Bournemouth will be looking to continue their fine recent form when they take on Middlesbrough at Dean Court on Saturday.

The Cherries have enjoyed a superb March so far, winning all three of their matches without conceding a goal to climb up to 12th in the Championship table.

The sudden surge of consistency is something that has been lacking all season for Eddie Howe's side, and it surely comes too late for them to launch a serious charge for the playoffs.

However, their run does set them up for a promising finish to their first campaign in the Championship, and optimism will be high for next season if they can cling on to a top-half position.

Only runaway league leaders Leicester have been able to win at the Goldsands in Bournemouth's last seven league outings there, while their most recent match in front of their own fans resulted in a 5-0 thrashing of Doncaster Rovers.

The star of that show was Yann Kermorgant, but he is likely to miss this weekend's game along with Charlie Daniels and Elliot Ward due to injury.

Middlesbrough, meanwhile, have finally found their scoring touch again and could climb as high as 10th in the table with a victory on Saturday.

Having gone seven games without finding the back of the net, Boro eased to a 2-0 win over Ipswich last Saturday and followed that up with a respectable 1-1 draw against high flying Nottingham Forest.

Aitor Karanka's side have forged a formidable defensive record in recent weeks, with seven clean sheets in their last 11 games, although that has been largely overshadowed by their troubles in front of goal.

As with Bournemouth, the playoffs are now beyond Boro this season, but a strong end to the campaign would increase hopes of a top-six push next year.

To do that, they will need to improve their away form, which has seen them go four matches without a win or a goal in the league, picking up just one point in that time.

Karanka will be without Jonathan Woodgate once again, while Lee Tomlin could also miss out having picked up a knock in midweek.

Recent form

Bournemouth: DDLWWW

Middlesbrough: DLDLWD

Possible starting lineups

Bournemouth: Camp; Francis, Elphick, Cook, Harte; Surman, Arter, Fraser, Ritchie; Pugh; Grabban

Middlesbrough: Konstantopoulos; Varga, Omeruo, Gibson, Friend; Leadbitter, Chalobah; Adomah, Ledesma, Carayol; Graham

Sports Mole says: 2-0