Preview: Bournemouth vs. Blackpool

Top meets bottom in the Championship table this weekend as Bournemouth host Blackpool at Dean Court with the title race just about in their hands.

It is shaping up to be one of the closest battles at the top in recent memory, with no fewer than four teams locked on 66 points and another just one behind on 65.

The Cherries currently hold the slight advantage due to their superior goal difference, but with shocks aplenty in recent weeks you can be sure that there are more twists and turns to come.

Bournemouth are surprising candidates for promotion as it is, and they looked to have thrown their challenge away with a five-match winless streak in February.

However, those around them have also been in stuttering form, allowing Eddie Howe's side to climb back to the top of the table following a brighter start to March.

Victory over Wolverhampton Wanderers last week was their first in almost a month, and they did their goal difference no harm at all by following that up with a 5-1 triumph away to Fulham last Friday.

They will now look to make it three on the bounce for the first time since the turn of the year as they try to steady the ship following a barmy period of the season.

Home advantage has favoured others in the title race more than Bournemouth so far, but the Cherries have only lost one of their last 14 in front of their own fans and will be confident of extending that run this weekend.

Howe will have Yann Kermorgant back available following a dead leg, but new Republic of Ireland call-up Harry Arter will be forced to sit this one out having been banned for one match by the Football Association. Shaun MacDonald is the most likely to replace him in the middle of the park, but Howe will want to keep other changes to a minimum.

The picture is a lot clearer at the bottom than it is at the top, at least for Blackpool fans. The 17-point gap to safety for them now is the same as the difference between leaders Bournemouth and 11th-placed Sheffield Wednesday, and their demotion to League One is only a matter of time.

They are nine points adrift of 23rd-placed Millwall, having picked up just two points from the last 24 available, conceding 20 goals in that time.

The Tangerines can have no complaints at their impending doom having won the fewest and lost the most games in addition to scoring fewer and conceding more goals than anyone else.

Indeed, their tally of 70 goals against this season is the worst in the top four tiers of English football - not exactly ideal when coming up against the highest scorers in those four division.

The Seasiders are also the only team in the top four tiers still searching for their first away win of the campaign, picking up a measly six points and conceding a whopping 41 goals in their 18 games on the road this season.

In a division as unpredictable as the Championship, every manager will warn that there are no gimmes, but this is as close to a banker as you will ever find in this league.

Lee Clark has already begun planning for life in League One, but there may be a few painful moments to live through yet before now and the end of the season. His side were thumped 6-1 in the reverse fixture just before Christmas, and they could be in for another mauling this weekend.

A glimmer of good news is that Charles Dunne and Gary Madine are both back available for selection, while Tony McMahon and Andrea Orlandi will undergo late fitness tests.

Jamie O'Hara is struggling with an ankle injury, however, while Niall Maher has seen a specialist about his groin injury and will be unavailable this weekend.

Bournemouth:

Recent form: DLLDWW

Possible starting lineup: Boruc; Francis, Cook, Elphick, Daniels; Ritchie, MacDonald, Surman, Pugh; Pitman, Wilson

Blackpool:

Recent form: DDLLL

Possible starting lineup: Parish; Dunne, Addison, Hall, McMahon; Telford, Perkins, O'Hara, Barkhuizen; Madine, Delfouneso

Sports Mole says: 5-0