Bournemouth vs Stoke City. Premier League.
Vitality StadiumAttendance10,614.
Saturday 3 February 2018 13:47, UK
Stoke will make a late call on whether to hand January signing Badou Ndiaye his debut against Bournemouth on Saturday.
The midfielder signed for the Potters from Galatasaray, and, speaking on Thursday, manager Paul Lambert said: "He says he is ready to go, he wants to play matches and is clearly in good shape, but I will judge everything tomorrow.
"He is certainly going to improve the side moving forward because he is a very talented boy, who is hugely important for his country and has been equally as important for Galatasaray this season."
Stoke are unbeaten since Lambert was appointed on January 16, having beaten Huddersfield 2-0 and then drawn with Watford in midweek.
Bournemouth, meanwhile, moved up to 10th in the Premier League with a surprise 3-0 win over Chelsea on Wednesday.
"We just need to make sure there are no negative effects after the Chelsea game and just positives," said manager Eddie Howe. "I think it was one of the best team performances. You're not going to get those results if we're not together defensively and I thought we were excellent there."
Bournemouth will again be without defender Adam Smith because of a thigh problem. Forward Jermain Defoe remains absent having fractured his right ankle and defender Tyrone Mings continues his recovery form a back problem.
Stoke have no new injury concerns but could opt to make changes up front after the impact made by substitute Peter Crouch in the midweek draw with Watford.
Lambert says he has been impressed by Saido Berahino's finishing in training, although he wants the former West Brom forward to improve his fitness.
Bournemouth have never completed a league double over Stoke in any of the 12 previous seasons in which they've faced the Potters.
Stoke have won just one of their last seven league visits to the Vitality Stadium (D3 L3), a 3-1 victory in February 2016.
Bournemouth are unbeaten in six Premier League games (W3 D3), with those wins coming against Everton, Arsenal and Chelsea. Only Tottenham (7) are on a current longer unbeaten run in the competition than Eddie Howe's side (West Ham also 6).
Stoke have kept clean sheets in both of their Premier League games under Paul Lambert so far; this after a run of just one clean sheet in 21 games before his appointment. They've not kept three clean sheets in a row since November 2015.
However, away from home, Stoke have conceded 30 goals in the Premier League this season; four more than any other side.
Callum Wilson has had a hand in six goals in his last six Premier League games (4 goals, 2 assists), after failing to score or assist in any of his six league games prior to this run.
Bournemouth's result at Stamford Bridge was unbelievable. They were in the bottom three facing two matches against Arsenal and Chelsea and they've ended up winning both games. They were two big results but now, they've got three games coming up against the teams in and around them. They are the sort of games they have to win. Their confidence will be sky high after beating Chelsea and against a Stoke team that struggled against Watford, I've got to go with them for the win.
PAUL PREDICTS: 2-0 (8/1 with Sky Bet)
