Can AFCB make home advantage count?

Another big home match to follow the heightened excitement of the Watford game is just what Eddie Howe would probably have opted for if he was pulling out the fixtures himself. You want tests at this stage of the season to give you the momentum to pull away from other teams. The Watford match is still in the memory for the players and the crowd and I believe a similar kind of atmosphere could push Derby into some early errors just as we saw with Watford.

There is not a lot you can say to the players for such games. They know what is at stake and will try and do their jobs as best they can to see that the result is theirs at the end of the day. A good atmosphere can of course carry the players though, and the Cherries will surely have lots of comments in those programmes notes willing the home crowd to get behind the team for the 90 minutes.

Bournemouth have to start well and keep a good
tempo against a Derby side who will try to control the game.

This match is not only a test for the players but also for Eddie Howe going up against Steve McClaren. Getting a result against McClaren would mean a lot to Eddie I am sure. If the game goes according to plan then Eddie's preparations will have put the team in a good position as the match progresses, but if changes are needed I hope that Eddie reacts to that and goes with his beliefs in such an important match. Making the right calls is going to be difficult on such a night when the stakes are high, but as Eddie says every match is like a cup final now and they keep getting bigger and bigger.

It is pleasing that home advantage gives the Cherries every opportunity to give Derby one of the sternest tests they have yet had this season. I expect the minutes to fly by in this match but really believe it will be gripping from the start to the finish, because AFCB will know that they have arrived if they can put this game away.

The Rams have sold their allocation of 1374 tickets for the game. Let's make sure we out sing them for the full 90 minutes!