Premier League 2022-23 preview No 3: Bournemouth

Guardian writers’ predicted position 20th (NB: this is not necessarily Ben Fisher’s prediction but the average of our writers’ tips)

Last season’s position 2nd (Championship)

Odds to win the league (via Oddschecker) 1,500-1

When the fixture computer coughed up this season’s assignments, Bournemouth could be forgiven for feeling a little queasy. Runners-up in the Championship last season, there is little time to adapt, with trips to Manchester City and Liverpool in the first month, as well as a home date with Arsenal. They kick-off at the Vitality Stadium against Aston Villa, a repeat of their first Premier League game seven years ago, which ended in a slender defeat.

This time Bournemouth appear to be banking on players who were regulars upon relegation two years ago, Dominic Solanke, Lewis Cook and Philip Billing, to come to the fore. How Solanke will fare is one of the bigger questions, given last time he was in the top flight he mustered three goals across 18 trying months after joining from Liverpool for £17m. But the striker, now 24, has scored 44 goals over the past two seasons in the second tier and will be keen to transfer such form to the top table. They are short on numbers at centre-back but the captain, Lloyd Kelly, has the ability to shine.

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It is easy, especially these days, to get lost in the hysteria of the summer transfer window, particularly given Nottingham Forest’s aggressive recruitment drive, but Bournemouth did a key bit of digging in January, with Kieffer Moore, whose form for Truro City a decade ago earned him a move to nearby Dorchester Town, signing from Cardiff to provide another dimension in attack. The arrival of the