There will be everything to play for when Bournemouth will face Stoke City on their home turf in Dean Court. While Stoke City is in a spot of bother having won only one out of their last five Premier League games, Bournemouth will look to extend their good form with two wins from their last two fixtures, having conceded a goal in none of them.
While Bournemouth are firmly placed in the top half of the Premier League with just three games to spare, Stoke City has made their way up to the 12th position and looking to get a much-needed win under their belt. Both teams have a few individuals in their lineup, who can light up the game with their spark of brilliance on any given day.
When the two teams meet, there will be a few key battles which both sets of supporters will look out for. Three such battles are given as followed-
Joshua King vs Ryan Shawcross
Joshua King has been in good form of late and is scoring crucial goals for his team. He was the one who scored the late winner against the Sunderland side, which showed them the door out of the Premier League for the next season. However, he will be no doubt confronted by the in-form defender Ryan Shawcross from Stoke City and will surely have to double his efforts to get the ball in the back of the opposition goal past the centre back.
Bruno Martins Indi vs Stanislas
It will be an exciting contest to watch out for with Stanislas facing the Portuguese defender Bruno Martins Indi in their forthcoming encounter. Wilshere is out injured and he is likely to replace the Englishman for the Cherries and will look to create chances for himself as well as his teammates to score goals. However, Martins Indi will not make their task a very easy one and will look to stop Stanislas from scoring against them at any cost.
Xherdan Shaqiri vs Tyrone Mings
Xherdan Shaqiri has been one of the most influential players for the Stoke City side since his arrival. His return to the side after an injury layoff will be a boost to Stoke City to launch attacks on the Bournemouth goal, which they have not done very often this season. However, the Swiss attacking midfielder is supposed to face problems scoring goals against the diligent figure of the English defender Tyrion Mings in the Bournemouth defence.
