Bournemouth boss Eddie Howe has revealed that he has several selection headaches ahead of the clash with Chelsea this weekend.
Antonio Conte’s men took a big step towards reclaiming the Premier League title in midweek with their 2-1 win over Manchester City, but with Tottenham still chasing them and maintaining that seven-point gap, it’s not entirely over just yet.
In turn, they’ll be desperate to return home with all three points this weekend, and given the absentees in Howe’s squad, they should have an excellent chance of doing so.
Tyrone Mings is out as he serves the last game of his suspension following his altercation with Zlatan Ibrahimovic, while Howe conceded that Andrew Surman has been ruled out during his pre-match press conference on Friday, as per Sky Sports.
Dan Gosling is rated at 50-50 to feature which is another blow for the Cherries, while Junior Stanislas could return to the bench, but given he’s been out with a groin injury since January, he’ll have to work his way back into the mix slowly.
Ryan Fraser is also missing, and so the hosts certainly have their hands full this weekend with Conte likely to have a near full-strength squad at his disposal with the players undoubtedly hungry to end the title race as soon as possible and confirm their spot at the top of the pile for this season.
With eight games left for both of the top two, the pressure is on both teams as while Chelsea can’t afford to slip up and give Spurs any hope, Mauricio Pochettino’s side know that they can’t afford any slip-up and in turn lose further ground which sets up a fascinating end of the season.