After being handed a disheartening defeat by Chelsea, Bournemouth visit White Hart lane next to face Tottenham Hotspur. The Lilywhites are on a six-game winning streak and Bournemouth will have to produce something special if they are to get a positive result against the North-London side.
Defence
Artur Boruc is expected to start under the bar. The Polish international had a game to forget against Chelsea as Antonio Conte’s men put three goals past him. Though not the best of seasons, but the aged hands of the Bournemouth keeper have been magical on big occasions this season.
The greatest boost for Eddie Howe will be the return of Tyrone Mings. The 24-year-old’s vibrancy in the central defence brings an extraordinary belief in the team and the Cherries have undoubtedly suffered while he was serving his ban. He will be taking his place alongside Steve Cook once again.
This allows for skipper Simon Francis to shift to his natural position of right-back. Adam Smith didn’t have the best of games last time and the manager would be relieved to have a settled player in his role. The left defensive flank should be taken by Charlie Daniels.
Midfield
With Dan Gosling, doubtful for the game owing to his knee injury that kept him out of the last game too, Howe will have to stick to his formula of Harry Arter and Jack Wilshere in the deep midfield.
Wilshere should relish his old position in the deep midfield that Arsene Wenger used to play him at Arsenal. His ball control and vision could be instrumental for the Cherries from the central midfield. And given the infamous connection the 25-year-old shares with Tottenham supporters, he is surely in for some rash behaviour every time he gets the ball. Arter will be his usual productive self, alongside him expecting a positive result reminiscent of the one in Old Trafford.
Attack
The flanks should be taken by the usual Marc Pugh and Ryan Fraser. Pugh should start on the left wing while Fraser on the other. The duo had quite a fruitless game against a strong Chelsea side last week as the Blues completely dominated from the beginning to the end.
We expect Eddie Howe to stick with his two-striker setup against an in-form Tottenham side. Pochettino likes to build the game from the back and the Bournemouth boss would expect his two forwards Benik Afobe and Joshua King to catch them high on the field. The duo was involved in the only goal Bournemouth managed to get against Chelsea though it didn’t amount to much.
