Bournemouth v Boreham Wood predictions & FA Cup betting tips

Free football tips, best bets and analysis for Bournemouth v Boreham Wood in the FA Cup on Sunday.

Where to watch

ITV4, 6.30pm Sunday

Best bet

Under 2.5 goals
1pt Evs general

Team news

Bournemouth
Lewis Cook and Chris Mepham may be back for this tie, while new signings Ethan Laird, Kieffer Moore and Siriki Dembele are all unavailable. Fellow new boys Todd Cantwell, Nat Phillips and Freddie Woodman may well make their debuts.

Boreham Wood
New signing Connor Stevens may play a part, while Danilo Orsi is cup-tied. Josh Rees is a doubt after picking up a knock against King's Lynn.

Match preview

Bournemouth and Boreham Wood are 74 league places and a gulf in finances apart as the two sides meet in the final game of the fourth round weekend.

Both teams are having good campaigns and could well be plying their trade in the division above come next season.

The Wood have never played in the EFL but if they win their games in hand they will top a tightly congested National League, and they have transferred their strong league form to the FA Cup.

Luke Garrard’s men have reached the fourth round for the first time after wins to nil over Barnet, Eastleigh, local rivals St Albans and League One side Wimbledon.

Tyrone Marsh and Adrian Clifton gave the underdogs a deserved victory over the Dons and took the Hertfordshire squad to previously unscaled heights.

Defence has been the strong suit of this side - only Manchester City have conceded fewer than Boreham Wood’s 15 league goals in the top five tiers of English football.

The non-league team have also lost just two of their 29 games in all competitions this season and look to be heading to the Football League sooner rather than later.

Their hosts demonstrated their financial muscle as they splashed the cash on deadline day, signing Freddie Woodman, Nat Phillips, Todd Cantwell, Kiefer Moore and Siriki Dembele.

In contrast to Bournemouth’s multi-million pound outlay on the final day of trading, Boreham Wood’s record transfer fee is £15,000.

Recent back-to-back losses over Luton and Hull mean Scott Parker’s men are now six points behind Championship leaders Fulham and that gap may have brought about the late spending spree.

Some of their new recruits look likely to make their debuts as Parker tries to integrate them into his team before their crucial run-in.

Bournemouth overcame another non-league outfit to make it to this point, beating Yeovil 3-1 in the third round, but the hosts may not have things so easy in this game.

There have been under 2.5 goals in six of the second-tier outfit’s last eight games and this could be a similarly cagey affair against a strong Boreham Wood backline.

The Cherries are likely to be integrating a number of new faces and could be in for a frustrating evening against their non-league opponents.

Key stat

Only Manchester City have conceded fewer league goals than Boreham Wood's 15 in English football's top five tiers.

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