By Daniel Wood – KLTV Contributor
Huddersfield Town will travel to the Vitality Stadium to face AFC Bournemouth in the SkyBet Championship on Saturday 12th December; 3 pm K.O.
Huddersfield Town
The Terriers currently sit 12th in the Championship, six points behind the play-off places and 12 points ahead of the bottom three. They have really pulled away from the relegation spots after being one of the favourites for the drop at the start of the campaign.
Town won their last game in the Championship beating bottom of the table Sheffield Wednesday 2-0 at home.
It is the first time Town have won two games in a row since mid-October. Carlos Corberan has started to get the team to play some nice football.
The Terriers were without Tommy Elphick (knee) and Richard Stearman (hamstring) in their last outing against Sheffield Wednesday.
AFC Bournemouth
The Cherries are currently 2nd in the SkyBet Championship. They are three point behind the leaders Norwich City, one point ahead of the play-off places and three points ahead of 7th place Brentford.
In their last game, Bournemouth drew 0-0 away to Swansea City. This result meant that the Cherries have only lost one in their last seven games, which was their only home defeat of the season.
Their last defeat came to current bottom of the table Sheffield Wednesday, as they lost 1-0 away on November 3rd.
Last season, Bournemouth finished 18th in the Premier League and was subsequently relegated to the Championship. This ended their first ever run in the English top-flight, which lasted five years.
The club are one of the favourites for promotion this season after managing to keep a number of their key players despite getting relegated.
Their manager, Jason Tindall, has been at the helm since August 2020 after Eddie Howe parted ways with the club after the relegation from the top-flight last season. Howe was manager of the club from 2008 to 2011 and then most notably from 2012 to 2020.
Tindall is currently in his first managerial role after being the assistant to Eddie Howe since 2012. He currently has a 42.1%-win rate at the club after 19 games in charge.
He was a regular player for Bournemouth during his playing career, making over 170 appearances for the club, only having one season at any other club (2006-07 with Weymouth).
Ones to Watch
DOMINIC SOLANKE
The Cherries forward has been in very good form so far this season and has scored six goals in the Championship. Four of those goals have come in the last seven games. The 23-year old, previously of Liverpool and Chelsea, has also brought three assists to his contributions this season. He didn’t hit the ground running in the Premier League with Bournemouth, but he is finally getting into his stride playing in red and black.
DAVID BROOKS
The Welsh international caught the eyes of a lot of Premier League clubs after last season, but he stayed put with the Cherries. He has very good dribbling ability and technical play, which has helped him secure three goals and three assists so far this season. He was nominated for Sky Bet Championship Player of the Month for November, alongside Town player Carel Eiting.
JUNIOR STANISLAS
The attacking midfielder has been at the club since 2014 and has been a regular starter since. He has played both centrally and wide for the Cherries during his time with them. Stanislas has scored four goals and provided two assists in the Championship this season. All four of his goals have come in the last four games, so he is a man in tremendous form.
Predictions
The Terriers lead the head-to-head record against the Cherries. Since their first meeting in 1973, Town has won on 19 occasions, there have been 18 draws and Bournemouth have won 16 times.
Bournemouth won both games when the two teams were last in the same division during the 2018-19 Premier League. The season before that the two teams traded emphatic wins over each other, both scoring four goals and their respective home grounds.
The Cherries have not lost a home game against the Terriers since January 2008 when both teams were in League One.
Bournemouth comes into this game in better form since they have only lost one of their seven games and are 2nd in the table. However, Huddersfield has won both of their last two games by a 2-0 scoreline and are looking in good form.
It feels like both teams will be very eager to get a win and both will be confident that they can obtain the three points.
The Cherries have the stronger team on paper, however, Town has been playing some nice football and have even had one of their players nominated for player of the month for November, new signing Carel Eiting.
It is difficult to see either team losing this game and the safe option is to predict a draw between the two sides, and I am going to be safe in this situation.
Therefore, I predict: