Bournemouth travel to Middlesbrough this weekend looking to end a five-match winless streak in the Championship.
While the visitors currently occupy second place in the standings, Middlesbrough are in ninth position after remaining unbeaten through their last three games.
Match preview
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Up until the November international break, everything pointed to Bournemouth being able to run away with one of the automatic promotion spots this season.
However, just three points have been collected in five games, allowing third-placed West Bromwich Albion to close the gap to just three points.
Bournenmouth's latest setback came at the hands of in-form Blackburn Rovers, who now sit in fourth position and just four points adrift of the Cherries courtesy of the 2-0 win at the Vitality Stadium.
Scott Parker's side also failed to score for the first time in 12 outings, while nine goals have now been conceded over a five-game period.
While Bournemouth have only lost two of their most recent six fixtures, Parker will acknowledge that they travel to the Riverside Stadium with little to no momentum.
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The same cannot be said of their hosts with Chris Wilder's side having recorded seven points from a possible nine since November 27.
Wilder is yet to fix Boro's long-standing problems in attack, but he will be more than satisfied with just four efforts being conceded at the other end, two of which have been own goals.
The biggest concern will be that Boro have failed to score a second-half goal in five games since his arrival last month, something which is undermining their efforts at the other end.
Nevertheless, positives will be taken from the goalless draw at Stoke City last weekend, a shutout which has kept the North-East outfit within five points of the playoffs.
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Team News
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Dael Fry made his first start for more than two months during the draw at the bet365 Stadium, replacing Sol Bamba who had been impressing in the role.
Fry is likely to keep his spot for this contest, and Wilder will almost certainly stick with the same Boro XI barring any issues with injuries or coronavirus.
Bournemouth midfielder Jefferson Lerma serves the second of his two-match ban, while Steve Cook is a doubt due to a calf problem.
Lloyd Kelly is on standby to feature in the centre of defence, with Gavin Kilkenny and Emiliano Marcondes alternatives in the middle of the pitch.
A recall for either may allow Ryan Christie to move further forward, potentially leading to Jamal Lowe returning to the substitutes' bench.
Middlesbrough possible starting lineup:
Lumley; Dijksteel, Fry, McNair; Jones, Crooks, Howson, Tavernier, Bola; Watmore, Sporar
Bournemouth possible starting lineup:
Travers; Stacey, Cahill, Kelly, Brady; L.Cook, Kilkenny, Marcondes; Christie, Solanke, Anthony
We say: Middlesbrough 1-1 Bournemouth
There will be those who feel that Middlesbrough are the marginal favourites for this contest, and it is difficult to argue against that. Nevertheless, Bournemouth will click back into gear at some stage, and they could be full value for a share of the spoils in the North-East.
Top tip
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Bournemouth win with a probability of 40.11%. A win for Middlesbrough had a probability of 32.61% and a draw had a probability of 27.3%.
The most likely scoreline for a Bournemouth win was 0-1 with a probability of 11.3%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-2 (8.39%) and 0-2 (7.34%). The likeliest Middlesbrough win was 1-0 (9.94%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (12.91%). The actual scoreline of 1-0 was predicted with a 9.9% likelihood.
