Real Football Man All of the Football, All of the time
There may be a slightly curtailed Premier League programme this afternoon due to events at Wembley over the next couple of days but that’s not to say the matters at the bottom are no less important as a whole host of teams will be looking for a vital win to help their chances of survival.
For the two teams playing at The Vitality Stadium later today they both need a win for slightly differing reasons. Bournemouth need a win to all but secure their Premier League status for a third straight season while Middlesbrough require all three points as they bid to claw themselves out of the dropzone.
For Eddie Howe’s men their trip to North London last weekend was a sobering one after they were soundly beaten by title chasing Tottenham. They were the latest team to ship 4 goals at White Hart Lane as Mauricio Pochettino’s men ran wild in the Easter sunshine.
It was a defeat that came at a cost with the news that Jack Wilshere broke his leg in the second half and he will play no further part in Bournemouth’s season. The England international has now returned to The Emirates to undergo another spell of rehabilitation.
Wilshere’s time on the South Coast did not quite live up to expectations. Although the 25 year old got a decent run of games under his belt it’s fair to say his input was not all that great. No goals and 2 assists for Bournemouth and now Arsene Wenger has to decide whether or not to offer him a new contract for next season and beyond.
So Bournemouth go into this game without Wilshere but you could argue how much of a blow that will actually turn out to be. This is a side that has not won any of their last four matches and it is fair to say that the job in regards to staying up is not done just yet.
With 35 points to their name they could still very well get pulled into the mire should the likes of Hull and Swansea pick up a win this afternoon in their respective home matches, so this is nothing less than a must win but then again the same can be said for Middlesbrough.
They have not won since December when they beat Swansea 3-0 at The Riverside Stadium, it has been a barren run since then with Aitor Karanka losing his job in the process. For new boss Steve Agnew he has returned just two points from a possible fifteen during his time in charge.
Monday night saw them edged out by Arsenal in front of their own fans. There were signs of improvement as they were on the wrong end of a 2-1 scoreline, but the steps they are making are not big enough and they still find themselves in a lot of trouble.
A win on Monday albeit unlikely would have left survival in their own hands as the gap to Hull would have been three points while still having a game in hand. But with another defeat to their name it means they are going to have to do something pretty special to finish outside the bottom three.
Ultimately that something special will mean winning matches, it’s fair to say that they are going to have to win four of their last six to have any realistic chance of staying up this season, but when you look at the fact that they have only won four all season then the feat does begin to look unlikely.
Bournemouth will go into this game as favourites and will need to make sure that they make the most of that tag as defeat for them Today and the nerves will begin to creep in. They were safe by this time last season but they cannot seem to get over the line.
That said I think even with their form at present, they would have identified this game as the winnable one and one that makes life just a touch easier. I think it’s going to be a long and fruitless journey for Middlesbrough as they suffer defeat in a few hours. A home win for me.
