AFC Bournemouth manager Eddie Howe has spoken of the difficult task that lies ahead as his team prepare to face Ipswich Town this afternoon (3pm).
Bournemouth return from the international break on an eight game unbeaten run, which has helped them climb to second in the Championship table.
Ipswich also travel to the south coast in good form, seeing them lose just a single game in the last thirteen fixtures.
“When you look at the games we had with Ipswich last season how tight they were, I don’t see anything being different this season.” Howe said.
“Mick McCarthy’s teams are always incredibly hard to beat, very well organised, very disciplined and have got some good footballers in there as well, so we expect another really entertaining game against them.”
The Bournemouth manager also spoke of the importance of momentum in the upcoming fixtures.
“Any back to back win at this level can propel you in a good direction, and back to back defeats can propel you in the opposite, so I think we’re delicately poised and, as always, we need to make sure we perform at our very best to have a chance of winning.”
The Cherries will encounter their first of two successive home fixtures this afternoon, and Eddie Howe feels that it will be an important period of the season for AFC Bournemouth.
“It will be a really good start to what’s going to be an interesting spell of games because we’re Saturday to Saturday and we haven’t had that for a long time.
“We’re looking forward to them, they’re going to be both tough in their own right.”
Tickets have sold out for the clash at Dean Court, and Howe was delighted to hear the fans are enjoying the success of the team on the field.
“The Bournemouth fans have a good appetite for the game, they want to be here, they want to support the team and all I ask of any supporter that turns up on Saturday is that they make as much noise as they can and support the guys.
“We all know it’s a really tough level to win at and we need to make sure we get all the support we can and get the ground rocking if possible.”
A win for AFC Bournemouth could see them return to pole position in the league, as current leaders Derby face a tough visit to Watford.
With only three points separating the top six teams, a win for Ipswich would see them rise above Bournemouth and comfortably into the play-off places.
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