AFC Bournemouth
nPower League 1
Tuesday 12th March 2013
The Lamex Stadium, Stevenage
Kick Off: 3pm
Weather Forecast: Light snow, 0°c
Referee: L Collins (Surrey)
Stevenage welcome Bournemouth to The Lamex Stadium on Tuesday night hoping to make it two successive midweek wins in front of their own fans.
Last time we met:
Matt Tubbs came off the substitutes’ bench to earn a point for Bournemouth against Stevenage back in November. Boro went ahead on 27 minutes when Greg Tansey fired in a powerful shot past David James from the edge of the area. Lewis Grabban went close for the hosts after the break, before crossing for Tubbs to head home from close range in the 74th minute.
Boro: Arnold, Gray, Roberts, N’Gala, Charles, Tansey (Shroot), Grant, Dunne, Akins, Haber (Agyemang), Hills (Rogers)
Subs not used: Day, Rogers, Iro, Comminges, Risser
Team News:
Stevenage will be without both James Dunne and David Gray through suspension so there could be a rare start for either Lee Hills or Andy Iro. Anthony Grant is set to continue in midfield whilst Lucas Akins and Steve Beleck could earn recalls.
Bournemouth will be without Stephane Zubar, Miles Addison, Tommy Elphick and Charlie Daniels through injury for this game but will welcome back midfielder Harry Arter from suspension.
The AFC Bournemouth Scout Report
Recent Form:
Bournemouth come into this game in 7th place in League 1, three points outside the playoffs and having played one more fixture than many of their promotion rivals.
The Cherries have picked up 16 wins, 10 draws and 11 defeats so far this season, scoring 59 and conceding 50, but have lost their last five consecutive league fixtures during which they’ve scored just twice whilst conceding 10. Those defeats have been against Preston (0-2), Sheffield Utd (0-1), Coventry (0-2), Leyton Orient (1-3) and most recent Doncaster (1-2).
Whilst their form at home is amongst the best in the division, the Cherries’ away form is not so strong with seven wins, four draws and seven losses from their 18 games. They’ve also won at Carlisle and Portsmouth, the latter on penalties, and secured draws at Wigan and Oxford in cup games this season.
Possible Bournemouth line-up for Tuesday (4-4-2 formation):
Ryan Allsop; Simon Francis, Steve Cook, Danny Seabourne, Matt Ritchie; Harry Arter, Eunan O’Kane, Shaun MacDonald, Marc Pugh; Brett Pitman, Lewis Grabban
Subs from: Shwan Jalal, Richard Hughes, Joe Partington, Wes Fogden, Steve Fletcher, Matt Tubbs, Ryan Fraser, Josh McQuoid
Key Man:
Brett Pittman has been a man in form since returning to Bournemouth, with 10 goals since rejoining the club on loan in December. After scoring 59 times in 173 appearances at Dean Court, the 25-year old originally left the Cherries in 2010 for Bristol City in a reported £1m deal. Whilst he scored 19 goals in 69 games at Ashton Gate he returned to the south coast late last year and soon completed a permanent move on a three and a half year deal.