Southampton manager Ronald Koeman has claimed that Bournemouth boss Eddie Howe is doing a "fantastic job" this season.
The Saints will face their south coast rivals on Tuesday night on the back of a 2-1 defeat to Chelsea.
Bournemouth, who earned promotion to the Premier League for the first time in the club's history last year, are currently five points adrift of relegation.
"We have a lot of respect for Bournemouth," Koeman told reporters in Monday's press conference. "Eddie Howe is doing a fantastic job.
"If they stay in the Premier League, it will be a great effort from them, and what I like is that they play good football. They try to create offensively. It's more easy to play long ball, they've done it the most difficult way."
Southampton are four points off the top five.
