Bournemouth will be looking to give their hopes of automatic promotion from the Championship a huge boost when they welcome Middlesbrough for a mouthwatering contest on Friday afternoon.
The Cherries are currently second in the table, four points ahead of third-placed Huddersfield Town with two matches in hand, while Boro sit eighth, three points behind sixth-placed Sheffield United.
Match preview
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Bournemouth have only picked up one point from their last two league matches, losing at West Bromwich Albion on April 6 before playing out a goalless draw with Sheffield United three days later.
The Cherries are in a strong position to secure a return to the Premier League, though, as they sit second in the table, four points ahead of third-placed Huddersfield with two games in hand, so a victory on Friday would put them in a strong position heading into their final six matches.
Scott Parker's side have the fourth-best home record in the Championship this season, picking up 38 points from 19 matches, and they will be welcoming a Boro side that have found it difficult to show consistency on their travels, collecting 24 points from 20 matches.
Bournemouth actually lost 1-0 to Middlesbrough at the Riverside Stadium earlier this term, but they recorded a 3-1 victory when the pair locked horns in the corresponding match last season, and Parker's team will be eyeing another huge three points ahead of a busy end to the month.
Indeed, the Cherries still have Boro, Coventry City, Fulham, Swansea City and Blackburn Rovers to face before the end of April, while they will take on Nottingham Forest and Millwall in back-to-back home fixtures in May.
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Middlesbrough, meanwhile, will enter this contest off the back of successive 1-0 home defeats to Fulham and Hull City, and they have actually now lost three of their last four matches in all competitions.
Chris Wilder's side remain very much in the playoff mix at this stage of the campaign, though, sitting eighth in the table, just three points behind sixth-placed Sheffield United with one game in hand.
Boro have a huge game at home to Huddersfield on April 18, and the fact that three of their next four league matches after this one are at the Riverside Stadium should help them.
Indeed, Wilder's team have the sixth-best home record in the Championship this term, with only Blackburn Rovers (41), Fulham (40) and Millwall (39) collecting more points in front of their own supporters.
Absent from the Premier League since the 2016-17 campaign, Boro will not be able to claim an automatic promotion spot this term, but they would be a very dangerous proposition for any team in the playoffs.
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Team News
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Bournemouth will again be missing Kieffer Moore, Junior Stanislas and David Brooks for this match, while Jordan Zemura is out with the hamstring problem that he picked up against Sheffield United.
Zemura's absence is likely to open the door for Robbie Brady to come into the starting side, while there could be a change in the final third, with Jaidon Anthony potentially replacing Siriki Dembele.
Dominic Solanke has scored 24 Championship goals this season and will again lead the line, while the midfield three should remain unchanged, with Jefferson Lerma being joined by Lewis Cook and Philip Billing.
As for Middlesbrough, Dael Fry will miss the match through injury, which is likely to open the door for the experienced Sol Bamba to feature in the middle of the defence.
Neil Taylor and Isaiah Jones are also fitness doubts for the visitors, who are set to continue in a 3-5-2 formation, with Aaron Connolly featuring in the final third of the field.
Duncan Watmore and Josh Coburn are also pushing for starting roles, having featured off the bench in the defeat to Hull last time out, but Folarin Balogun should retain his spot in the XI.
Bournemouth possible starting lineup:
Travers; Smith, Phillips, Kelly, Brady; Billing, Cook, Lerma; Christie, Solanke, Anthony
Middlesbrough possible starting lineup:
Lumley; Dijksteel, Bamba, McNair; Tavernier, Crooks, Howson, Bola; McGree; Connolly, Balogun
We say: Bournemouth 1-0 Middlesbrough
This is a huge match for both sides, and it is set to be a fascinating battle on Friday afternoon. Middlesbrough will fancy their chances of causing problems in the final third of the field, but Bournemouth look destined for a return to the Premier League, and we are expecting the Cherries to edge a close contest.
Matt Law
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Bournemouth win with a probability of 55.59%. A draw had a probability of 23.1% and a win for Middlesbrough had a probability of 21.34%.
The most likely scoreline for a Bournemouth win was 1-0 with a probability of 10.67%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-1 (9.85%) and 2-0 (9.61%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (10.93%), while for a Middlesbrough win it was 0-1 (6.07%). The actual scoreline of 0-0 was predicted with a 5.9% likelihood.
