Both heading for mid-table in the Premier League standings, Bournemouth host Brighton & Hove Albion at the Vitality Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
The home side moved above the Seagulls with a 1-0 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers on Wednesday, while the visitors were thrashed 4-0 by Manchester City last time out.
Match preview
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After controversially parting ways with Gary O'Neil in June, despite the Englishman impressing as he kept Bournemouth in the division, Andoni Iraola's start on the south coast made the decision appear even worse.
The Cherries failed to win in the league until their 10th fixture, losing six of the opening nine until an eventual 2-1 victory over Burnley, and Iraola's men have never looked back since.
Although they went on to lose their following league fixture 6-1 to Manchester City, Bournemouth then embarked on a brilliant run of six wins in seven games, drawing 2-2 with Aston Villa in the remaining match, boosting them quickly up the rankings.
Now 10th in the table with four games left to play, the Cherries are on course for just their second-ever top-half finish in the Premier League, but they must first navigate difficult matchups with Brighton, Arsenal, Brentford and Chelsea before celebrations can begin.
Huge credit must go to the manager not only for the results he has achieved but also for getting a tune out of Dominic Solanke, who is currently enjoying his best-ever season in the English top division with 18 goals in 34 appearances.
Bournemouth head into this game unbeaten in their last five home fixtures, not losing at the Vitality Stadium since a 1-0 defeat to Leicester City in extra time of the FA Cup fifth round, and they will be hoping to continue that streak as they push on for a top 10 finish.
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Brighton, though, have had the better of this fixture in recent times, winning four of the past five meetings and managing to keep clean sheets in two of the last three.
Amidst the uncertainty surrounding Roberto De Zerbi's future at the club, Brighton's form has taken a nosedive since the turn of the year, leaving the team who were fighting for European places throughout the season now slipping away from the top half altogether.
The Seagulls have managed only three wins in their 14 league games in 2024 so far, failing to come out victorious in any of their last five matches, while they were most recently on the wrong end of a humiliating 4-0 battering from Manchester City.
De Zerbi's men currently trail Sunday's opponents by a solitary point, but the Seagulls hold the advantage of a game in hand on those around them, leaving them still in with a chance of pushing back into the top 10 and making a late charge for the European places.
If they are to achieve that then they must get back to winning ways against the Cherries as they look to build confidence ahead of a run-in that sees them play Aston Villa, Newcastle United, Chelsea and Manchester United.
Team News
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The hosts are set to be without no fewer than seven players when they welcome Brighton on Sunday as the Cherries nurse their way through a mini-injury crisis.
Ryan Fredericks, Tyler Adams, Chris Mepham, Romain Favre and Marcus Tavernier are set to remain on the sidelines, while Luis Sinisterra was recently ruled out for the remainder of the season with a hamstring problem.
Milos Kerkez was dismissed for a two-footed lunge in Bournemouth's 1-0 win over Wolves during midweek, leaving the defender unavailable as he serves his first of a three-game suspension.
Brighton are going through something of an injury crisis themselves, coming into this one without eight of their first-team squad.
Pervis Estupinan and Evan Ferguson are expected to be out for the remainder of the season after picking up injuries in recent matches.
Kaoru Mitoma, Billy Gilmour, Jack Hinshelwood, James Milner, Solly March and Tariq Lamptey are all also unavailable through injury issues.
Bournemouth possible starting lineup:
Travers; Smith, Zabarnyi, Senesi, Kelly; Christie, Cook; Semenyo, Scott, Kluivert; Solanke
Brighton & Hove Albion possible starting lineup:
Verbruggen; Veltman, Hecke, Dunk, Barco; Gross, Baleba; Adingra, Enciso, Fati; Welbeck
We say: Bournemouth 2-1 Brighton & Hove Albion
Bournemouth brought an end to their three-game run without victory thanks to Antoine Semenyo's first-half goal against Wolves last time out, while Brighton extended their winless streak to five matches with a 4-0 loss to Man City.
The Cherries have avoided defeat in any of their last five games at the Vitality Stadium, and we expect them to continue that run with victory against an out-of-sorts Brighton side.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Ellis Stevens
