Bournemouth vs Southampton. Premier League.
Vitality StadiumAttendance11,113.
Sunday 18 December 2016 17:01, UK
Bournemouth are looking to record back-to-back wins for the first time since March at home to south coast rivals Southampton on Super Sunday, live on Sky Sports 1 HD from 12.30pm.
The Cherries jumped to eighth in the Premier League with Tuesday night's victory over Leicester, their highest ever league position.
Southampton head to the Vitality Stadium as one of the league's lowest scorers having netted just 14 times in their last 16 matches. Claude Puel's men have only won five of their 16 league matches this season but have kept four clean sheets in their last five.
Bournemouth forward Callum Wilson will be available having been cleared following a check for concussion.
Midfielder Ryan Fraser will be assessed on an ankle problem, but otherwise manager Eddie Howe reported no fresh fitness concerns following the midweek win over Leicester.
Junior Stanislas continues to recovery from his own ankle injury, while fellow midfielder Andrew Surman will miss out again due to an on-going hamstring issue.
Matt Targett has joined Charlie Austin in being an anticipated long-term injury absentee.
Targett has undergone surgery on his injured hamstring and is expected to be sidelined for four months, while Austin faces a shoulder operation.
Cedric Soares is expected to feature after recovering from illness and goalkeeper Alex McCarthy is back in training. Oriel Romeu, meanwhile, is sidelined due to a one-match ban after recently collecting his fifth booking of the season.
Four of the last five competitive meetings between Bournemouth and Southampton have ended in a 2-0 win for the team playing at home.
Southampton have lost just one of their last seven league games versus Bournemouth (W5 D1 L1), although this did come in their last meeting.
There has been a red card in three of the last four competitive meetings between these sides, with two being shown to Southampton players.
Bournemouth have won as many home games in their last seven Premier League games (W5) as they did in their first 20 in the competition.
The two Premier League players to have created the most goalscoring chances without having assisted a goal this season are both Southampton players: Dusan Tadic (32) and Nathan Redmond (28).
Southampton have scored only four goals in their last eight Premier League games, despite attempting 101 shots in total in these games.
Saints have scored with the lowest proportion of their total shots in the Premier League this season (5.7%).
On the back of a good result against Leicester I fancy Bournemouth here. Saints are really lacking up front, with Austin unavailable. If you can't break down 10-man Stoke then you are going struggle.
It is a small ground down there, though, so there will always be chances for both. Saints will probably get one, but that won't be enough.
PAUL PREDICTS: 2-1 (Sky Bet odds 10/1)
Southampton are the 7/5 favourites with Sky Bet to win on the road at Bournemouth on Sunday afternoon. The Cherries are 19/10 outsiders despite having home advantage and the draw is available at 9/4.
Jack Wilshere is impressing for Bournemouth and Sky Sports pundit Charlie Nicholas is tipping the midfielder to score first in a 1-1 draw at the Vitality Stadium That prediction can be backed at 55/1 with Sky Bet.
