There has been changes in the boardroom and the dugout since Bournemouth’s promotion to the Premier League last season. Here, Tom Crocker of the Bournemouth Echo brings us up to date with all that’s happening on the south coast.

Bournemouth are 16th in the Premier League as things stand, one point above the relegation zone and on a run of seven defeats in their last eight league games. What have you made of what you’ve seen since the last meeting between the two sides in October?

It’s been a mixed bag, performance wise. As those results suggest, things have certainly taken a downward turn since these clubs last met.There have been mitigating factors for some of those losses and, in many of them, the Cherries performed reasonably well.

The worrying problem in recent weeks is they seem to keep finding new ways to concede goals and are making more and more errors to make life more difficult for themselves.

It has been five defeats from five since the World Cup break, including a loss to Championship Burnley in the FA Cup, so the general mood around the place is not the best at the moment.

In mid-December, US businessman Bill Foley bought the club from Maxim Demin for a reported £100 million fee. How much of a buzz has this created, particularly given he suggested there will be no specified budget in the transfer window?

This news was much anticipated as it had been in the pipeline for a while. So, when it finally got ratified, there was a lot of excitement, understandably, about what the future might be for the club.

Foley has since come out and shared his vision in multiple interviews and is making all the right noises. The fact he also has Hollywood star Michael B Jordan as part of the ownership group too added further intrigue, especially when he rolled into town to watch a game last month.

But that long-term excitement has been tempered by recent performances, with fans now growing increasingly concerned about the slide towards the relegation zone. It is clear the squad needs strengthening but, at the time of speaking, no new arrivals have come in yet.

Further to that, the Cherries have shipped 39 goals in their first 18 games, which represents an average of more than two per game. Do you think they will be looking to add defensive reinforcements in January?

I think they will be looking for various additions across the squad. The 9-0 loss at Liverpool obviously skews that stat slightly, and they’ve also had to change things around both in goal and at the back due to injuries at times this season.

It would seem sensible to add a left-back to try and strengthen competition in that area. They are quite well stocked, numbers wise, at centre-back, but I feel they will have their eyes open to additions in many positions this month.

Which player should Brentford fans keep an eye on?

With the way things have been going recently, it’s hard to pick out anybody in particular and it feels like it is going to be a big team effort to find a way to end this losing run.

Lewis Cook has been one of the more consistent performers in recent weeks and Jaidon Anthony has looked like one of the more lively attacking options, after the big injury blow of losing Marcus Tavernier.

How is O’Neil likely to set up his side at the Gtech Community Stadium?

With Adam Smith suspended, it’ll be interesting to see if he reverts to a back three to try and compensate.

O’Neil says he prefers a back four and I think that is still probably more likely, with Dominic Solanke supported by either Kieffer Moore or Philip Billing up front.

The previous meeting produced a goalless draw at the Vitality Stadium just over three months ago. What’s your score prediction for this one?

Sadly, recent performances and results make it hard to back the Cherries to triumph away at an in-form Brentford side. I’ll go for a 2-1 home win.