AFC Bournemouth will be hoping to finish the regulation season with a victory when they host Championship rivals Stoke City on Saturday (12.30pm kick-off).
The Cherries face the Potters ahead of trying to regain a place in the Premier League having already qualified for the play-offs along with Brentford, Swansea and Barnsley.
Stoke had a promising first half to the 2020/21 season and were in the promotion picture when the teams met at the bet365 Stadium at the start of January.
Junior Stanislas’s late goal condemned the Potters to a 1-0 defeat and they have picked up five wins and seven draws in their past 23 games, slipping off the pace.
Michael O’Neill’s team have not been helped by the long-term absence of striker Tyrese Campbell who suffered a serious knee injury in December.
The 21-year-old frontman had netted seven times and provided five assists before he sustained a complex cartilage problem.
Since going down to the Cherries, Stoke have won four home games and once on their travels, their solitary away victory coming at Bristol City at the start of April.
They head to Vitality Stadium on the back of a six-match winless run which has seen them draw with Preston and Nottingham Forest and lose to Millwall, Birmingham, Coventry and QPR.
Ahead of the clash, afcb.co.uk caught up with Matt Sandoz who covers the fortunes of the Potters for BBC Radio Stoke.
Given the way they avoided relegation last season there wasn’t much optimism that the club would be in a serious promotion push.
Michael O’Neill’s side had a promising start which soon curtailed after striker Tyrese Campbell was ruled out for the season with a knee injury.
