Will AFCB be tested by QPR?

Bournemouth will have to look out for QPR's new recruits as they take on the London side at Dean Court. QPR have been boosting their numbers with the signings of Albert Adomah having been released by Nottingham Forest and Chris Willock from Benfica, as well as Charlie Kelman a striker from Southen United. The Cherries managed to keep hold of Josh King and David Brooks, and their successful attempt to land Cameron Carter-Vickers from Tottenham took them into extra-time on deadline day.

AFCB take on QPR today with the possibility of showing off new signings.

QPR come to Bournemouth on the back of two 1-1 draws against Sheffield Wednesday and Middlesbrough. Lying in ninth place, five points behind the Cherries Mark Warburton's team will know they have a tough task to halt the Cherries' unbeaten run. Lyndon Dykes is going to be available to QPR despite having a busy time on international duty for Scotland. Bournemouth fans will be encouraged by the fact that QPR haven't won any of their last five away games.

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How many of Bournemouth's international players make the starting line-up is harder to work out. Chris Mepham was injured but played a couple of games, and Jefferson Lerma has done a lot of traveling while David Brooks was hardly used, and Josh King had the Norweigan games and all the transfer speculation to deal with. We also saw Junior Stanislas and Charlie Daniels in training as well as new signing Rodrigo Riquelme. So Bournemouth are likely to be not far off full strength.

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The strong duo of Dan Gosling and Jefferson Lerma could be split up in this game to give Lerma a chance to recover from a busy week. So an opportunity for Philip Billing, who warmed the bench for Denmark this week, could be likely and he'll be pushed by Lewis Cook for a start. The other key area is upfront and whether Jason Tindall sticks with Dominic Solanke and Arnaut Danjuma at home. This seems to be the most likely choice with Sam Surridge on the bench.

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I expect the Cherries to be tested more in the next four games with Cardiff City, Watford and Bristol City all having promotion aims. This is the start of a key period when AFCB can start to build a gap on some of the likely rivals for the promotion places.

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AFCB Home Form
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QPR Away Form
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Possible AFCB line up

AFCB subs: Travers, Simpson, Daniels, L Cook, Riquelme, King, Surridge

Previous post on Cherry Chimes - If King goes Bournemouth really have to pick up a striker

Cook and Elphick had Bamford in their pocket

The pre-match hype for the AFCB v Middlesbrough game was all about Patrick Bamford and Callum Wilson. Which U21 striker would prevail in one of the games of the season? Bamford had been in sparkling form before this fixture having scored four in his last four games and all AFCB fans were being told is that you have to keep Bamford quiet if you are to get anything from this match.

Patrick Bamford couldn't escape the clutches of Elphick and Cook last Saturday.

When the final whistle went though AFCB fans were saying Bamford who? That is the job that Tommy Elphick and Steve Cook did, it was magnificent. They managed a complete shut out against a team that was said to be riding high having just beaten Derby and Ipswich. I was expecting to see the power of Albert Adomah and trickery lee Tomlin cause the Cherries problems at the back, but they were stopped from creating and with Bamford starved of service it never looked like the striker on Chelsea's books was going to add to his 16 goals of the season.

It was a match when the best attack would go up against the best defence and AFCB's attack was far superior on the day. Still Middlesbrough had not suffered such a defeat all season and to not manage a shot on target says all you need to know about how Steve Cook and Tommy Elphick did on the day.

Another good shut out for Steve and Tommy.

When we reach the end of the season and you are looking at who should be player of the season, don't forget that AFCB's central defenders have been incredible in what has only been their second season in the Championship.

Meanwhile, Matt Ritchie made his Scotland debut at Hampden Park last night wearing No8 and he started the game and made the assist for Scotland's goal that Christophe Berra scored from Matt Ritchie's corner in the 85th minute - Scotland 1 v 0 N Ireland. Ritchie might now play against Gibraltar on Sunday in the Euro 2016 qualifier. The official AFCB site has a fill AFCB international player fixture list.

Finally, the Independent was reporting last night that Arsenal and England U20 striker Chuba Akpom could be on his way to signing on loan with AFCB today, although Norwich and Forest are also in the running for his signature.

The Cherries can make it really tough for Boro

Middlesbrough have hung in well in the Championship race, but this week just might see them just start to struggle to hold on with Watford. It is not that AFCB are ratcheting up their title bid by improving their home performances, Boro have four home games left which is a help but they have Watford and Norwich still to face on their travels. Having fought a hard match against Derby in midweek and Ipswich just three days before that, it has been a very testing period for Middlesbrough which they have come through well, but perhaps this next hurdle will be too high for them.

AFCB will go into the match with plenty of confidence having picked up their home performances after a difficult February and they can see the finishing line getting closer if they can win this match and get a positive result at Ipswich. Middlesbrough and other teams might then be hoping for other teams to do them a favour. It is important that the Cherries do make it a hard match against Boro as they have been under the most intense pressure with so many top of the table clashes in a row. 

AFCB v Boro last season.

Boro are a very strong team and we have seen their key players like Patrick Bamford, Grant Leadbitter and Albert Adomah come to the fore in recent weeks. Now their supporters will be wondering if they can sustain it. That has been the one thing that has kept them from forging ahead in this league. The odd defeat to Forest, Sheffield Wednesday and Leeds in recent weeks has just clipped their wings and while they fought back with a terrific performances against Ipswich and Derby, a defeat to AFCB might be harder for them to recover from with the international break coming before the next match.

As always the crowd will be important for this home match and AFCB fans have to raise the roof if they want the team to deliver a result that can take them closer to their dream. There is no place for nervous quietness or silent expectancy. The Cherries will need every supporter to get right behind them to help them get the points. Boro are a very talented team and we saw how well they played against AFCB at the Riverside and it is important that they are not allowed to get their noses further in front. This is the match that can push AFCB much further towards the automatic places and AFCB fans need to shake the rafters and bring the passion to this early starting match - today is the day! Let's give the team the support they need to put this Championship rival on the floor. UTCIAD!

Are Boro about to play second fiddle to AFCB?

All through this season Middlesbrough have been in and around the play-off zone and yet they have only been top of the division for one week between 9-16 February. Whether they have enough about them to win the league I guess will be shown this weekend. They have by far the best defence, but scoring goals has not been so easy for them and yet they have beaten Derby, Ipswich and Norwich well at home. Away from home it is a little different though and it probably tells us why they have not been top for more weeks.

How will Middlesbrough play it against the Cherries?

On the road Boro have taken 10 points from their last six away games. It's good but not amazing and it was only six points from the previous five away games before that. Boro like to keep it tight and are very good at keeping clean sheets though and they are capable of pinching games with the likes of Patrick Bamford, Albert Adomah and Lee Tomlin - Derby County found that out recently.

It is really not an easy game for the Cherries, but it's the kind of game the players should be looking forward to. You should want to play against the best players and Boro have a team that is well managed and strong in virtually all areas. But would Boro be happy to take a point from this game and move on? I think they might and that may have a bearing on how Aitor Karanka sets his team up. I hope they come to play with the cameras at Dean Court and that the game is open, but everything tells me that Boro's best chance maybe to try and slow the game down and simply aim to stay in the game, before an opportunity might fall to them.

AFCB have not been beaten at home since 10 January when Norwich beat them 1-2. AFCB are getting better though at home and playing in front of the cameras, and if they can go into the international break in the automatic promotion places the break will have come at a good time.

Middlesbrough Away Form
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AFCB Home Form
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Rival Lines: Cherry Chimes talks to Anthony Vickers' untypical Boro

Rival Lines
Blogger Interview: Anthony Vickers' Untypical Boro
Match Preview: Middlesbrough v AFCB

Middlebrough players
at Dean Court last season.

When Cherry Chimes asked Anthony Vickers to answer some questions ahead of the Middlesbrough v AFCB match neither of us expected the clubs to be placed one and two in the Championship, but the form of both teams has seen them position themselves above the pundits' more favoured teams. Anthony Vickers' Untypical Boro blog has been busy making the headlines, but what does he think about whether Boro have the long term credentials to challenge for the Championship title?

CC: Do you feel Aitor Karanka is a much better manager than a year ago?

AVUB: He's always been a good manager. He adapted to the relentless grind of the Championship very quickly and got to grips with the strengths and weaknesses of his squad quickly too. After a shaky start of one win in five, Boro have made progress by the month, although it has been steady rather than spectacular.

The first thing was to shore up a defence that was leaking goals - two in the first 12 minutes up here against Bournemouth last year. Two stupid self-inflicted penalties was pretty much the norm before he arrived - and he managed that quickly by changing the shape. The cost of that was an eight game run without scoring and that became "the story" for a spell, but that run also included six clean sheets which was part of laying down the foundations.

Boro finished last season with six wins out of eight, then over the summer Karanka had the chance to bring in the players he wanted, players with the skill set that suited his system. So I don't think he is a better manager but he now has the tools to do the job.

CC: Grant Leadbitter and Garcia Martinez have been doing well, do you always feel confident about them sticking away their chances?

AVUB: Boro fans would say that Kike (Garcia) misses too many chances but that is an occupational hazard, while five of Leadbitter's goals have been penalties. But they all count. Taking the goals out of the equation, both of those players have been very effective: Leadbitter is a determined driving force who can grab a game by the throat while Kike is a technically superb player with deft touches and perhaps does his best work deeper, linking up and bringing people into play.

Boro struggled to score at the start of the season, but as the new players gel they are creating and taking more chances with the goals being shared around. Which is nice.

CC: Was the League Cup match against Liverpool an indication of how far the team has progressed under Karanka?

AVUB: Looking at Liverpool's current stifling mediocrity it is hard to say. But at the time it was a fantastic ego boost to go to a Champions League side with £30m worth of strikers up front and only lose over 120 minutes by the odd goal in 31.

It was more a sign of the mentality of what is a relatively young and inexperienced squad that they weren't in the slightest bit overawed at Anfield. They got stuck in, they did themselves proud and came away buzzing from the experience. It was a good day out for the fans too.

CC: Would it be good for your players to experience being top of the league or do you think it would put too much pressure on them at this stage?

AVUB: The public party line is that "it is nice just to be in touch at this stage" but I think the manager would like to be able to lead from the front. I don't think the pressure would be an issue. At Boro there is more pressure in not being up there and challenging. A lot of fans who grew up with Premier League superstars demand that. Being top would certainly help reignite the lapsed loyalists who have drifted away disillusioned by five fruitless years in the Championship.

CC: Is the team more suited to playing away at the moment on the break?

AVUB: I think they probably are. They have the pace to really hurt teams on the counter and means they need the opposition to push forward a bit to create space. Away the onus is on the opposition to attack and Boro have exploited that. Boro have only lost twice away (Leeds and Wolves) and only conceded more one goals once (at Wolves.)

At home when sides have come to park the bus they have struggled to find space, get behind them and create chances and early on found that frustrating. In more recent games they have had more joy, especially when the visitors tried to play football - Brentford, Watford and Norwich - and have managed to impose their own styles.

CC: Who has been the best player for you so far?

AVUB: It's hard to pick out individuals because that the team has been so effective no matter who plays. Adam Clayton and Grant Leadbitter have been excellent in midfield and the full-backs George Friend and Ryan Fredericks have been potent outlets too. Adam Reach has improved dramatically In recent weeks while Patrick Bamford has been superb in the last few.

CC: Albert Adomah and Adam Reach have come in from a lot of praise on the wings so has Middlesbrough become a better crossing team?

AVUB: Yes, I think so. Reach has matured in the past year and is far more productive while Adomah seems to have upped his work-rate and while he is not scoring so freely, arguably he is far more effective for the team. The full-backs have also over-lapped and put good crosses in too. Plus, more importantly, Boro are getting more bodies into the box onto the end of crosses.

CC: How impressive has Konstantopoulis been in goal?

AVUB: He's no world-beater but golden oldie Dimi is solid and dependable, has plenty of experience and seems to organise his defence well. At the back end of last season and from when he stepped in this term after five games, he has an impressive clean sheet record. He complements a hard working defence.

CC: Karanka said Boro should have beaten Watford as you had the chances, so do you think you will buy a striker in January and who do you think could be a good buy?

AVUB: No, I don't think Boro will add a striker. With Kike, Bamford and Vossen (yet to really show what he can do) Boro are well equipped up front. There are plenty of wide men and midfielders too. Possibly they may think about a central defender (although Veljkovic has arrived on loan from Spurs and we haven't seen him yet) and if Dimi were to get injured they may be forced to bring in a first choice keeper. The squad is strong enough I think.

CC: Are you at all surprised with where Boro is in the league this season?

AVUB: No, personally I expected them to be top six and challenging. They finished very well last season and added strength in depth so I think there was an expectation within the club that they would be among the leaders from the off. Once bitten, twice shy - fans may not all have shared that view but certainly inside the camp that was always the target.

CC: What is your score prediction for the Bournemouth match?

AVUB: I'd take a draw right now. This season Boro have played better against "footballing" sides so I'd hope for a good performance and an entertaining game but low scoring. 1-1?

Thank you Anthony for some very detailed answers on how the Middlesbrough team is playing and lots of views on their strengths and weaknesses (not too many of those). I am hopeful that this early season top of the table clash does not disappoint in terms of entertainment. AFCB do go at teams away from home and will play their fast breaking football so if Boro also go looking for goals it could be a real thriller. There is not a harder place for the Cherries to go this season and even though the team has been on a fantastic winning run I don't think a draw would be a bad result. Even if the Cherries were to lose they would still be in the top six which is a great place to be in having been 11th at the last international break.

For more of Anthony's views take a gander at his Anthony Vickers' Untypical Boro blog.