Howe has to get the better of McClaren's Toons

Saturday will see another great battle for points at the Vitality stadium as Newcastle are the visitors and like the Cherries they desperately need the points. The Toon Army have similar problems to the Cherries in terms of confidence having earned just one win all season. If Steve McClaren loses this game though, he will surely come under even more pressure as fans see the gap above them to safety suddenly starting to widen.

It will be the first time that Steve McClaren has come back to the stadium since bringing his former Derby team who managed to claw a 2-2 draw against the Cherries in February, on that occasion in the Championship. So Steve knows Eddie Howe and Bournemouth's game well, and it will be his problem to come up with a way to defend against a team that he knows he can't afford to really lose to at this stage.

At the back they have been playing Daryl Janmaat and Chancel Mbemba along with Fabricio Coloccini and Paul Dummett, while Rob Elliot has come into the team for long term goalkeeping casualty Tim Krul. McClaren is probably going to have to make changes though as Elliot was suffering from a thigh problem even before their last match. Newcastle now have a goalkeeping crisis. Teenager Freddie Woodman may even have to play in goal against AFCB, although Ellliot hopes to recover in time. They have other problems too, as right back Daryl Janmaat is also a doubt having come off in the draw against Stoke City. Jamaal Lascelles, who replaced Janmaat in the game, is expected to fill in again if Janmaat can't recover in time.

Still, having kept a clean sheet against Stoke City at home in their last match, it is clear that Newcastle are going to make it hard for teams at St James' Park. When you look at their away outings though they look very fragile in defence. A humiliating 3-0 loss to the Black Cats was probably worse for their fans to suffer than the 6-1 drubbing at the Etihad. Newcastle are done the bottom for a reason. Like AFCB they let in too many goals.

They are also not a team though that strikes fear into other teams with their line up. In midfield Moussa Sissoko is probably the pick of their creative players, but one star performance from Georginhio Wijnaldum with his four goals against Norwich City marks him out as another player that the Cherries will have to be looking to stop. Newcastle have not played Pappa Demba Cisse up front since he came on as a sub in the last two minutes in the Norwich game. More often than not it is Ayoze Perez that has been given the role to support Aleksandar Mitrovic. Scoring has not been easy for them though and they have other concerns too about their general play.

The Cherries will roll up their sleeves for this one.

This is a huge game for both sides, but Eddie Howe has much in his favour with the match being at home and one of this being the longest away trip for the Magpies. A defeat for Newcastle would surely deflate them at this point, and it is a chance to change the direction of the season so far for the Cherries.

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