Boss Kieran McKenna is anticipating an open game as the Blues and AFC Bournemouth meet for the first time in the top flight at Portman Road on Sunday with Town again looking for their first home win of the season (KO 2pm).

McKenna’s side have a quick chance to bounce back from Tuesday’s 1-0 defeat to Crystal Palace, which followed up a similarly narrow loss by the same scoreline at Nottingham Forest last Saturday.

Despite the two defeats, the Blues have moved up to 18th in the table, due to Wolves getting walloped 4-0 at Everton on Wednesday and the impact on their goal difference.

Asked how important it is for Town, whose home record from their seven games now reads drawn four, lost three, to get something from the Cherries’ visit, McKenna said “Very important as it is in all our games. All our games are an opportunity to get points and this is no different in that matter.

“Of course, to have two home games back-to-back, you want to get performances first and foremost, try and take the game to another level on Sunday if possible, and we're trying to pick up as many points as we can. So we're going to do everything we can to get some on Sunday.”

Bournemouth climbed to an impressive ninth in the table following Thursday evening’s excellent 1-0 home victory over Tottenham, which followed their 4-2 win at Wolves on Saturday, to give the Cherries their first back-to-back wins of the season.

Prior to that, they had lost two in a row, 2-1 at home to Brighton and 3-2 at Brentford, results which came immediately after a 2-1 victory over Manchester City at the Vitality Stadium.

The success against Wolves was only Bournemouth’s second away win of the season, having beaten Everton 3-2 at Goodison Park in August, with their three defeats on the road a 3-0 reverse at Liverpool, a 1-0 loss at Leicester and the Bees’ recent victory.

In addition, they have drawn twice away, at Nottingham Forest and Aston Villa, both 1-1.

The Dorset side are renowned for their quick transition and McKenna was quizzed on how difficult it is for their opposition to control possession and tempo.
 
“They're certainly very good on the transition,” McKenna reflected. “You saw that last night and you can see that in all the games.

“They have the most high turnovers in the league, I think, and they're there or thereabouts for the most turned into shots.

“We need to use the ball really, really well. We need to be really clean on our build-up and find a good balance to our game as well.

“And make sure we're positioned well whenever we have the ball and we’re in good positions whenever the turnovers come because they will come at times. We need to react well and we need to close off the spaces that they want to counter-attack into.

“So we're fully aware of their strengths. It's pretty clear, they’ve developed the team and the squad really, really well over the last few seasons and that's why they're doing well.

“They've certainly got strengths that we have to respect, but we believe we have strengths as well, and we'll try and impose them.”

But McKenna says all teams have areas or aspects of their play which can be exploited: “It's not necessarily weaknesses, but there's no playing style in the world that doesn't leave you one way or another.

“If you press high, you leave more space in behind. If you drop off, then you allow the opposition team to gain territory.

“Bournemouth are certainly an aggressive team. They run a lot. They're really constant with that, but, of course, that opens up space as well and they tend to have plenty of open games.

“So I think it should make for a good game, we like to play aggressive football as well. We're a team that are running a lot and competing really well, and I think it should make for a really good game on Sunday.”

Continuing further on the expectation that it will be an open game, the Northern Irishman added: “That's what we have to aim for. But we have to stop Bournemouth from reaching their best levels. If Bournemouth reach their best levels, they're further along the line than us, so we have to stop them from reaching their best levels and try to impose ourselves on them as much as possible.  
 
“There are not too many games this year where we can just have a free-for-all ding-dong against the other team and see who scores the most goals. We need to play smart. We need to play intense. We need to be organised. We need to be disciplined and also try to impose ourselves on the opposition while trying to limit them from doing the things they want to do.  
 
“That's going to be a good challenge on Sunday. They are certainly a team on good form. I think anyone who saw the game last night saw that it was a top, top performance against a Tottenham team, so we're going to have to work really, really hard to limit them and try and execute really well on and off the ball and on our set plays.”

McKenna was asked whether the two additional days the Blues will have had to recover from their midweek fixture will come into play.
 
“We can't count on that, I don't know,” he considered. “I'm sure they'll have their opinion and how they'll rotate or not rotate and what they think their players are capable of.

“They're in the top two pretty much for every physical marker you could have in the Premier League and they have a very fit squad.

“They've got, certainly in the forward areas, two top players for each position and they rotate in the games, and they sub reasonably early in the games very often. So we certainly can't go into the game thinking that we'll have any sort of advantage.  
 
“We need to expect to face a really, really good Bournemouth side, but we need to go into the game really positive and knowing that it's a home game.

“We've had a good couple of days to prepare and rest, and we always want to take on and make an intense game at home, and we've got an opportunity to try and do that on Sunday.”

Turning to the Portman Road atmosphere, which many felt was a little flat on Tuesday, McKenna stressed the role that the Town faithful can play as the Blues look for that elusive first home victory.
 
“I think everyone will know that that's really important,” he said. “There are two ways to do that. We try to create that with the performance as much as possible, but the supporters have a massive opportunity. They've supported us so well, so we can never complain about the support we get at this club, it’s amazing.  
 
“But there's an opportunity there to directly impact what happens on the pitch. It's probably easier to do that in reality against Liverpool, against Man United, against Aston Villa, who are competing in the Champions League.

“It's easier to create that because expectations are maybe lower. And if you said in our home games against Everton, probably against Crystal Palace, we haven't quite reached those heights in terms of the atmosphere on the pitch or off the pitch.  
 
“It's understandable because people really, really want the team to do well and look at the league table and attach extra significance to those types of games. 
 
“But I think we have to find a balance between backing ourselves and backing our group and our players, but also respecting the level of the opponent. Crystal Palace have had 10 years in the Premier League. They're a very, very good team. 
 
“The journey of our team, we know the journey of our players, and to have a 50-50 game against Crystal Palace, as the game was, takes the boys doing a lot of good stuff and working really, really hard.  
 
“But that might not always look or easily translate to what it might have looked like in the Championship or what it might have looked like in League One. But it doesn't mean they're working any less hard, they’re working harder, I can guarantee that. 
 
“We have incredible support. The game the other night, I think there were some good things in the performance. We don't have an even game with Crystal Palace if we're not doing some good things because of the level they have.

“We didn't manage to create as many chances or the intensity in the game as we would have wanted to make it a classic Portman Road game, but we're not always in control of that because there's another team out there trying to stop us from doing what we want to do.

“And they're much better at doing it than any teams this club has played in an awful lot of years.  
 
“So I think you take all those factors into consideration and then all we can do is crack on with the jobs, do our absolute best and try and play football in the way that makes our supporters proud and gives us the best chance to get points.

“Our supporters have been fantastic and I hope that they, and believe that they, will be right behind the players on Sunday. 
 
“Try and enjoy the game, get behind the players and enjoy the fact that we're competing against a really, really good Bournemouth side who are much better than any team we've played against in an awful lot of years of Portman Road.  
 
“Enjoy seeing the boys try and step up to that challenge, be right behind them. And when we do that, we know that gives us the best chance of getting a) the performance that we want, and b) most importantly, trying to get some points.”

The Team

McKenna has said he’s likely to make changes for the visit of the Cherries but Aro Muric is set to continue in goal.

At right-back McKenna could make a change with Harry Clarke having played the full 90 minutes on Tuesday, only his second start of the season in the Premier League after undergoing summer surgery and then missing out through suspension.

Ben Johnson was on the bench on Tuesday and seems likely to be ready to return to the XI having previously been out with a minor muscle issue. Dara O’Shea and Jacob Greaves look set to continue as the centre-halves.

McKenna admitted he and his staff were considering whether Jens Cajuste would be up to starting three games in eight days and it may well be that Kalvin Phillips, who was also on the bench on Tuesday, will be ready to return to the XI with the Swedish international coming on in the second half.

Skipper Sam Morsy will take up his usual position and will continue to look to avoid the fifth yellow card which would bring him a ban, having now gone seven games without a caution.

Omari Hutchinson, also on four bookings, could move out to the right to allow Conor Chaplin to come back into the side as the number 10 with Sammie Szmodics perhaps returning on the left having been left out in midweek. Liam Delap will continue as the number nine.

The Opposition

For Bournemouth, midfielder Alex Scott is out having undergone knee surgery a month ago, while Julián Araujo is another long-term absentee having had a hamstring op.

Former Leeds winger Luis Sinisterra is not expected to be ready to return, also due to a hamstring problem.

Argentine central defender Marcos Senesi suffered a quad injury against Wolves last week and is set for a long spell on the sidelines.

History

Overall, Town have won 14 (10 in the league) games between the sides, the Cherries 11 (11), while 12 (10) have been draws.

The Blues are unbeaten in their last seven against Bournemouth, the last four under Mick McCarthy all having been draws and the previous three Town wins, a two-legged League Cup tie under George Burley, 3-0 away and 2-1 at home, and a 3-0 FA Cup win under John Lyall.

Bournemouth last beat Town, then under the management of John Duncan, in the old Second Division at Dean Court in January 1990, 3-1, while their most recent success at Portman Road was back in March 1988, 2-1, again during Duncan’s time as boss.

The teams last met at Portman Road in April 2015 with the Cherries on their way to the Championship title and the Blues the play-offs.

Visitors debutant sub Kenwyne Jones headed an 82nd minute equaliser as the teams drew 1-1 in an exciting top of the table encounter, Freddie Sears having put the Blues in front in the sixth minute.

In the preceding November in Dorset, Teddy Bishop and Daryl Murphy were on target as Town twice came from behind to claim a 2-2 draw.

Yann Kermorgant put the Cherries in front with a spectacular second-minute overhead kick, Bishop equalised with his first senior goal five minutes after the break, Matt Ritchie restored the home side’s lead four minutes later and Murphy levelled in the 76th minute.

The previous season’s matches had also ended in 1-1 - in which future Town striker Brett Pitman scored for the Cherries - and 2-2 draws but with the latter at Portman Road and the former on the south coast.

Familiar Faces

Town left-back Davis was on loan at Dean Court from Leeds in the 2021/22 season, making 10 starts and five sub appearances in all competitions as Bournemouth returned to the top flight after finishing second in the Championship.

Bournemouth U21s coach Alan Connell was an U18s striker with the Blues in the early 2000s, joining the Cherries as a player following his release.

Officials

Sunday’s referee is Michael Salisbury, with his assistants Wade Smith and Scott Ledger, and the fourth official Tom Bramall. The VAR official will be Paul Tierney and his assistant Craig Taylor.

Salisbury, whose father is long-serving EFL referee Graham Salisbury, is in his fourth season as a Premier League referee.

The Preston-based official was slated to take charge of the Blues’ 4-1 defeat at Manchester City in August but pulled out just before kick-off due to injury. He was, however, the VAR official in the Brighton match.

The only Town game he has taken charge of was the famous 3-2 victory over Southampton at Portman Road in April in which he booked Morsy, Chaplin and Jack Taylor, as well as one Saint, and dismissed former Blues loanee James Bree with five minutes remaining for denying an obvious goalscoring opportunity.

Squad From

Muric, Walton, Slicker, Davis, Townsend, Johnson, H Clarke, O’Shea, Woolfenden, Burgess, Greaves, Morsy (c), Cajuste, Phillips, Luongo, Taylor, Hutchinson, Chaplin, Szmodics, J Clarke, Broadhead, Burns, Delap, Al-Hamadi.

TWTD

dirtydingusmagee added 18:52 - Dec 6 Hard to see is getting much out of Bournemouth,after the last match imo and its very worrying looking at January fixtures that looks like a zero points month barring a miracle
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BrockleyBlue78 added 19:36 - Dec 6 Davis will feel hard done being dropped
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gippeswyk added 19:58 - Dec 6 BrockleyBlue78 Davis isn't being dropped. Just not mentioned above. dirtydingusmagee so negative even before a ball is kicked. You just read how Kieran is asking for the fans to get behind the team as they work their socks off to try to get something out of the game. If Southampton beat Bournemouth, why do you write Town off? If we can beat Tottenham away, against the odds, we have a chance on Sunday, surely. COYB!! Prove the doubters wrong!

16

Daniel72 added 20:33 - Dec 6 It's depressing how quickly fans drop their heads... Palace are a good team with great players... Eze to Matuto... that's not Fleetwood! Come on you blue boys! Don't be so blue... stay true... we can win this... and even if we don't... there's still time... good energies please at Portman Road... Omari brace please and lift the roof
13

magnus68 added 21:57 - Dec 6 Fully agree. Let’s stand behind the lads, we should win it!
9

Blue_In_Boston added 22:15 - Dec 6 First and foremost we need points. Who cares about the performance we get 3 points on Sunday? Not often I disagree with KMK but find that comment a little daft.
2

chepstowblue added 23:32 - Dec 6 I'm not sure that people expressing their honest opinions on here will hurt the players feelings or have an effect on the result. I myself think that Bournemouth will beat us comfortably. Yes we've beaten Tottenham, whilst they've beaten Tottenham, Man City and Arsenal in the last month or so. It doesn't mean we're negative. It shows that we're balanced and realistic. Don't be overly sensitive guys. We want Town to win as much as you do....probably much more, but have the bonus of being able to speak out minds without fear of hurting the feelings of snowflakes. Being born in the 60s and growing up in the 70s hardened us.

8

Westy added 03:55 - Dec 7 Really feel we need four points minimum from the next two games if we are not going to be in serious trouble by January.
7

johnwarksshorts added 08:03 - Dec 7 Win, lose or draw. I'm just enjoying the journey which town are on. I didn't expect in my wildest dreams that we'd even be hear so it's just a bonus imo. Of course I want town to win every game. But it ain't gonna happen. All we can do is get behind the team.
8

Linkboy13 added 09:28 - Dec 7 Although im a Town fan of 60 years i always say things as they are positive or negative and at the moment i can't see many positives the league table doesn't lie. The Southampton game away was a red flag for me both teams looked very poor and lacking quality. As the season goes on it's going to get harder such is the physical demands of the Premier league. The one positive is we've got Keiran McKenna who is possibly the only manager who can get the maximum out of a squad of players that is championship level who can save us. Personally im not a glory hunter and have never been a big fan of the Premier league circus run by Sky and biased officials. I shall be there next season what ever league we are in but if we stay up let's hope we've learned some lessons especially in player recruitment. One last thing has anyone noticed that the owners have gone strangely quiet over the last few months.

5

Carberry added 09:28 - Dec 7 I know we say it a lot but I do feel this is a defining game for our season. We have some very challenging games ahead and if we don't get something from this one heads will drop. The confidence a win can give us would be fantastic going into the Christmas period. And has anyone looked at January's games, goodness me.
3

Carberry added 09:45 - Dec 7 I agree Linkboy13, the one thing I would be concerned about is hanging on to McKenna if we are relegated. Would he really want another Championship slog for a season or more now he has rubbed shoulders with the elite. He's bound to have offers, which would look far more attractive than of late. You make a good point about the owners, they will have seen their investment rise and will be patting themselves on the back for doing such shrewd business. Relegation changes all that (not something Americans can get their heads around) and they go back to square one having already made major financial investment. I wonder how Ashton is spinning this one? By the way, can someone explain the logic of Ed Sheeran investing in the club? Every time the Americans put in more money his ownership is diluted just like the PLC, which now owns less than 1%. Does he just get a free shirt with his name on every season?

4

Tedray added 10:53 - Dec 7 Let us believe - if the team can come out ,attack and show energy and agression the crowd will catch alight. I have a good feeling about this one they may posses less large phsyical specimans than a lot of teams...we can do this. - hang in there until the January window gives us another chance.
1

bluebullet29l added 11:34 - Dec 7 Unfortunately even playing teams like Bournemouth are tough and I never thought I would be saying that. I just can't see where the points are coming from. It's been a fantastic ride but in reality the wheels have now well and truly fell off.
0

N8Blue added 12:38 - Dec 7 Please play Szmodics as the ten and OH on the right. I'm still baffled how Burns is getting a start, and Broadhead, Chaplin and Al-Hamadi are getting game time ahead of the most prolific goal scorer in our squad. Szmodics just behind Delap would make us so much more potent in front of goal. Seeing him out wide is frustrating, seeing him as an unused sub in a game we are really struggling in is border line criminal.

11

bluebullet29l added 12:42 - Dec 7 Dissboyitfc your deluded
0

DavoIPB added 14:36 - Dec 7 Watch the Ipswich place game and then flick to the Bournemouth Tottenham game. The pace, ability of the players, control of the football, movement and general footballing ability is so far ahead in the Tottenham Bournemouth game. The Brighton Fulham game was scary for the pace and how quickly each team went from defence to attack.
2

ArnieM added 14:42 - Dec 7 If McKenna pi is his best available players we should win. So that ( to me) is starting with Delap, Broadhead, Szmodics, Omari up front The only other player I'd consider would be Chaplin. Round pegs in round holes, please Kieran!
1

Linkboy13 added 15:44 - Dec 7 No ArnieM McKenna won't play his best possible team he doesn't know what he's doing does he .
0

blueboy1981 added 19:14 - Dec 7 We need points McKenna, not a thousand words before each game. The Club Owners will be currently conferring after 14 games, one win, and £100million plus spent - that you can be sure of !! They won’t be ‘harping on’ continuously of how ‘far we’ve come’ - they want, and will expect PREMIERSHIP Football.
3

TimmyH added 21:07 - Dec 7 Not sure the possible Szmodics Chaplin combo playing together will work, both a bit lightweight in my opinion and is Burgess another player to have picked up a 'knock' as again do not see him in the squad, if not you have to wonder. Need to start getting points on the board pronto and also get some luck that Leicester had the other night against West Ham (and us) where they were out played but had their shooting boots on...

0

Oldschoolnumber9 added 21:20 - Dec 7 Delap needs to be benched for this one IMO. Hes young and getting tired. Could be a brilliant impact sub when defenders getting tired. Getting to 'must win' territoty.
0

pablo123 added 21:58 - Dec 7 Can't see a win tomorrow , and we're already cut adrift !!!! We're doomed I think , just hope we don't go down with a whimper
2

bobble added 03:10 - Dec 8 3 -0 to town..delap hat trick...
1

ImAbeliever added 09:37 - Dec 8 Timmy, Burgess in the squad, I believe.
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