Stevenage FC

AFC Bournemouth
nPower League 1
Tuesday 20th November
Goldsands Stadium, Dean Court, Kings Park, Bournemouth, Dorset, BH7 7AF
Kick Off: 7.45pm

Weather Forecast: Heavy rain, 13°c
Referee: T Robinson (West Sussex)

Last time we met:
Stevenage came from two goals behind to secure a point in this entertaining fixture at The Lamex back in March. Wes Thomas’ pin-point effort found the top corner to give the Cherries the lead and Scott Malone then extended it with a fine shot from 20 yards. Boro replied immediately with a Luke Freeman effort from long range before Michael Bostwick blasted home low to make it 2-2 before halftime.

Boro: Day, Henry, Ashton, Roberts, Laird, Wilson, Bostwick, Byrom, Freeman (Long), Reid (Myrie-Williams), Charles (Thalassitis)

Subs not used: Lascelles, Agyemang

Team News

Bournemouth are expected to name an unchanged side to that which won 4-1 at the weekend. Striker Frank Demouge remains out injured (calf).

Stevenage are missing Filipe Morais through suspension which could mean a recall to the starting eleven for Robin Shroot or Luke Freeman. Lee Hills should continue at left back whilst Andy Iro and Oliver Risser could also come in after recent heavy defeats.

The Bournemouth Scout Report

Recent Form
Bournemouth come into this game in 12th place in League 1 after earning 24 points from their 17 games so far. However don’t let their mid-table position fool you as after a slow start to the season the Cherries are in fantastic form under the returning Eddie Howe, picking up 16 points from their last eight matches alone.

They come into this game on the back of five successive victories and unbeaten in eight games in all competitions. Those five wins have come against Carlisle (4-2), Dagenham & Redbridge (4-0), Shrewsbury (2-1), Doncaster (1-0) and most recently Oldham (4-1).

Most notable in recent weeks has been Bournemouth’s ability to find the back of the net. After only scoring 12 times in their opening 11 league games, they’ve now scored 19 in their last seven, with 11 different goal scorers.

Possible Bournemouth line-up for Tuesday (4-4-2 formation)
David James, Simon Francis, Miles Addison, Tommy Elphick, Charlie Daniels, Josh McQuoid, Harry Arter, Shaun MacDonald, Marc Pugh, Lewis Grabban, Lee Barnard

Subs from: Wes Fogden, Eunan O’Kane, Matt Tubbs, Steve Fletcher, Steve Cook, Shwan Jalal, Donal McDermott

Key Man:
Winger Marc Pugh continues to impress at Bournemouth, leading the goal scoring charts at Dean Court with 5 goals so far this season. The 24-year old has finished top scorer at the club for the past two seasons and won a host of Player of the Season awards last season. The former Bury and Shrewsbury man arrived at The Seward Stadium after a spell at Hereford where he had also made just over 40 appearances and scored 13 times.

Stat Attack:
•    The referee for this game will be Tim Robinson from West Sussex. This is his first year as a Football League referee after taking a step up from the Blue Square Premier. He’s already taken charge of one Boro game so far this season, that being the 3-2 Johnstone’s Paint Trophy defeat at Dagenham.
•    Jon Ashton’s next start will be his 160th for Stevenage FC. Of the current squad only Chris Day (222) and Mark Roberts (209) have started more games.
•    The next yellow card for Anthony Grant will trigger an automatic one-match suspension. The midfielder has currently received four cautions this season.
•    Should he play against Bournemouth then Miguel Comminges will make his 5th appearance in a Boro shirt.

Match Preview by Dave Toyn