The Cherries will need to be on top form when they take on Sheffield Utd on Saturday. The Blades have recently returned to form having won their last three league fixtures against Shrewsbury, Bury and Colchester. Having closed the gap at the top of the table and with a run of back to back away wins behind them, Sheffield Utd will not come to the south coast thinking that a draw is the best that they can achieve.
History also tells us that AFCB do not have a good record against them. When the teams last met at Bramall Lane on 1st September 2012, AFCB came out on the wrong side of an eight goal thriller. Ryan Flynn was the Cherries chief tormentor on that day with his brace from midfield, although the winger has only netted one other league goal this season.
In the 2011/12 season the Blades took all six points from both games, so recent encounters between the two teams have all favoured Utd. Will things will be different this time round I ask myself?
Bournemouth have to get over the hurdle of beating the big name sides in this division if they are to make their ambition of promotion a reality. The table could be looking very different if the Cherries could have done better than draw with Brentford and Swindon when they both visited the Goldsands Stadium. We have heard Eddie Howe saying that the team were slow out of the traps last week, but I don't see that repeating itself on Saturday. The Cherries will be going all out to get the three points, so that they can go into the Coventry and Leyton Orient games with renewed confidence.
The big threats to the Cherries will be the striker pairing of Dave Kitson who has scored eight league goals in this campaign and Jamie Murphy who signed from Motherwell in January and is yet to open his account for the Blades. Also be aware of Kevin McDonald who broke his duck in front of goal last time out against Colchester Utd. With eight away wins this season, only Doncaster and Coventry have better away records. And while January was Sheffield Utd's worst month, Danny Wilson has turned results around and will certainly be a candidate for manager of the month if the Blades can get something at Bournemouth.
This match is a difficult one to call, but some of my tweeter guests are brave enough to have ago (see side bar). If you want to post a score prediction you can do so on the comments section below or tweet me your scores at @peterbell19
This is a fan’s personal view of AFC Bournemouth from the outside looking in. It reports on the daily official activities reported by the club and comments made by individual fans on social media and fanbase websites. Life as an AFCB fan is never dull. As a life-long supporter of the Cherries, it is the friendliness of the staff, fans and my enthusiasm for the club that inspired me to write this blog.
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