Bournemouth face tricky looking test of in form Cardiff City

Bournemouth face the biggest game of their season this evening as they host Cardiff City, who have won five consecutive matches under new manager Mick McCarthy and are now just three points behind the Cherries going into the clash.

Victory for the Bluebirds tomorrow evening would see them leapfrog Jonathan Woodgate’s side in the table on goal difference, but the visit to the South Coast will be the toughest test yet for the South Wales side’s new boss, who has enjoyed wins over the likes of Preston, Luton and Coventry in recent times.

The Cherries themselves have found it tough to pick up consistent results in the league, collecting just seven points from their last five matches. They’ve have fallen well down the table and out of the automatic promotion picture, which they are now eight points off.

However, the news that Woodgate has been appointed as head coach until the end of the season will have settled everyone down at the club and give the players security knowing what will be happening between now and the end of the season.

The former Middlesbrough man was pleased to have “clarity” on the situation at the club when he spoke to the club’s official channels.

“Obviously the circumstances haven’t been great over the past couple of weeks, it’s been tough.

“But now we get clarity moving forward for the players and myself – that’s a good thing. It’s really important going forward. Now we’ve got 15 (league) games left.

“It was important that, okay they (the club’s board) have looked at different options and picked me as their option to manage the club going forward for the next 15 games and, hopefully, trying to get promotion.”

Woodgate has tasted defeat just once since taking over on a temporary basis from Jason Tindall, who was sacked earlier in the month, and has really grown a real reputation at the club. He now has a chance to get them back to the Premier League at the first time of asking, although it looks like the route will have to come through the play offs due to the points difference.

The physiological boost of getting the better of a play-off chasing side will do wonders for a Cherries’ squad, who have struggled to find any form of consistency in recent weeks. With 15 games remaining, they know they need to start winning back to back games otherwise they will quickly find themselves outside of the top six which they have been in since the opening day.

Scoring goals has never been a problem for them this season, netting 45 to date, a figure which can only be bettered by 2nd place Brentford. But there have been a lot of defensive errors leading to goals, something which an in form Cardiff will be looking to capitalise on when they visit the Vitality Stadium, having not tasted defeat since January 20th.

The likes of Middlesbrough, Barnsley and Stoke are also not far behind Woodgate’s men, so it’s vital they start picking up results quickly, otherwise they could quickly slip down the table and be out of the race.

Cardiff have several key players for the Cherries to keep an eye on, but Kieffer Moore is one of the stars of their season, netting 14 goals in just 27 matches with just a goal every 157 minutes. He’s a forward that the Cherries will need to be really careful against this evening.

It’s all set for a thrilling contest between two sides vying for promotion back to the Premier League come the end of the season.

Tom Mason will be providing live updates from the Vitality Stadium as Bournemouth look to end Cardiff’s five match winning run.

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