Bournemouth made it three successive Premier League wins to nil with a hard-earned victory over Leeds United on Saturday.

Here are our Scout Notes from the Vitality Stadium.

TRAFFORD ERROR PIVOTAL AS DEFENCES ON TOP

Two of the division’s better defences met on the south coast, and it was a predictably tight game.

It was fourth versus seventh in terms of expected goals conceded (xGC), and gilt-edged opportunities were at a premium.

Were it not for James Trafford‘s (£5.0m) costly error – the Leeds ‘keeper passing straight to Justin Kluivert (£5.9m), who squared for Evanilson (£6.4m) to score – would this game have finished 0-0? Very possibly.

Dominic Calvert-Lewin (£6.1m) had Leeds’ only Opta-defined ‘big chance’ of the match, seeing his point-blank-range shot saved before he handled the ball into the net. James Justin (£4.5m) had a decent headed opportunity in the second half, but those efforts were two of just three shots in the box the visitors had all game:

Above: Leeds’ xG shotmap in Gameweek 9 (the bigger the circle, the better the chance)

At the other end, the Cherries were not in the game at all until Trafford’s rick. They, too, had limited chances, a Marcus Tavernier (£6.6m) free-kick from range and an off-target Rayan (£6.3m) shot about the best of them until Amine Adli‘s (£4.8m) stoppage-time sealer.

Above: Bournemouth’s xG shotmap in Gameweek 9 (the bigger the circle, the better the chance)

In summary, then: two sets of defences you can be pretty confident about going forward, and two attacks who will have easier days than this. Indeed, the Cherries face a clean-sheet-less Ipswich Town next.

“Football can be brutal. Sometimes, this was one of our best away games in recent years. I would say the first 30 minutes, it was just us against the in-form side [of the Premier League]. We created so many chances, scored probably the team goal of the season [which was disallowed for handball].

“And out of nothing, they were all of a sudden in the lead because, let’s be honest, we scored more or less an own-goal. Of course, then, such a well-defending, in-form side, after 30 minutes, to go in the lead like this [for the] first time, they got the feeling, ‘Okay, they can sit with us’. We tried everything to turn the game.” – Daniel Farke

A concern for Leeds, however, is that they’ve now scored zero or one goals in eight of their nine leaague matches this season.

ROSE ON KROUPI’S FITNESS

Adli’s goal was teed up by Eli Kroupi Junior (£7.3m), making his third successive sub appearances in league and cup after recovering from a medium-term injury.

Some Fantasy managers are already looking at the Frenchman, factoring in Bournemouth’s fixtures, Kroupi’s 13-goal season in 2025/26 and the fact that he’s (currently) not in the Cherries’ European squad, so likelier to get minutes/starts domestically.

However, it’s worth noting that Marco Rose could re-add him to the Europa League roster at any point.

And Gameweek 10 is probably a week too early anyway. Rose already hinted that he wouldn’t start before the international break, and he seemed to re-assert those comments after full-time.

“He could be a key factor for us this season because if you see, even he is not 100 per cent fit, how he understands the game, how he touches the ball, how he solves tight situations, how he assists the goal.

“Especially in the Premier League, where you get in certain phases of the game a little bit more space if it goes up and down, he’s just a guy who can make the difference and he worked hard today.

“He knows that he needs every metre to fill up his tank with energy and with power.

“Today he played 25 [minutes] and now we’re going to increase his match time more and more.” – Marco Rose on Eli Kroupi Junior via the Bournemouth Echo

Kroupi came on for Kluivert here, and it’s the Dutchman who looks most at risk when his teammate is fully fit.

ANOTHER GOAL FOR EVANILSON

Evanilson was indebted to Trafford for the error, and Kluivert for the tee-up, as that was his only shot of the game.

Still, it continued an excellent run of four goals in as many Gameweeks for the Brazilian.

A profligate finisher in his first two campaigns on the south coast, it remains to be seen if he can keep up the lethal conversion rate.

He at least has the immediate fixtures to offer further encouragement, and Rose is keen on the striker to be just that: a striker.

“He played at ten, he played at nine and a half, but he’s a nine. And he has to understand – and everyone has to understand, even his teammates – that it’s important for him to score goals. It’s good that Justin gave him an assist.” – Marco Rose on Evanlison

OKAFOR INJURY UPDATE

No surprise that Anton Stach (£6.0m) was a substitute for this one, based on Daniel Farke pre-match comments.

But Noah Okafor‘s (£5.8m) no-show was unexpected, after Farke pretty much gave him a clean bill of health on Friday.

A recurrence of his adductor pain was to blame:

Leeds indicating Okafor felt pain in his adductor during yesterday’s final session. One they will monitor over the days ahead. #lufc

— Beren Cross (@BerenCross) October 31, 2026

After struggling following his summer move, Harry Wilson (£6.2m) had probably his best game in a Leeds shirt on Saturday. It’ll be interesting to see if Stach gets back in the side next weekend, even if fit.

“They both played a really good first half. It reminded me of Dan James’ really good pre-season form, I liked it.

“Harry, you could see he was coming into his rhythm a bit more. Of course with offensive players, they are just happy if they score a goal or assist.

“They would have deserved more out of their performance today. It’s not to be at the moment. But again, be stubborn and stay on it.” – Daniel Farke on Harry Wilson and Daniel James, via Leeds Live