Bournemouth turn attention back to league action with chance to move back into the top two with visit of Millwall

Bournemouth return to league action tomorrow evening with the incentive of knowing that a win against Millwall would take them back into the top two of the Championship.

The Cherries are one game behind most clubs in the division in terms of games played after a postponement on Boxing Day due to a Covid-19 outbreak in the Lions’ camp.

Both sides come into the clash on the back of progressing through to the fourth round of the FA Cup with comfortable victories over lower league opposition, Jason Tindall’s side saw off League Two Oldham Athletic 4-1, while Millwall edged out Non League Boreham Wood 2-0.

Gary Rowett’s side have found life tough in the second tier this term, winning just five times in the campaign, and have picked up just one victory in their last 13 which has seen them fall all the way down to 17th, just six points above the drop zone.

As for Bournemouth, they have been beaten just three times in the opening 22 matches and have lost just one of their last eight matches in all competitions which came against Preston North End at the beginning of December.

Jack Stacey and Cameron Carter-Vickers both made their returns from injury in the FA Cup win over the weekend and having come through that unscathed, are set to be involved once more, more likely from the bench as they build up their fitness.

Tindall used the game against the Latics as an opportunity to rest first team regulars including captain Steve Cook, Lewis Cook and forward Dominic Solanke, all of who are set to be back in the team tomorrow evening.

Due to Bournemouth being in the Premier League for a number of seasons prior to this year, this will be the first league meeting between the two sides since December 2014 when Eddie Howe’s side claimed a 2-0 victory at the Den thanks to goals from Yann Kermorgant and Harry Arter.

Cherries’ boss Tindall has spoken to the club’s official website ahead of the clash with Millwall tomorrow evening.

“It’s another really tough game, they’ve had some good results against some of the better sides in the division in terms of league standings so it’s going to be a tough game for us.

“I’m sure they’ll come here looking to defend and get a lot of bodies behind the ball and make it as difficult as possible for us but it’s down to us to take the game to Millwall like we do everyone and it’s down to us to break down whatever they throw at us and hopefully we can do that.

We know with the Championship that every team possesses different styles and different challenges for the opposition and they’re a tough side to play against, they’ve been in the Championship for a number of years now and done extremely well and they’ve got a good squad so it’s going to be a difficult game for us.”

Tom Mason will be reporting live from the Vitality Stadium tomorrow evening to see if Bournemouth can move back into the automatic promotion places. Follow his twitter, @tom_mason18 to stay up to date with all the developments on the south coast as the action unfolds.

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