Bournemouth AFC VS Middlesbrough, draw game

Match Time：4/2/2021 22:00 Friday  (GMT+8)

England Championship --  Bournemouth AFC   VS   Middlesbrough

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Promotion rivals Bournemouth and Middlesbrough meet at the Vitality Stadium on Friday afternoon in a huge Championship clash.

 

Bournemouth are three points adrift of the playoffs with a game in hand, while Boro are three points further back and cannot afford to lose this match.

 

Match preview

The Cherries were eliminated from the FA Cup by Southampton at the quarter-final stage in their last match before the international break, meaning that their sole focus is now on promotion back to the Premier League.

 

Bournemouth's form has been very inconsistent of late, having drawn, lost and won their last three league matches.

 

However, their last league game ended in a 3-0 win over high-flying Swansea City thanks to goals from Philip Billing and Arnaut Danjuma, either side of Joel Latibeaudiere's own goal.

 

Bournemouth's promotion hopes are now in their own hands thanks to a superior goal difference on Reading in sixth place, and they have a favourable set of fixtures to see out the campaign.

 

Friday's visit of Middlesbrough will be a tough test, though, against a side hot on their heels in ninth place.

 

Neil Warnock has another promotion in his sights, but defeat to Millwall last time out - Grant Hall's own goal proving the difference at The Den - has increased the pressure for this trip south.

 

Boro have now lost back-to-back away games, although Bournemouth's home form is not much better, the Cherries losing three of their last five games at the Vitality Stadium in all competitions.

 

The Smoggies have never won an away league game against Bournemouth in seven attempts, with this being their first-such encounter since a 4-0 loss in the 2016-17 Premier League campaign.

 

Furthermore, Warnock has won none of his last four away league matches against Bournemouth since leading Huddersfield Town to victory in the 1994-95 season, something both he and Boro will be eager to put right here.

 

Bournemouth Championship form:LWWDLW

Bournemouth form (all competitions):WWDLWL

Middlesbrough Championship form:DWLWWL

 

Team News

Warnock and opposite number Jason Tindall have questioned the timing of this Good Friday fixture, which comes two days after the final set of March internationals take place.

 

Bournemouth's Chris Mepham and Shan Long represented Wales and Republic of Ireland respectively on Tuesday, the latter travelling to Hungary for that match.

 

As for Middlesbrough, Paddy McNair and George Saville are part of the Northern Ireland squad set to take on Bulgaria in a crucial World Cup qualifier on Wednesday evening.

 

That could give both managers a major selection problem, though Warnock and Tindall will of course be keen to get their best players on the field from the start.

 

Bournemouth will definitely be without midfielder Lewis Cook for this match, while Junior Stanislas, David Brooks, Lloyd Kelly and Adam Smith are all doubtful.

 

Danjuma should be fit to start, though, as he looks to score for the fourth league game running, having also assisted in each of the last two.

 

Anfernee Dijksteel and Marcus Browne are both nursing injuries from Boro's perspective.

 

Bournemouth possible starting lineup:

Begovic; Stacey, Carter-Vickers, Cook, Rico; Lerma, Pearson; Riquelme, Billing, Danjuma; Solanke

 

Middlesbrough possible starting lineup:

Bettinelli; Hall, Fry, Bola; Spence, Howson, McNair, Johnson; Tavernier, Fletcher, Mendez-Laing

 

Bournemouth 2-2 Middlesbrough