Preview: Bournemouth vs Hibernian - prediction, team news, lineups

Bournemouth will kick off their preparations for the 2025-26 Premier League campaign with a pre-season friendly against Scottish outfit Hibernian at their training ground on Tuesday.

The Cherries enjoyed their best-ever Premier League campaign last term, while Hibernian had an excellent 2024-25 season in the Scottish Premiership, finishing up in third position.

Match preview

Bournemouth finished ninth in the Premier League last term, claiming 56 points in the process, which represented their best-ever campaign in the top flight, but they did fall short in the race for European football.

The Cherries will again be expecting to push for a top-half finish this term under the management of the excellent Andoni Iraola, who is believed to be on the radar of a number of major clubs.

Bournemouth will kick off their preparations for the 2025-26 campaign with a friendly against Hibernian on Tuesday before taking on Bristol City; Iraola's side will then head to the United States for the Premier League Summer Series, with fixtures to come against Everton, Manchester United and West Ham United.

The Cherries will then tackle Real Sociedad's second team on August 9, with their 2025-26 Premier League season the beginning six days later away to the champions Liverpool.

Bournemouth have only made one signing so far this summer, bringing in Adrien Truffert from Rennes, but there have been two notable departures, with Dean Huijsen and Milos Kerkez moving on for big money.

Hibernian, meanwhile, finished third in the Scottish Premiership last season, representing their best campaign since 2020-21, collecting 58 points from their 38 league games in 2024-25.

David Gray's side have qualified for the Europa League second qualifying round, and they will take on FC Midtjylland in the European competition, with the first leg of their clash taking place on July 24, ahead of the return on July 31.

Hibernian's Scottish Premiership campaign will then begin against Dundee on August 3, so it is a quick turnaround, and they are much further ahead than Bournemouth in terms of their pre-season.

Indeed, Hibs have played three pre-season friendlies, drawing with Duisburg on July 2 before suffering a 6-3 defeat to Dutch giants Ajax three days later.

Hibernian's third friendly was against RW Essen on July 9, with the Scottish club recording a 3-2 win, and this will now represent their final pre-season match before the return of competitive action.

Hibernian friendly form:

DLW

Team News

Bournemouth are expected to have one debutant in their side on Tuesday, with Truffert in line to start.

Head coach Iraola will make full use of his squad, with 22 players potentially being used, but a strong XI is set to take to the field for the first whistle before wholesale changes occur at the interval.

Antoine Semenyo had been linked with a move away from Bournemouth off the back of a strong 2024-25 campaign, but the attacker has penned a new long-term deal with the Cherries, and he is also likely to be in the XI.

As for Hibernian, three new players have made the move to the club this summer, and one of those is set to start between the sticks, with 29-year-old Raphael Sallinger in line to feature.

Jamie McGrath and Josh Mulligan, who have arrived from Aberdeen and Dundee respectively, are also set to be involved at some stage of the contest.

Junior Hoilett managed four goals and five assists in 30 appearances for Hibernian during the 2024-25 campaign, and the experienced attacker is again set to be in the starting side.

Bournemouth possible starting lineup:

Travers; Smith, Zabarnyi, Senesi, Truffert; Tavernier, Adams; Brooks, Kluivert, Semenyo; Evanilson

Hibernian possible starting lineup:

Sallinger; Miller, O'Hora, Bushiri, Obita; Newell, Levitt, Manneh; Mulligan, Boyle, Hoilett

We say: Bournemouth 3-2 Hibernian

Hibernian are ahead of Bournemouth in terms of their preparations for the new campaign, but the Cherries can call upon so much quality, especially in the final third, and we are backing the Premier League club to edge an entertaining clash.

Written by
Matt Law

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