Bournemouth host Hull City at the Vitality Stadium as they look to keep up with the league leaders in the Championship. The two teams last met at the MKM Stadium back in August of last year. The game ended in a 0-0 stalemate as Docherty came closest to breaking the deadlock when he hit the crossbar.
The home side ended their winless run of six games with back-to-back wins against QPR and Cardiff City at the end of last year. Bournemouth’s revival lasted only for two games as they lost yet another game against Luton Town on Saturday. Luton Town’s 97th minute by Kal Naismith sealed a 3-2 win for the Hatters. Bournemouth are yet to find the consistency they had in the first 16 game weeks.
That loss leaves Bournemouth 2nd on the table with 49 points, 5 points behind league leaders Fulham. Blackburn Rovers are in 3rd place, chasing down the Cherries. They have equal points and have played one game extra.
Bournemouth Championship form: L L W W L
Hull City on the other hand comes into this game on the back of a monumental 2-0 win against Premier League promotion candidates Blackburn Rovers. Goals by Honeyman and Tom Eaves in either half secured the three points for the Tigers.
The win puts them 19th on the table with 26 points. 7 points clear of the drop zone. Hull City lost back to back four games in all competitions before their win against Blackburn Rovers. They have only collected 11 points in 13 games away from home which is only better than two other teams. But manager Grant McCann will focus on their recent win and hope to build some momentum from it.
Hull City Championship form: D D L L W
Bournemouth vs Hull City: Team news
Bournemouth
The home side could be welcoming Phillip Billing back into the side after being sidelined in their game against Luton Town. The manager will take the call before the game after assessing his condition.
Jordan Zemura could also feature for the Cherries since his national side has been knocked out of the African Cup of Nations.
New signing Ethan Laird will not be available for this game and has to wait for his debut. Robbie Bradie, Junior Stanislas, and Adam Smith will also miss out on the game due to injuries.
Possible Bournemouth starting line-up
Travers, Stacey, Cahill, Kelly, Davis, Cook, Lerma, Marcondes, Christie, Solanke, Anthony
Hull City
Grant McCann will be without the services of Mallik Wilks, Josh Emmanuel, Lewie Coyle, Alfie Jones, Andy Cannon, and Callum Elder. They all miss out due to injuries.
It is unlikely that the manager will make any changes to the team that performed so well against Blackburn Rovers. The same team could feature barring any injuries or Covid cases.
Possible Hull City staring line-up
Baxter, Bernard, McLoughlin, Greaves, Williams, Smallwood, Docherty, Longman, Honeyman, Eaves, Lewis-Potter
Our prediction
Bournemouth 2-0 Hull City
It will be very difficult for Hull City to repeat their performance against Rovers. Bournemouth are a very strong side with the home advantage. They will be hungry for all three points.
Hull City have struggled to get goals all season. Only bottom of the table Barnsley have scored lesser goals than the Tigers. This suggests they will not trouble Travers a lot in the Bournemouth goal.
We see this as a comfortable win for the home side.
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