Bournemouth play host to Peterborough United on Tuesday evening knowing that they will return to the automatic promotion places if they avoid defeat at the Vitality Stadium.
However, Scott Parker will be demanding all three points against opponents who sit eight points adrift of safety at the bottom of the Championship standings.
Match preview
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Having gone into the weekend on a four-match winning streak in the Championship, there was a perception that Bournemouth were on the right track to close down leaders Fulham.
However, their previous two successes had come through late comebacks, and the Cherries' luck ran out on Saturday as Preston North End came from behind to win 2-1 at Deepdale.
Tensions boiled over during the closing stages as manager Parker and one of his players were sent off, with the capitulation leading to Bournemouth dropping behind Huddersfield Town.
On a positive note, they still possess four matches in hand on the Terriers, making them clear favourites to quickly move back into the top two, but Parker will want an immediate improvement from his squad.
While eight goals have been scored in their last five Championship fixtures, five efforts have been conceded over the same period, something which may hand encouragement to their next opponents.
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After giving a solid account of themselves against Manchester City in the FA Cup, Peterborough had hoped to build on that performance at Huddersfield three days later.
However, conceding twice in the opening seven minutes effectively ended the game as a contest, and it leaves Grant McCann continuing to hope for miracles during the closing two months of the season.
Although there have been times in recent weeks where Posh have shown some fight, they have now scored just one goal in eight games, that strike coming in the 89th minute of a defeat at Fulham.
Peterborough have also lost 16 of their 18 matches on their travels this season, scoring just nine goals, and it would come as a huge surprise if they were able to lay a glove on their hosts on the South Coast.
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Team News
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With Adam Smith serving a suspension, right-back Ethan Laird will come into the Bournemouth starting lineup.
Ryan Christie could get the nod over Jaidon Anthony in the final third, but Jefferson Lerma continues to serve a suspension.
McCann is expected to make several changes to his Peterborough XI, including handing a recall to Oliver Norburn.
Kwame Poku's place in the team is seemingly at risk after he was withdrawn after just 25 minutes at Huddersfield, a move which was tactical rather than injury-related.
McCann may feel that it is worth being more adventurous in the final third with Jonson Clarke-Harris and Jack Marriott both in contention.
Bournemouth possible starting lineup:
Travers; Laird, Phillips, Kelly, Zemura; Cantwell, Cook, Billing; Lowe, Solanke, Christie
Peterborough United possible starting lineup:
Benda; Edwards, Beevers, Knight; Ward, Fuchs, Norburn, Coulson; Szmodics; Clarke-Harris, Marriott
We say: Bournemouth 3-0 Peterborough United
Given the circumstances behind the defeat at Preston, you have to expect a Bournemouth response on Tuesday. While Peterborough could show resilience for a time, the Cherries should eventually make light work of their opponents.
Top tip
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Bournemouth win with a probability of 79.13%. A draw had a probability of 13.9% and a win for Peterborough United had a probability of 6.94%.
The most likely scoreline for a Bournemouth win was 2-0 with a probability of 13.49%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 3-0 (11.53%) and 1-0 (10.52%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (6.62%), while for a Peterborough United win it was 0-1 (2.58%). The actual scoreline of 1-1 was predicted with a 6.6% likelihood.
