Alex Smith, senior sports journalist for the Bournemouth Daily Echo, has provided the lowdown on the Cherries ahead of Brentford's visit to Vitality Stadium on Saturday afternoon (3pm kick-off BST).
Keith Andrews' side have won one and drawn two of their Premier League games this term while Bournemouth, despite taking the lead in each of their opening three fixtures, are winless.
Smith discusses the appointment of Marco Rose to replace Andoni Iraola and how this weekend's hosts are shaping up for their first-ever European campaign, while also highlighting Alex Scott and António Silva as players to watch.
Three Premier League games in, Bournemouth are yet to win, despite taking the lead in each game to date. What have you made of their start to 2026/27?
They would be feeling a lot more positive if one of those games had turned into three points! They have been holding a one-goal lead going into the final 10 minutes of every single game so far this season, so ending up with only two points so far is disappointing.
But there have been plenty of positive signs and the team seems to be playing well on the whole. They will be hoping to rectify that quickly and I do feel they just need one win to get themselves going and then things will go from there.
Three players have signed permanently, one on loan, but otherwise it’s pretty much the same squad as last season. How would you rate the club’s summer business?
They were very happy with it. The main thing was making sure they had two players to challenge for every position, which they now believe they have with those three permanent incomings.
António Silva replaced Marcos Senesi, who left on a free at the end of last season, and he looks a superb signing. He is an excellent centre-back who looks really assured at Premier League level already and has quite the pedigree, having come from Benfica.
We have not seen very much of Juanlu Sánchez and Álvaro Rodríguez yet. Sanchez has not even played a minute as he arrived with a bit of a knock and is getting up to speed.
And with Rodríguez, Enes Ünal left and he came in, so even if he makes a few starts and scores a couple of goals, that is a little bit of an upgrade on what Ünal was providing to the team.
The Europa League fixtures are out and Bournemouth have been handed some eye-catching away trips, as well as a home game against AC Milan. Can you sum up the level of excitement there is for this new era that’s about to start next week?
Everyone is so excited. It still has not quite sunk in yet for a lot of fans, particularly those who have been supporting the club for maybe even just 15 years, let alone multiple decades.
The club they support nearly dropped out of the Football League and nearly went bust within the last 20 years, and they are now at the top table, competing in Europe and will soon welcome AC Milan. That is unbelievable for a lot of people.
I am sure it will sink in when they are on the way to San Sebastián to watch the Real Sociedad game! There is so much excitement and they cannot wait to get going.
Marco Rose is a coach who knows how to deal with a European season and has seen success with Red Bull Salzburg in particular in European competition.
Which player should Brentford be keeping an eye out for on Saturday?
Alex Scott just missed out on a place in England’s World Cup squad in the summer, but still went to the USA to be a part of the preparation squad and has hit the ground running at the start of this season.
He has probably been Man of the Match in all three Premier League games so far. Other than that, Silva is one that you might not spot if you are looking for someone who is going to light up the game with a goal, but the performances he has put in have been really impressive.
What should Keith Andrews’ side expect in terms of shape and style?
It will be fairly similar to how Bournemouth played under Andoni Iraola, which might be music to Brentford fans’ ears, considering the stranglehold they had over his team!
It will be aggressive pressing, trying to win the ball high and create plenty of chances. That is the blueprint.
There are a couple of tactical tweaks but, in the main, it is a similar deal, which was partly the idea for bringing Rose in.
There were three meetings in all last season, with Brentford winning two. What’s your score prediction for this one?
I am going to say Rose will break the Cherries’ Brentford hoodoo and get his first Premier League win. I am going to go with 2-1.