcome to Araujo!
Geoff: This is an exciting signing so clearly someone other than Chris Mepham must be on the move. Personally, I think a proven striker coming in should be the current priority.
Image source, Getty ImagesNew Bournemouth signing Julian Araujo says Cherries fans "will never see me back down" in his first interview at the club.
Right-back Araujo's move from Barcelona was confirmed on Tuesday and a chat with manager Andoni Iraola was key behind the 23-year-old deciding to make the move.
"That was one of the most important things for me," he told club media.
"When I had the conversation with him [Iraola] he explained his formation and how he could see me on his team.
"I was very excited - he likes the outside backs to attack and defend. I watched some games last year and I know you guys had a very successful one and want to build off that. I'm happy to be here and hopefully I can provide and add to that."
Araujo signed for Barcelona from LA Galaxy last summer but spent the season on loan at fellow La Liga side Las Palmas, where he made 25 league appearances.
"I played a lot of games and got a lot of minutes under a very good coach at Las Palmas. It was very exciting time there. It was a step needed in my career coming from MLS - it was the right step," he added.
"It was a lot of possession. I think I grew on and off the pitch. I'm a guy who likes to lead. I'm very confident so I want to bring happiness and enjoy every day as much as we can.
"You guys will get everything out of me. I will ride for this team. I will be myself. You will never see me back down and I will give my all for the team."
