Good afternoon! Thank you very much for joining Sports Mole for today's Premier League clash between Bournemouth and West Bromwich Albion!

These two sides last met on the opening day of the season and West Brom's win that day would have buoyed their confidence as much as it deflated Bournemouth's. The landscape has changed significantly since then, though, and the Baggies come into this match needing a win to keep their faint hopes of survival alive.

We will have a closer look at both teams a little later, but first let's check out the team news...

BOURNEMOUTH STARTING XI: Begovic; Francis, S Cook, Ake, Smith; Stanislas, L Cook, Gosling, Ibe; King; Wilson

BOURNEMOUTH SUBS: Boruc, Daniels, Surman, Pugh, Fraser, Mousset, Defoe

WEST BROM STARTING XI: Foster; Dawson, Evans, Hegazi, Gibbs; Nyom, Livermore, Yacob, Brunt; Rodriguez, Rondon

WEST BROM SUBS: Myhill, Robson-Kanu, Phillips, McClean, Burke, Krychowiak, Field

What can we make of those two teams, then?

Well, the headline as far as the home side are concerned is that Josh King returns to the starting lineup this afternoon, having missed out against Tottenham last time out. Lys Mousset drops to the bench to make room for King, who has been battling a neck injury but is deemed fit enough to start here.

King's pace and power could cause plenty of problems for the West Brom defence, although he has not been able to make as big an impact at the start of 2018 as he did at at the start of 2017.

King's inclusion is one of two changes made by Eddie Howe to the team which started against Tottenham last weekend, with the other seeing Daniels drop to the bench and Jordon Ibe replace him in the starting lineup.

That switch will also see a shuffle in terms of personnel as Smith - who has been playing as a right midfielder in recent weeks - goes to left-back in order to accommodate Ibe.

Callum Wilson scored the only goal of the game the last time West Brom visited this stadium, and he again leads the line this afternoon despite being without a goal since the end of January.

Wilson's inclusion means that Jermain Defoe has to once again settle for a place on the bench, with the striker having struggled to work his way back into the first team following an injury-hit campaign. Time is running out for Defoe to put his name forward as a possibility for England's World Cup squad this summer.

Dan Gosling continues his run of games in the Bournemouth side in midfield this afternoon, while Junior Stanislas will be one to watch for West Brom having looked dangerous against Tottenham despite the 4-1 defeat in that match.

Eddie Howe is also able to call upon Ryan Fraser off the bench, with the winger having overcome a back problem to be included amongst the substitutes this afternoon.

As for West Brom, their headline news is that captain Jonny Evans returns to the starting lineup today having missed the Leicester defeat last weekend due to illness.

There has been plenty of speculation over the future of Evans beyond this season - with relegation reportedly triggering a clause in his contract to make him available for just £3m - but for now his sole focus must be on giving the Baggies a fighting chance of staying in the division.

The inclusion of Evans gives Alan Pardew a few choices in terms of formation this afternoon, with the option of playing three at the back - Evans alongside Dawson and Hegazi - or something more like a 4-4-2 system, with Dawson on the right and Nyom pushing further forward.

Pardew has generally put out more attacking formations than his predecessor Tony Pulis did during his time in charge of the Baggies, but that hasn't exactly shown in the results and it is no real surprise to see Pardew make some changes today.

Krychowiak and Phillips are the men to drop out for West Brom today as both go to the bench, with Pardew replacing them with Evans and Claudio Yacob - two defensive players in place of two who might have more of an impaxct going forward.

the inclusion of Livermore and Yacob in the middle of the park is a slightly defensive one from Pardew, but he knows that his side have been too easy to get at in recent weeks and the changes are no doubt designed to improve that.

Both Daniel Sturridge and Nacer Chadli are expected to return to training next week, but this game comes too soon for them so West Brom will again be left to rely on Salomon Rondon and Jay Rodriguez as their main goal threats.

Rondon in particular will be the one expected to provide the most problems to the Bournemouth defence, but he will need help around him as he is much more adept at holding the ball up and paying others in than putting it in the back of the net himself.

Rondon will be licking his lips coming up against this Bournemouth side, with the Cherries coming into this match having kept only one clean sheet in their last 17 Premier League games - and their last 20 outings across all competitions.

The solitary clean sheet in that time did come in an impressive 3-0 victory over Chelsea, but they have gone five games without one since then and that will be a concern for Eddie Howe.

© Offside

Indeed, Bournemouth have conceded exactly four goals in each of their last four Premier League defeats, although those losses have been much rarer in recent weeks.

The Cherries are also doing the business at the other end of the field too, scoring in each of their last 11 Premier League games - their best-ever goalscoring run in the top flight.

It took them just seven minutes to break the deadlock against Tottenham last weekend, but one of the major issues for Bournemouth this season has been holding on to their leads.

Spurs roared back to eventually win 4-1 at Dean Court - a scoreline which was harsh on Bournemouth but made it 19 points the Cherries have thrown away from winning positions this season. Only today's opponents West Brom have surrendered more points.

Even so, Bournemouth are still keeping themselves at arm's length of the relegation zone, and they come into this match at home to the league's bottom club knowing that victory would realistically need them leaving only one more win from their final seven games to secure a fourth season in the top flight.

The Cherries are currently 12th in the table and six points clear of the relegation zone so, while they are by no means safe yet, it is looking likely that they will manage to get themselves over the line.

Eddie Howe may even have loftier ambitions than merely avoiding relegation, and a second consecutive top-half finish is still on the cards with only three points separating Bournemouth from 10th-placed Watford as things stand.

Bournemouth will also be buoyed by the fact that they are only one point and one place worse off than the same stage of last season, when they went to to finish ninth. Four of Bournemouth's last eight games come against teams currently below them in the table too, so things are looking rosy for the Cherries.

That said, Bournemouth do come into this match winless in their last four outings, taking just two points from a possible 12 since seeing a seven-game Premier League unbeaten run come to an end before that.

Tottenham's win last weekend leaves Bournemouth looking to avoid consecutive defeats for the first time since before Christmas, but even counting that 4-1 home defeat at the hands of Mauricio Pochettino's side Bournemouth have been in decent form since Christmas, with only Man City and Spurs losing fewer games in the Premier League.

Bournemouth were unbeaten in six successive home games prior to last weekend's loss to Tottenham, which was their first reverse in front of their own fans since December 17.

Another defeat this afternoon would make it two in a row at home for the first time since their opening two of the season, although despite avoided back-to-back losses since then Bournemouth still have one of the worst home records in the division, with only Crystal Palace, Southampton and West Brom picking up fewer points in front of their own fans.

The Baggies, unsurprisingly, have the worst home record in the division, but things are no better on the road either and Alan Pardew's side make the trip to the Vitality Stadium looking for their first away league victory since August.

A 1-0 win at Burnley in their first away game of the season was a promising start having failed to win any in 2017 prior to that, but they have since gone 14 without a win on the road, picking up only four points from a possible 42 in that time - including five defeats from their last six.

Indeed, stretching back to the beginning of 2017 West Brom have won only one of their 23 Premier League away games, so it is no surprise that they have the worst record on the road this season.

The Baggies have picked up only seven points on their travels this season, while no team has scored fewer goals than their seven either. One relatively bright note is that they have 'only' conceded 23 away goals - fewer than 10 other teams including Liverpool and Arsenal - but when you have scored only seven that is still a losing formula.

The Baggies come into this match knowing that realistically they need a win to stand any chance of keeping their slim survival hopes alive - although even victory may not be enough.

Things look very bleak for Alan Pardew's side, with eight points separating them from safety - and seven points from 19th place - with only eight games of the season remaining. The Baggies board will reportedly not sack Pardew until the summer, but they are likely to be planning for the Championship already.

Pardew certainly hasn't managed to improve matters since taking over from Tony Pulis, winning just one of his 16 Premier League games in charge and picking up only eight points in that time - fewer than Pulis managed in his 14 games in charge before being sacked.

West Brom's current run is particularly bad, with the Baggies having lost all of their last seven games across all competitions, including six in a row in the Premier League.

You have to go back to January 20 for the last time West Brom pick up so much as a point in the Premier League, and January 13 for their last victory, and another defeat this afternoon would equal an unwanted Premier League record of seven consecutive defeats - last set in the 2002-03 campaign which unsurprisingly ended in relegation.

It all looked so promising for West Brom when they began the season with back-to-back wins - including beating Bournemouth in the reverse fixture - but they have won just one of their 28 league games since then.

Worryingly for West Brom, none of the 11 previous teams to have had 20 points or fewer after 30 games of a Premier League season have survived, so they will have to produce the greatest of escapes if they are to save themselves now.

The last team to have has 20 points after 30 games and still survive was Crystal Palace, who achieved the remarkable comeback in 1969-70.

Time is running out for West Brom to emulate that Palace side, though, particularly as they still have four of the top seven left to play in their final eight games of the season.

That run-in makes today's game all the more important, although Pardew is winless in his three previous Premier League matches against Eddie Howe, drawing one and losing two.

PREDICTION: Right, we're 10 minutes away from kickoff at the Vitality Stadium, which means that it is time fo a prediction!

It is hard to see past a Bournemouth win today. West Brom should be fighting for their lives, but instead they seem to be going down with a whimper and their form both in general and away from home is impossible to ignore. We're going for a convincing home win.

SPORTS MOLE SAYS: Bournemouth 3-0 West Brom

West Brom have actually won their last two meetings with Bournemouth, having lost two and drawn one of their opening three in the Premier League.

That includes the reverse fixture on the opening day of the season as Ahmed Hegazi scored the only goal of the game at The Hawthorns, and should West Brom win again today then they would complete the league double over Bournemouth for the first time since 1992-93, when both sides were in the third tier.

West Brom have never won a Premier League game here at the Vitality Stadium, though, with Bournemouth avoiding defeat on both of West Brom's previous visits to this stadium.

The most recent of those came in September 2016, when Callum Wilson scored the only goal of the game 11 minutes from time to hand the Cherries all three points.

In all these two sides have met 20 times in the past, with West Brom winning nine of those to Bournemouth's seven - including of course the most recent two.

However, the Baggies have never won three consecutive games against Bournemouth, which is something they could change this afternoon.

Right, the players are out and we're just about ready to get going here! A reminder of the team news before kickoff...

BOURNEMOUTH STARTING XI: Begovic; Francis, S Cook, Ake, Smith; Stanislas, L Cook, Gosling, Ibe; King; Wilson

WEST BROM STARTING XI: Foster; Dawson, Evans, Hegazi, Gibbs; Nyom, Livermore, Yacob, Brunt; Rodriguez, Rondon

KICKOFF: Here we go then! West Brom get us underway at the Vitality Stadium!

It has been a fairly purposeful start from West Brom here, with the visitors seeing the bulk of the possession and territory. Bournemouth have been slow to get started.

Better from the hosts as they begin to see more of the ball further up the field. Not much action to speak of in these opening exchanges, though.

This has been a very tentative start to this match. The vast majority of the game is being played in the middle third at the moment and neither side have yet managed to have a shot on goal.

Some patient build-up from the hosts ends with Ibe collecting the ball on the right side of the area, but Brunt steals the ball off him and launches a counter. The Baggies pour forward and Nyom advances down the right flank, but he overhits his cross and it goes behind for a goal kick.

CHANCE! The first chance of the day arrives for West Brom, and Rondon should perhaps do better. This time Nyom does deliver a better ball onto the head of Rondon, but he directs his header too close to Begovic.

West Brom win a cheap corner, but Brunt's delivery is floated towards the edge of the area. Dawson finds himself against three Bournemouth defenders, and unsurprisingly cannot win the header.

Francis gets the ball into the box and Wilson collects it, but he is crowded out by the West Brom defence.

BOURNEMOUTH SUB: An early blow for Bournemouth here as Francis is forced off with an injury, being replaced by Charlie Daniels.

Eddie Howe will want his side to up the tempo here. The hosts should come into this match with the greater confidence and West Brom in their current state will be there for the taking, but Bournemouth are struggling to really get a hold of the game here.

SAVE! Daniels comes forward and tries his luck with a low drive from range, but it is easy for Foster to get down and save.

Bournemouth have had 59% of the possession in this match so far, but they are yet to really trouble Foster. The best chance of the game has fallen the way of West Brom and Rondon so far.

UPDATE: The first Premier League goal of the afternoon has gone in, and it is a big one for Crystal Palace as James Tomkins gives them the lead at Huddersfield.

SAVE! Hegazi swings a cross into the box which Rondon does well to get the slightest touch to, but Begovic is on hand to parry the ball away.

Promising break for the hosts as Stanislas is played in down the left channel, but he tries to cut back past his man and loses possession. He could - and probably should - have just gone for goal with his left there.

This is being keenly contested at the moment, but there isn't a huge amount of quality in the final third so far.

Smith and Livermore both fly into a 50-50 sliding challenge, with Livermore winning the ball and Smith coming off worse. The Bournemouth man looks in some pain, and a scuffle ensues between the two sets of players.

YELLOW CARD! Adam Smith is finally back on his feet, and he is greeted by a yellow card.

YELLOW CARD! Following a lengthy explanation by referee Graham Scott, Livermore also goes into the book for his part in the challenge and the handbags that followed.

PENALTY SHOUT! Almost a chance for West Brom as Rondon breaks in behind and sees his attempted cross bounce back to him in the area. Ake slides in just as Rondon is about to pull the trigger and brings the striker down, but the referee says no. I've seen them given!

UPDATE: Stoke have been dealt a blow in their relegation battle as Charlie Adam has been sent off in their match against Everton for a late lunge on Wayne Rooney. It remains goalless at the bet365 Stadium.

This has not been the most entertaining half of Premier League football, it must be said. Clear chances have been at a premium and neither side look prepared to really push for the opener at the moment.

Having seen that West Brom penalty shout again, Ake is lucky not to have been penalised. Neither him nor Rondon made any contact with the ball, and it could have easily resulted in a West Brom spot kick.

Really good defending from Steve Cook as he recovers from a shoulder barge from Rondon to get a crucial challenge in just when it looked as though Rondon might have worked space to shoot.

A potential chance for Bournemouth here as Evans concedes a free kick in a dangerous position...

SAVE! Stanislas tries to catch Foster out by sneaking the ball in the bottom corner, but his free kick lacks power and the keeper scrambles across to make the save.

There will be three minutes of added time at the end of this first half.

The first half comes to an end at the Vitality Stadium, and it is still all square between Bournemouth and West Brom following a fairly uneventful opening 45 minutes.

Neither side have been able to conjure up any really good chances, but the best have fallen the way of West Brom despite Bournemouth seeing the majority of the ball. It is still all to play for in the coming 45 minutes, though, and this is all about which team is able to take the game by the scruff of the neck.

The best chance of the match so far fell to West Brom and Rondon, who peeled away from his marker to get his head on a cross from Nyom from the right flank.

Rondon should have perhaps done better considering his aerial ability, but he could only flick his header straight at Begovic. Rondon has looked the most likely for the Baggies, but he hasn't had a great deal to feed off.

Rondon has tested Begovic with another header too, while Jay Rodriguez has also drawn a save from the Bournemouth keeper, but unsurprisingly West Brom haven't carried a huge amount of threat going forward.

The visitors have looked more likely to break the deadlock than Bournemouth, though, with the hosts yet to have a single clear chance - their only minor sights of goal seeing Gosling's looping header saved and Daniels draw a stop from Foster from range.

KICKOFF: Bournemouth get us back underway for the second half.

How big could that goal prove to be?!

West Brom take a deserved lead through Rodriguez, and it is really poor defending from Bournemouth as they again concede from a cross. Gibbs's ball to the back post finds Rondon up against Ake, and he nods it back down inside for Rodriguez, who is able to take a touch and fire home on the turn from inside the six-yard box.

Potential chance for Bournemouth to come up with a quick response here as they win a free kick in a good crossing position...

SHOT! The resulting delivery is not properly dealt with and eventually falls to Steve Cook, but he can't keep his shot down on the turn.

This has been a good response to going behind by Bournemouth. They are seeing more of the ball now and are finally beginning to play with a little more urgency.

This would be a big win for West Brom if they can hold on, and as things stand they are worthy of it too. It hasn't been a great game for the neutral, but Alan Pardew will be very happy with his side so far.

BOURNEMOUTH SUB: The hosts make their second change of the afternoon as Smith is replaced by Lys Mousset.

That change is no doubt an attempt from Howe to inject some more pace into his Bournemouth attack. The hosts are seeing plenty of the ball, but they do not look like scoring at the moment.

3 - Jay Rodriguez has netted three goals in his four Premier League appearances against Bournemouth; against no other side has he scored more (also 3 v Newcastle and Stoke). Opener. — OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) March 17, 2018

Hegazi makes a good sliding block to prevent a low cross getting into the box, but moments later Bournemouth win a free kick in a good crossing position...

Daniels swings the free kick into a good area, but West Brom deal with it well.

There have been very few hairy moments for West Brom so far today, but Alan Pardew will still want a second goal to give themselves a cushion here. The Baggies have lost more points from winning positions than any other team this season.

UPDATE: Crystal Palace look to be well on course for victory at Huddersfield, with Luka Milivojevic doubling their lead from the penalty spot. Everton also now lead at 10-man Stoke courtesy of a Cenk Tosun goal.

Gosling lifts a pass over the top of the defence which Mousset is interested in, but there is just too much on it and Foster collects.

Bournemouth have nudged their possession percentage up to 63% now, but they have not done anywhere near enough with the ball. The hosts have managed just three shots on target, and they have all been comfortable for Foster.

BOURNEMOUTH SUB: A third and final change for the hosts as Jermain Defoe replaces Wilson.

CLOSE! This is the closest Bournemouth have come! Stanislas goes for goal from a free kick, floating his effort over the wall but also narrowly over the crossbar.

UPDATE: Ten-man Stoke have levelled things up against Everton courtesy of a Choupo-Moting strike!

WEST BROM SUB: The visitors are forced into a change here as captain Evans is replaced by Matty Phillips.

Bournemouth level the scores up out of nothing! Ibe tries his luck from out on the left side of the pitch and his effort bounces all the way through into the bottom corner!

That is a huge blow for West Brom, who had looked fairly comfortable up to that point. This is a must-win for the Baggies, so they need to start taking a few risks now.

Less than 10 minutes remaining in this match now, and both sides will now be looking to push on for the winner. The onus is very much on West Brom, though, as a draw will not do for them.

WEST BROM SUB: Another change from the Baggies as Brunt is replaced by Sam Field.

UPDATE: Everton have restored their lead at 10-man Stoke, and it is a second goal for Cenk Tosun - that's four in three games for the striker now!

WEST BROM SUB: A final change for the Baggies as hal Robson-Kanu replaces Rodriguez.

YELLOW CARD! Dawson goes into the book for a late challenge on Gosling.

West Brom have thrown this one away! Bournemouth take the lead with only one minute of normal time remaining, and this is a stunning effort from Stanislas!

The winger lines up a free kick from a similar position to two he has already had, and this time he gets it spot on with a brilliant curling effort inside the post which leaves Foster with no chance.

There will be five minutes of added time at the end of this match.

The referee's whistle goes for the final time today, and it may well signal the end of West Brom's stay in the Premier League too.

This will be a tough one to take for the Baggies - they were the better side for much of this match and looking like going on to pick up all three points, but a late comeback from Bournemouth condemned them to a seventh consecutive league defeat. The gap to safety is now 10 points, and you have to say that West Brom are all but down now.

Right, that is all we have time for this evening!

Thank you very much for joining Sports Mole for today's match as Bournemouth inflict more misery on West Brom courtesy of a late comeback at Dean Court. I will leave you with our match report, and be sure to stick around for reaction too.

From me, though, it is goodbye for now!