Bournemouth play host to Nottingham Forest on Friday evening with the opportunity to move seven points clear in the race for automatic promotion from the Championship.

However, Forest, who are currently down in seventh position in the standings, will move to within eight points of their second-placed opponents with victory at the Vitality Stadium.

Match preview

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On the back of making an array of deadline-day signings, Scott Parker watched his Bournemouth side suffer a 1-0 defeat at the hands of non-league Boreham Wood in the FA Cup.

The concern would have been that all momentum had been lost, but the Cherries have since responded with important victories over Birmingham City and Blackpool respectively.

On both occasions, Bournemouth had to rally in the closing stages, something which they have not always done this season, and netting twice late on at Bloomfield Road could prove to be a pivotal result.

Siriki Dembele marked his debut with the winning goal deep into stoppage time, securing a result which sees Bournemouth hold a four-point lead over third-placed Blackburn Rovers with two matches in hand.

Although Parker and his squad will still have eyes on catching leaders Fulham, who have a six-point advantage, the South-coast outfit will know the significance of increasing their lead over the chasing pack ahead of the weekend's fixtures.

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From Steve Cooper's perspective, he cannot be unhappy with a Forest squad which have delivered six wins from eight matches in all competitions during 2022.

Nevertheless, failing to defeat Stoke City last weekend felt like a missed opportunity, even if it could be perceived as one point gained after Ryan Yates's last-gasp equaliser.

That goal came after goalkeeper Brice Samba had been sent off, and it keeps Forest ticking over in the right direction with just seven points separating the club to Blackburn having played a game fewer.

However, Forest do need to improve on the road in the Championship, with poor performances being produced on recent trips to Middlesbrough and Cardiff City.

That said, the East Midlands outfit did defeat Blackburn in their last away fixture, giving them the belief that they can cause another surprise at Bournemouth.

Team News

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Bournemouth are contending with a growing injury list with Kieffer Moore, Gary Cahill, Ryan Christie and Ethan Laird all expected to miss out on Friday.

With Jefferson Lerma also suspended, Parker may be prepared to stay with the starting lineup from the last game, despite witnessing those players trail for much of the contest.

Jamal Lowe is an alternative in attack after netting as a substitute versus the Tangerines, while Leif Davis and Emiliano Marcondes will also be considered for recalls.

Goalkeeper Ethan Horvath will make his first appearance since September due to Samba serving a ban, and that is unlikely to be the only change to the Forest XI.

Yates should return to the starting lineup, either as a replacement for Jack Colback or Philip Zinckernagel, while Sam Surridge is an alternative in attack after three substitute appearances since his January arrival.

Bournemouth possible starting lineup:
Travers; Stacey, Phillips, Kelly, Zemura; Cantwell, Cook, Billing; Anthony, Solanke, Dembele

Nottingham Forest possible starting lineup:
Horvath; Worrall, Cook, McKenna; Spence, Garner, Yates, Lowe; Zinckernagel; Johnson, Davis

We say: Bournemouth 1-1 Nottingham Forest

With both clubs on an upward trajectory, this should prove to be a high-quality encounter. Although victory could act as the catalyst for even greater things to come, there is also value in a share of the spoils for these two teams, more so for Bournemouth, and we can see a competitive draw being played out.

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