There should be a fiery atmosphere at the Vitality Stadium on Tuesday night when Bournemouth's south coast rivals Southampton come to town.

Eddie Howe's priority is to stretch the Cherries further away from the relegation zone, while Ronald Koeman's Saints are looking to respond to their recent defeat to Chelsea.

Bournemouth

Most teams that earn themselves promotion to the Premier League from the Championship are instantly tipped to return to the second tier.

That was no different for Bournemouth, who grabbed a place in the top flight for the first time in their history nine months ago, but as promised, they have stuck to their attacking way of playing and are so far relatively comfortable.

The Cherries' place in the Premier League is by no means safe yet, but they are currently five points above the drop and will look to extend that when they take on their south coast rivals on Tuesday evening.

Howe and his players will be looking to get revenge on Southampton as they were on the end of a 2-0 defeat at St Mary's in November.

However, the Cherries are not entering the game in the best league form as they have recorded defeats to Arsenal and Stoke City, as well as a goalless draw with Watford in their last three outings.

In between those fixtures, Bournemouth were knocked out of the FA Cup by Everton, so four games without a win will give the team added incentive to get something out of their meeting with the Saints.

As far as the statistics go, it is not great reading for Bournemouth as they have won just two of their last 10 top-flight games at home and have scored just eight goals in their 10 league matches since Boxing Day.

The good news on the attacking front, though, is that summer signing Max Gradel has returned to the team after suffering knee ligament damage in August.

Howe will look to Gradel to contribute with goals and assists in the final 11 league games of the campaign.

Recent form: WDWLLD
Recent form (all competitions): WWLLLD

Southampton

The Saints were 15 minutes away from stretching their unbeaten Premier League run to seven matches thanks to a single goal from Shane Long against Chelsea, but Guus Hiddink's side had their own unbeaten spell to focus on.

Cesc Fabregas equalised for the Blues in the 75th minute before Branislav Ivanovic netted the winner with one minute of normal time remaining.

It was a sucker-punch to Koeman and his team, who prior to that game had secured wins over Watford, West Bromwich Albion, Manchester United, West Ham United and Swansea City, as well as a goalless draw with Arsenal.

Before Fabregas struck for Chelsea, Southampton goalkeeper Fraser Forster had set a new club record by going 708 minutes without conceding a goal. In fact, the England international has the best clean-sheet ratio (51.4%) of any keeper to have played more than 30 games in the Premier League.

In addition, Forster has the best save-to-shots ratio (90%) out of every keeper in the division this season, which bodes well for Southampton ahead of Tuesday's trip to Bournemouth.

At the other end, though, the Saints have not been as successful on the road having scored just six goals in their last nine league fixtures away from home.

However, if they are to score tomorrow night, then it may be with a header as they have scored the most headers (11) in the top flight this season.

At the moment, Koeman and his team find themselves seventh in the table, but they can put pressure on the top five with a win over Bournemouth.

Recent form: WWDWWL

Team News

Bournemouth boss Eddie Howe may call upon Gradel to start against Southampton due to an injury suffered to Junior Stanislas against Watford.

The winger is facing a spell on the sidelines with a hamstring problem, and although Gradel is lacking match action, he may be given a chance on Tuesday.

Lewis Grabban, who rejoined the club from Norwich City in January, was not in the squad for the Watford clash and it is likely to remain that way as he is a doubt with a groin strain.

The big news for Southampton is that Long only has a 50/50 chance of playing because of a hamstring injury. The striker has scored in his last two league appearances, but has never found the back of the net in three games on the bounce.

Victor Wanyama will not be in the travelling party as he serves the third of a five-game suspension.

Bournemouth possible starting lineup:
Boruc; Smith, Francis, Cook, Daniels; Ritchie, Arter, Surman, Gradel; King; Afobe

Southampton possible starting lineup:
Forster; Soares, Van Dijk, Fonte, Bertrand; Clasie, Romeu; Pelle, Davis, Targett; Austin

Head To Head

As mentioned, Southampton have already recorded a win over Bournemouth this season having beaten them 2-0 at St Mary's, with Steven Davis and Graziano Pelle scoring the goals in the November fixture.

That result was the fifth victory on the trot over the Cherries, who have only won four of their 17 previous league meetings with the Saints. Those four wins came on home turf, but they have lost 10 and drawn three overall.

The last time that Bournemouth claimed a league triumph over Southampton was in the old Third Division in 1958.

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We say: Bournemouth 1-2 Southampton

The history books are telling us that a Southampton win is the most likely result and in this case, it is a fair statement. The Cherries have the home advantage and that small ground creates a difficult atmosphere for the visiting side, particularly if it is a local rival, so it could be a close encounter. Both teams have the ability to test the respective goalkeepers and while a goal from Bournemouth would not be a surprise, Forster's strong form is likely to reduce their opportunities. The home side will cause trouble for their opponents, but Southampton have the quality to edge it.