Bournemouth manager Eddie Howe has insisted that he and his squad have not openly talked about the possibility of finishing in the top half of the Premier League table.

The Cherries head into their game with Chelsea in 13th position but victory on the south coast will take them level on points with the Premier League champions, who currently sit in 10th place.

However, Howe has said that he is solely focused on the game itself as Bournemouth look to improve on a recent run of just one win in four matches.

The 38-year-old is quoted by BBC Sport as saying: "We haven't talked about a top-10 finish, just this game and making sure we give our best and every effort we have to get a result.

"I think we owe it to the supporters, who haven't seen a huge amount of home wins this season, to try to do everything we can to achieve that for them."

In the reverse fixture in December, Bournemouth prevailed by a 1-0 scoreline thanks to a late goal from Glenn Murray.