Wigan Athletic vs Bournemouth. The FA Cup Third Round.
DW StadiumAttendance4,709.
Wednesday 17 January 2018 19:38, UK
Bournemouth boss Eddie Howe insists Wigan will not be taken lightly after they came close to causing his team FA Cup embarrassment.
They travel to the DW Stadium for a second crack at Paul Cook's Latics on Wednesday evening and Howe is confident his squad know what is required to set up a fourth-round tie with either West Ham or Shrewsbury.
"We gave ourselves a tough challenge to come back from but the lads did very well second half to stay in the competition and I always prefer to look at things positively, it's another game and an opportunity for players to play and do well," Howe said.
"I think we definitely respected Wigan pre-game. I have watched many League One games, they've done very well in those games and were better than the level so it was no shock to me their performance.
"Maybe for some of our players [it was a shock], I'd be surprised, I think they know football, they know how tough these games are.
"But certainly we don't underestimate them going into this one."
Howe has no fresh selection concerns ahead of the game.
The Bournemouth manager is expected to rotate his squad following the Premier League victory over Arsenal on Sunday but he will remain without forwards Junior Stanislas and Josh King (both hamstring).
Striker Jermain Defoe (ankle) and defender Tyrone Mings (back) are long-term absentees.
Meanwhile, Wigan are without recent recruit James Vaughan as he is cup-tied having featured for Sunderland in the competition earlier this month, with fellow new signing Jamie Walker still recovering from a knee injury.
Wigan have only lost one of their last 12 meetings at home to Bournemouth in all competitions (W7 D4), but that defeat did come in their most recent meeting at the DW Stadium in a EFL fixture (1-3 in 2015).
The Cherries have not won back to back games away to Wigan since a run of three straight victories between 1982 and 1985.
The Latics have progressed from each of their last three FA Cup replays, having already needed a replay in the last round against non-league AFC Fylde.
Bournemouth, on the other hand, have lost each of their last three FA Cup replays, including losing at home to Wigan in their last FA Cup third round replay in 2013, thanks to a Mauro Boselli winner (0-1).
Well after that sensational result at the weekend I think Bournemouth will be thinking: 'why can't we have a cup run?'
I know it wasn't that long ago that they won the FA Cup, but Wigan will have less interest as they will just be focusing on getting out of League One, while the Cherries can rotate their forwards and still cause problems.
Charlie predicts: 1-3 Afobe to score first (95/1 with Sky Bet)
