Eddie Howe understands the ups and downs of life in the Premier League better than most, so when he assures local reporters that he won’t allow his players to get carried away by their sensational 3-0 victory over Chelsea in midweek, we should take his word as gospel.
The Bournemouth boss has had to weather some pretty agonising spells over the past two-and-a-half seasons, sticky periods when his alleged weaknesses seem all too obvious to a plethora of one-eyed pundits. But his willingness to stick to his principles - the same principles repeatedly cited as the root of all his biggest flaws - always sees him right in the end.
It was only six weeks ago that the prophets of doom had the Cherries down as certainties for the drop, but confidence has been steadily repaired through a hectic festive schedule, when quick turnarounds tend to reward those teams with most substance to their efforts on the training ground, creating an ingrained philosophy that runs well on autopilot.
That rampaging success in west London was Bournemouth’s sixth league game without defeat, building on earlier 2-1 home wins against Everton and Arsenal, and a club that has improved in all eight season’s under Howe might yet outdo themselves once again. Last season, the Cherries finished ninth with 46 points. Right now, they are 10th with 28 points and 13 games to play.
It was the energy and movement of the front three that left such a big impression at Stamford Bridge. Callum Wilson is back in tip-top condition after coming back from his second cruciate ligament injury, while Junior Stanislas is looking sharp again and close to completing 90 minutes for the first time since the 2-1 win over Stoke in the reverse fixture last October.
Meanwhile, Jordon Ibe is finally looking like the player Howe obviously knew he could be when forking out €15m for his services the summer before last. The Bermondsey-born winger completed 90 minutes just twice in his first 17 months at the Vitality Stadium but has now started eight successive league matches, although it’s worth pointing out he’s still only 22.
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It’s a trio with bags of potential. They all have freshness in their legs and the plaudits that were forthcoming on Wednesday night should only fuel personal ambitions to make Gareth Southgate’s World Cup squad next summer. "Never say never" was Howe’s response when asked whether Wilson, in particular, might be in with a chance of making the plane to Russia.
Stoke have kept their heads above water with back-to-back clean sheets at home following Paul Lambert’s arrival as successor to Mark Hughes and those first two displays - against Huddersfield (2-0) and Watford (0-0) - set the tone for a cautious approach on the south coast. The Potters are currently one point above the drop zone.
Senegal international Badou Ndiaye, a 27-year-old box-to-box midfielder, should add some much-needed drive to the engine room in the coming weeks after his £14m deadline-day arrival from Galatasaray but it’s unclear whether he starts here. Lambert says he will make a decision after assessing his fitness in his first session on Friday.
Either way, Stoke come into this on the back of setting a new low for Opta’s ball-in-play stats with the action against the Hornets totalling just 42 minutes. The general consensus seems to be Javi Gracia’s men were the bigger culprits, but there was a distinct lack of energy from the Potters and it’s hard to envisage that altering dramatically here.
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Bournemouth to beat Stoke at 19/20
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