Bournemouth

• Tottenham have scored 32 goals in 13 Premier League games against Bournemouth, with their average of 2.5 goals-per-game against the Cherries their highest of any side they’ve faced at least 10 times.

• Bournemouth won this fixture 3-2 last season, having lost each of their first five away games against Tottenham in the Premier League.

• Having failed to score in their first two Premier League home games of 2023, Tottenham have now scored in each of their past 18 at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. However, they’ve conceded three or more goals (3 times) more often they’ve scored three or more goals (twice) at home in the league this year.

• Bournemouth have won six of their past seven Premier League games (D1), scoring at least twice in each match. It's their longest ever run of scoring more than one goals in the competition and they could also win five consecutive top-flight matches for the very first time.

• Dominic Solanke has scored eight goals in his past seven Premier League games, and has netted in three in a row for the first time in the competition.

• Only Joshua King (16 in 2016-17) and Callum Wilson (14 in 2018-19) have scored more for Bournemouth in a single Premier League campaign than Solanke this term (12), while he could become just the second Cherries player to score in four in a row in the competition after Wilson in September 2019.

There is plenty of live football to listen to across the BBC in the final weekend of 2023.

Tune into BBC Radio 5 Live and BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra for match commentary on four Premier League games in the run up to the new year.

Katie Catherall, BBC Sport

Andoni Iraola has been speaking to the media before Bournemouth's game against Tottenham in the Premier League on Sunday.

Here are the key lines from his news conference:

• Iraola confirmed Hamed Traore is recovering after being hospitalised with malaria: "He is recovering better. The past few weeks have been tough for him. The disease makes you very weak, he will lose out on Afcon and some time for us too. I have to see what the medical staff say, but it could be months before he is back."

• He was asked whether Milos Kerkez, Lloyd Kelly or Lewis Cook could return following injury, stating: "The only one with some chance to play could be Lewis, it’s not going to be easy. Milos and Lloyd will be out for sure until after the break."

• Iraola said he is not worried about new injuries appearing and that everyone seemed fit after the Fulham game.

• On choosing Cook or Alex Scott: "It's good to have these sort of problems. We have a lot of options for wingers, people are having good performances. Now that Alex is playing we have decisions."

• On whether Max Aarons is ready to start: "He could start, he has been training with the team."

• The team are on track to set a record for the most consecutive wins in the club's history and Iraola said: "It's good to know this. But we are not looking at this, we are looking at games and points."

• On whether the new found attention on Bournemouth is positive: "We have to keep doing what we are doing and try to improve. We are doing better and getting better results. The competition makes the team better."

• Iraola was asked whether he reads analysis pieces on his job as a manager and said: "My friends send me articles sometimes, but some of them overthink the reasoning. It's always good to read analysis."

• On why the team are performing well now: "I think it’s the better understanding of everything. Fitness wise we have been quite good, our physical numbers are very good. It’s a matter of timing and positioning, understanding what we want to do and how we want to do it."

• Iraola said he is expecting a "difficult" game against Tottenham: "They are very good on the ball, we need to be ready to run a lot. We have to get ready to suffer and get ready to defend well. I also think we will have our moments and our chances in front because our players are in a good place. But we have to be very ready mentally to suffer and not to concede when they put pressure on us."

Image source, Getty Images

Former Premier League striker Clinton Morrison says Bournemouth manager Andoni Iraola has proved him wrong after a turnaround in form that has seen the Cherries move into the top half of the table.

"I thought he would take charge of one game and lose his job. The start they made was terrible, he was under huge pressure," Morrison told BBC Radio 5 Live's Football Daily podcast.

"Everyone did say they shouldn't have got rid of Gary O'Neil, but the football they are playing at the moment is outstanding.

"They have got the most in-form striker in the Premier League at the moment in Dominic Solanke. They just look fluent and they are just in cruise control.

"Huge credit to him [Iraola]. I thought it took a bit of time but now he's implemented his style on that football team, they are flying in the top half of the table.

"Huge credit must go to him and to the board as well, because you can always press the panic button when you hear murmurs that your team is struggling. Iraola has come in and he is doing a great job."

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Mark Mitchener, BBC Sport

As Bournemouth’s supporters look back on the first half of 2023-24, rather than the old cliche of a game of two halves… it has been a half-season of two quarters - with the second quarter infinitely better than the first.

Two months ago, the Cherries had three points from nine games, and were second-bottom of the Premier League. National media pundits proclaimed that boss Andoni Iraola’s job was untenable, or that he would be “gone by November”. Those who had actually watched the games advocated patience.

By contrast, the nine games since then have brought 22 points – with seven wins, an eighth denied by a last-gasp equaliser for high-flying Aston Villa, and perennial nemesis Manchester City the only team to beat Iraola’s Cherries in the “second quarter” of the season. A mid-table, or even a top-half finish now looks a very realistic outcome.

More importantly for many fans – and for owner Bill Foley, vindicated after replacing Gary O’Neil with Iraola to provide a more attacking style of play – the levels of quality and excitement on the pitch are at their highest since Eddie Howe’s departure.

So, “more of the same” in 2024 would be on the supporters’ wishlist, and they can expect a quieter transfer window than the past two Januarys.

While the squad may look a little lopsided, with a plethora of wide attacking options and not much cover at full-back, winger Dango Ouattara’s impressive performances as an emergency left-back in the last two games may partially answer both those questions.

Ouattara, Antoine Semenyo and Hamed Traore are soon set to depart for the Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon). Of all the attacking midfielders and wingers available, Traore – whose permanent signing was agreed before Iraola took charge – appears to be the most surplus to requirements, and it would not be a surprise if he were allowed to depart Vitality Stadium, either on loan or permanently, on his return from Afcon.

The rest of the squad are all likely to be needed at some stage – although Mark Travers, recalled from his loan at Stoke after a goalkeeping injury crisis, may be loaned out again.

We asked you for your thoughts after Bournemouth beat Fulham in the Premier League.

Here are some of the top comments:

Bournemouth fans

Ian: I have been blown away by AFC Bournemouth's 'phoenix' return to good form! Dominic Solanke has been amazing, scoring five goals in his last five games for the Cherries. He's also been a leader to the other players. I was sad to see that Tottenham might be interested in him and hope it's not true! Well done the Cherries - you've been superb!

Drew: The team are thinking in the right way and positivity flows through the play. Both Louis and Justin spoke so well in the coverage as well - they are all looking to implement this new brand of exciting football. Excellent stuff!

Penguin: I hope Bournemouth can hang on to players this January as they have got a strong squad now. They deserved this win.

Robbie: It's such a pleasure being able to watch Bournemouth now. Alex Scott was superb. Even with players missing, we are performing so well. We did well to trust Iraola. We're now 10th. Not bad for the club with the second smallest ground in the League.

Fulham fans

PJ: Utterly toothless in possession and like headless chickens without it. Difficult to believe that this is because of the loss of Raul Jimenez, who despite an improvement in form recently, is hardly a top striker. Silva has no plan B and a seriously limited squad. Unless we make several very good acquisitions in the forthcoming window, we could get dragged into the dogfight.

Tim: Leno got into the festive spirit playing the pantomime villain. The truth is neither side played particularly well but Bournemouth took their chances, which makes leaving Vinicius on the bench until the 83rd minute baffling.

Mark: That was humiliating. There is clearly a problem with mental toughness in this squad - whenever we get some momentum going, someone has a moment of madness. We are paying for a stupid tackle that cost us our cutting edge and today our two stalwarts Palhinha and Leno joined the party. Add that to a formulaic game plan and we are struggling!

Terry: Fulham were very poor, rarely threatening, gave away two very soft goals the first through Leno's legs and the second a very poor shove to give away the penalty. Good luck with Arsenal next weekend!

By Sam Drury, BBC Sport

Bournemouth are the form team in the Premier League.

Even the most optimistic Cherries fan would have laughed off such a suggestion after Andoni Iraola's side failed to win any of their first nine league games.

However, they beat Burnley in their 10th and after a bump in the road at Manchester City, they are now unbeaten in seven and have won their last four.

In speaks to how far they've come and the confidence they now possess that despite being well short of their best against Fulham, they still won comfortablyl.

The first goal was always going to be crucial and Alex Scott did brilliantly to create it for Justin Kluivert.

Dominic Solanke made it five goals in three games when he converted Bournemouth's first penalty for 609 days and Luis Sinisterra's cracker sealed the win.

Tough games against Tottenham and Liverpool are next for the Cherries in the league but this is a team playing with a swagger. It knows what it is about and Iraola's plan is clearly working.

They have every reason to believe this run can go on for a while yet.

Bournemouth manager Andoni Iraola speaking to BBC Match of the Day: "Very happy, the game was quite level until we scored. Not many chances but good phases for both teams. We were better second half."

On Alex Scott: “Very good goals. It’s good for us to have someone like Alex playing in the middle, probably lower than he is used to. He can make these types of run, carries the ball really well."

On Luis Sinisterra’s goal: "It’s his first goal for us, very good performance. It’s good to add goals from different players."

On watching from the stands: "It was not bad because we didn’t suffer as much in the second half. I had to control it. I will try to have better behaviour, and not have more yellow cards because I prefer the other experience."

On Bournemouth's form: "There are a lot of small things that are clicking. We know each other much better. Everyone is pushing. There is strong competition for minutes. It’s becoming tough for me to make the starting elevens, but it’s good for the team."

On Dominic Solanke: “He is giving us a lot of things. He is giving us a lot of play, a lot of good play for his team-mates, he is doing well without the ball. We are really happy for him."

Image source, Getty Images

Bournemouth's Justin Kluivert, speaking to Amazon Prime: "Now we're flying. The whole squad that we bring in, we've got a great squad, a great spirit. We're doing good.

"It's wonderful. You feel it also in training with how we are with each other. We know each other. I'm new, the coach is new so at the beginning we were struggling and losing games but we've found our feet.

"We're just training hard and playing good I think."

On style of play: "The beginning of the season, the coach had an idea and we lost a lot of games but we just did the same thing. We believed in him, he believed in us and the results came.

"It's always good when you win.

"We have a lot of great, fast attackers in the team. That is the power of us, we can counter really fast with great players.

"I can't wait to see where the season ends for us.

"I've always played for good clubs who want to play in Europe and stuff. That is always my ambition, I always look up. So why not? Let's see where we end."

Image source, Getty Images

Bournemouth midfielder Alex Scott to BBC MOTD on his assist for Justin Kluivert’s goal: “I got the ball and it was around the halfway line. It kept opening up for me, I was getting closer to goal and my shooting is not the best so I thought to lay if off to the better finishers, so luckily Justin scored.

“I’m not going to be shooting from ridiculous angles and Justin is a much better finisher than me so I was always going to lay the ball off."

On not letting Fulham get back into the game: “It’s confidence. As soon as you go one goal up the confidence starts pumping. They’re a top side, scoring 5-0 back-to-back. They are a tough team and they do score goals when you give them chances. Luckily we defended well and took our chances."

On returning after injury: “I wanted to prove I am ready to be back in the starting eleven. Hopefully I played my part and played quite well and hopefully can start against Tottenham."

On Andoni Iraola's impact: “A lot of what we do in training is huge. The confidence - he gives that to very player. The way he speaks to us, the way he has us training after games. The confidence throughout the team comes from the top. He is a top manager."

• Bournemouth have won on Boxing Day for the first time since 2014, which was at home to Fulham in the Championship.

• After earning three points from their first nine games in the Premier League this season (W0 D3 L6), Bournemouth have picked up 22 points from their following nine games (W7 D1 L1).

• Fulham have lost four consecutive away league matches while conceding 3 or more goals in each game for the first time since March 1969.

• Dominic Solanke has scored in each of his past five league appearances against Fulham, only scoring more total league goals against Huddersfield Town (6).

• Justin Kluivert’s goal against Fulham today came 18 years and 236 days after his father Patrick scored his final Premier League goal, which came against the Cottagers in May 2005.

Dominic Solanke continued his fine scoring form as Bournemouth beat Fulham to earn a fourth Premier League win in a row.

The Cherries went in front at the end of a scrappy first half when Justin Kluivert's shot squirmed under Fulham goalkeeper Bernd Leno after a brilliant mazy run from Alex Scott to create the chance.

Solanke doubled the advantage from the penalty spot just past the hour mark, sending Leno the wrong way for his 12th league goal of the season after Antoine Semenyo was bundled over by Joao Palhinha.

It was the striker's fifth goal in his last three matches, while the penalty was Bournemouth's first in 65 games, ending a stretch of 609 days without a spot-kick.

Substitute Luis Sinisterra wrapped it up for Bournemouth with a stunner in stoppage time. The winger cut in from the left before firing an unstoppable shot into the top-right corner from 25 yards.

Were you watching the match at home or were you in the stadium?

Bournemouth fans - submit your thoughts on the game here

Fulham fans - what did you make of your team's performance? Have your say here.

Follow all the reaction here

Former Chelsea and England striker Chris Sutton is making predictions for all 380 Premier League matches again this season, against a variety of guests.

For the fixtures over the festive period on 26, 27 and 28 December, he takes on Samuel T Herring, frontman of Baltimore-based synth-pop band Future Islands and an Everton fan.

Sutton's prediction: 2-1

Dominic Solanke is on fire for Bournemouth and what a run the Cherries are on. I just did not see that coming, but then I didn't expect Fulham to lose at home to Burnley on Saturday, either.

This is a hard one to call but I am going to go with the form team. Bournemouth have won five of their past six games and drew with Aston Villa in the other one, and I am backing Andoni Iraola's side again here.

Samuel's prediction: There are going to be goals, lots of goals. 2-2

Read all of Sutton's predictions here

There are five games being played in the Premier League on Boxing Day and we will bring you every moment.

Follow all of the action and reaction here

• Bournemouth have lost just one of their past 12 league games against Fulham, a 1-0 home defeat in the Premier League in April 2019.

• Fulham lost this exact fixture 2-1 in April last season but have not lost consecutive league visits to Bournemouth since 1990.

• Bournemouth have won none of their five Premier League games played on Boxing Day. In English top-flight history, only Grimsby Town (eight) have played more games without winning on 26 December.

• Fulham are unbeaten in their past six Boxing Day league games, since a 2-0 loss at Derby in the Championship in 2015-16.

• Fulham are winless in their past eight Premier League away games (D3 L5) since beating Everton 1-0 on the opening weekend. They last had a longer winless run on the road in the same top-flight campaign in 2018-19, when they were winless in their first 17.

• Bournemouth’s Dominic Solanke has scored in each of his past four league appearances against Fulham (four goals); only against Huddersfield Town (six) has he scored more goals in his league career.

Tottenham Hotspur are monitoring Bournemouth's English forward Dominic Solanke, 26, as they look to sign a striker in the summer. (The Sun, external)

Inter Milan are moving forward in talks to sign Club Bruges' 24-year-old Canada winger Tajon Buchanan who has also attracted interest from Bournemouth and Manchester City. (Fabrizio Romano, external)

Want more transfer stories? Read Boxing Day's full gossip column

Image source, Getty Images

Marco Silva says Fulham's trip to Bournemouth on Boxing Day will be a match between two attacking teams trying to win the game.

Silva was asked about the notion of 'chaos football' being implemented by Andoni Iraola at Bournemouth, but he disputed that reading of their tactics.

"They are not at all disorganised," Silva said. "They have dynamic in their game. and what will make the difference is always the dynamic of any team. They have a dynamic, they have a way to press and you can see there is organisation.

"They prefer to go man to man in certain moments of the game and press really high in other moments as well. It s clear for us the moments they want to do it. On the ball, you can see clear organisation in the way they attack and what they want to do.

"You can see some players with more freedom to do certain things on the pitch, but I see a clear team with very good organisation and a team that tries to play to win. That is what they are going to face against us as well.

"We are going to be there to do the same thing, to keep our organisation if we have to but in other moments we need to give a game to them and play to win the game.

"We are going to see two teams who are very well organised in certain aspects and with ideas to win the football match."

The end of another year is almost upon us - how much do you remember about Bournemouth over the past 12 months?

Test yourself with a question from every month of 2023.

Have a go here

The Christmas spirit and the deluge of games that come with it is upon us.

For a player, it’s a crazy time. What’s mad is everything is happening festive wise and you want to enjoy it in some way – like a party for the lads if you can fit it in. It means you feel you have some kind of Christmas.

But the games keep coming, especially at the top end if you’re in several competitions. Then you have the training load and training on Christmas Day. I won’t lie, that is psychologically a challenge not to feel a bit sorry for yourself. Sometimes you think everyone is having a good time, but you have to think how many people would swap with your position. You have to realise and think about what you are doing.

But when you have your kids there playing with their new toys and you have to go training, that is a big sacrifice It’s not about money, it’s just human nature.

What I think they should do is make it compulsory that you cannot train as a club on Christmas Day. That way, no one gets an advantage. What happens is you see is the owners will question why you didn’t train if you lose on Boxing Day.

Boxing Day is brilliant to play on. You can see the bigger crowds and feel the festive spirit. I used to love having Christmas Day off and playing on Boxing Day. But only a few managers will trust you to have that day off, Neil Warnock was one of them.

It’s a tiring spell and I will admit, I have been set to play on Boxing Day and wondered if I’ll get through the game as I’d had too much Christmas dinner.

Playing in this spell, you have to take it as a privilege. You are playing so everyone else is able to watch football at that great time of year.

We asked for your thoughts after Nottingham Forest and Bournemouth faced each other in the Premier League

Here are some of the top comments:

Forest fans

Claire: New manager, same poor defence. The easy goals conceded undid all the fight we had at the other end. We need someone strong to command the defence. Worrall might not be the best we have, but his passion and leadership might be what we need as we get dragged into the relegation zone. I'm sorry to say after a bright start we are going backwards.

John: Effort, skill, and lots of promise. The referee spoiled the game. There were two appalling errors and VAR is a joke. With all 11 players we would have won this. Thanks, referee.

Kevin: All the talk will be on the ridiculous red card, however the inability to defend has been at Forest since our time in the Championship. There have been so many games where we allow teams to come back into it to equalise or win. Nuno has his work cut out to win over the fans, many of whom still want Cooper.

Fosi: Still the same, we cannot defend at all. It again shows the lack of quality we have brought in. We have to buy defensive players urgently. There's still not enough quality up front. The referee was the worst this season and should not be used again.

Bournemouth fans

Drew: When we were relegated, we lost a similar game against a 10 man Crystal Palace. Today, we won. It was an excellent gutsy performance and I am very proud of my team.

Tom: At last, a result to be savoured. I confess, I was unsure at the beginning of the season but now I am convinced we are on the right track. Well done all.

Mark: You can't beat a comeback win away from home. Delighted for Solanke finally getting his hat-trick.