Facing Championship opposition for the second time in two EFL Cup matches, Bournemouth welcome Stoke City to the Vitality Stadium for a third-round battle on Wednesday.

The Cherries came up trumps in a five-goal thriller with Swansea City in the second round, while the Potters subjected Rotherham United to a 6-1 obliteration.

Match preview

Aiming to benefit from any continental hangover at the Amex Stadium - where Brighton & Hove Albion lost their first-ever Europa League tie to AEK Athens on Thursday - Bournemouth initially piled more misery onto their South Coast neighbours when Dominic Solanke capitalised on Bart Verbruggen's howler.

However, Milos Kerkez headed a free kick into his own net on the stroke of half time, and only 17 seconds after the restart, Kaoru Mitoma found a way through the Bournemouth backline before doubling his tally with a simple header from Pervis Estupinan's cross.

Despite another promising start, the Cherries would eventually be picked off by the Seagulls as their winless run in all competitions stretched to three matches, leaving them 17th in the rankings as one of four teams still searching for their first Premier League triumph of the campaign.

Bournemouth are only keeping their heads above water thanks to a trio of draws with Chelsea, West Ham United and Brentford - all impressive in their own right - while a fairytale Welsh homecoming for David Brooks saw him ignite a second-half comeback against Swansea in last month's EFL Cup second-round thriller.

The Cherries have three EFL Cup quarter-final appearances to their name from 2014-15, 2018-18 and 2018-19, but they suffered a third-round exit to lower-tier opposition as recently as the 2019-20 season, being put to the sword 2-0 by Burton Albion.

The bet365 Stadium already had an empty feel to it when Stoke kicked off against Hull City in their most recent Championship affair, and by the time the full-time whistle blew, the vacant seats vastly outnumbered the glum-faced fans in attendance toughing it out until the end.

Alex Neil's men held out for half an hour on their own patch before Aaron Connolly and Adama Traore netted two quickfire goals for the Tigers, who added a spectacular third through Regan Slater before Andre Vidigal bagged a consolation effort for the Potters.

With only a single point to show from four second-tier fixtures in the month of September, Neil's men - who were booed off the pitch at the weekend - have slumped to 20th position in the rankings and have not come out on the correct end of the scoreline since that aforementioned demolition of Rotherham in the EFL Cup second round.

West Bromwich Albion also fell at the first hurdle to the Potters, but the visitors head to Premier League territory winless in seven competitive games on the road, and they suffered a quartet of third-round eliminations between the 2016-17 and 2019-20 campaigns.

Before returning to the big time in 2022, Bournemouth edged two close Championship contests with Stoke in the 2021-22 campaign - winning 1-0 away and 2-1 at home - and the Cherries have suffered just one defeat in their last eight showdowns with the Potters, who could relieve some of the pressure on Neil's shoulders with a midweek shock.

Team News

Following a taxing afternoon against Brighton's effervescent attackers, defender Lloyd Kelly had to come off in the 83rd minute with tightness in his calf, and he could now take up a bed in the treatment room until after the next international break.

Emiliano Marcondes (foot), Alex Scott (knee) and Ryan Fredericks (calf) will not be making their returns before the end of the month either, but new signing Tyler Adams (thigh) has a slim chance of making a matchday squad for the first time in Cherries colours.

Marcos Senesi should benefit from Kelly's expected absence in the middle of the backline, while Brooks, Hamed Traore, Joe Rothwell and Antoine Semenyo are also in line for promotions from the dugout, but Luis Sinisterra is cup-tied.

Meanwhile, Stoke boss Neil was forced into two in-game alterations at the weekend, as Tyrese Campbell and Wouter Burger both had to come off before the half-time break with hamstring issues - the former is now set for a stint on the sidelines..

The duo join a bustling treatment room holding Enda Stevens, Lewis Baker, Ryan Mmaee, Emre Tezgel and Lewis Baker, while goalscorer Vidigal was not moving comfortably towards the end of the loss to Hull and might be spared here.

In addition to their injured troupe, Stoke cannot field on-loan Bournemouth goalkeeper Mark Travers or Junior Tchamadeu, who played for Colchester United earlier in the competition.

Bournemouth possible starting lineup:
Radu; Smith, Senesi, Zabarnyi, Kerkez; Rothwell, Billing; Brooks, Traore, Ouattara; Semenyo

Stoke City possible starting lineup:
Bonham; Hoever, Rose, Wilmot, McNally, Johnson; Sidibe, Thompson; Laurent; Wesley, Gayle

We say: Bournemouth 3-0 Stoke City

With injuries piling up and other players unable to take the field on Wednesday for administrative reasons, this third-round tie has all the makings of a miserable evening for the Potters.

An injection of confidence would do Bournemouth the world of good right now, and we expect the Cherries to get it during a resounding success on home soil.


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