AFC Bournemouth host fellow south coast outfit Southampton on Sunday in the first meeting of the season between the two sides. 

Here's a look at five key points ahead of the game... 

Mid-week result…

Southampton had a tough mid-week fixture, travelling to the Etihad Stadium to face high-flying Manchester City, who hadn’t been defeated in the league all season.

Kevin De Bruyne’s opener after the break was cancelled out by an Oriol Romeu strike 15 minutes from time.

The Saints looked to be coming away with a point, but Raheem Sterling’s 96^th minute winner ensured the hosts were victorious. The south coast outfit go into Sunday’s game sat in 11^th place. 

Season so far…

Sunday’s visitors have had a mixed start to the season under new manager Mauricio Pellegrino, having won four, drawn four and lost six.

Watford, West Brom, Stoke and more recently Everton have all lost out to Southampton this year, with draws recorded against the likes of all three newly promoted sides, Newcastle, Brighton and Huddersfield.

However, with Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester United and Tottenham all to play in December, they’ll need to ensure they get off to the best possible start at Vitality Stadium.

The boss…

Pellegrino was the man chosen to guide Southampton following the summer departure of Claude Puel, who helped the Saints to an eighth-place finish last season.

Despite no Premier League experience, the 46-year-old still boasts a rather impressive CV. After playing for the likes of Barcelona, Valencia, Liverpool and national side Argentina, his managerial career spans across two continents.

Staring off in Spain with a brief spell at Valencia, Pellegrino moved to Argentina to first take charge of Estudiantes and Independiente. He then returned to Europe to manage Alaves, guiding them to a remarkable ninth-placed finish in La Liga last year.

One to watch…

Charlie Austin is certainly the Southampton man in the finest form after last weekend’s double against Everton.

However, his Premier League tally this season sits on just three despite featuring in 11 top flight fixtures to date. A goal in the second week of the campaign helped Pellegrino’s side to a 3-2 win over strugglers West Ham and he’ll certainly be hungry for more this weekend.

Local rivals…

AFC Bournemouth and Southampton have faced off on 25 occasions to date, with the Cherries winning seven of those encounters and drawing six.

However, the two sides will only meet for the fifth time in the Premier League, with the last encounter a dramatic affair at St. Mary’s.

An even start to the game saw both sides create chances, but after the Cherries were awarded a penalty, it looked set that all three points would return to Vitality Stadium. That day, it wasn’t to be and the spoils were shared, yet Eddie Howe’s side will be looking to put things right on Sunday.

Jonathan Moss will be the man in the middle as the Cherries host south coast rivals Southampton on Sunday.

The fourth official has taken charge of ten top flight fixtures to date this season, most notably Manchester City’s 5-0 win over Liverpool in September and Tuesday night’s six-goal thriller between Watford and Manchester United.

Across his Premier League fixtures this term, the 47-year-old has handed out 34 yellow cards, one red card and given two penalties, one of which came in the mid-week game at Vicarage Road.

However, Sunday will be the first time that Moss has refereed either the Cherries or Southampton this season, last taking charge of either side in the 2016/17 campaign.  

This weekend, Moss will be assisted by Eddie Smart and Harry Lennard, with Roger East the fourth official.

AFC Bournemouth take on Southampton in the latest home game of the 2017/18 season.

With it being a Sunday game and a 1.30pm kick off, there are some amendments to our usual opening hours and as usual we encourage supporters to arrive to the ground early.

The match is dedicated to one of the club’s nominated charities for the season, the Fortune Centre of Riding Therapy. Find more out about them on our website.

9am TICKET OFFICE OPEN

Tickets for our upcoming away games at Crystal Palace, Chelsea, Manchester United and Manchester City are available to purchase before the Burnley game and the ticket office will also be open for 20 minutes after the game.

10am SUPERSTORE OPEN

Our Superstore will be open from 10am as it’s a Sunday, all the way until kick-off.

The store is also open for 20 minutes after the final whistle and we’ve got plenty of new merchandise in store ahead of Christmas.

10am SOUTH STAND CAR PARK OPEN

Just behind the stadium, the South Stand car park is open for just £1 to all supporters.

It does tend to fill up approximately 75 minutes before kick-off and there may be delays in excess of half an hour leaving post-match. Please be aware, you can turn left out of this car park and right at the roundabout, which will bring you out via Gloucester Road in Boscombe.

Alternatively, the Sovereign Centre on Christchurch Road, which is also approximately 10 minutes’ walk from the ground, is available for matchday parking for both Saturday and week night games. Parking fees cost just £2 for 4 hours and £4 for 24 hours.

Supporters will also be able to use Harewood College for parking.

This parking facility has the advantage of being away from the congestion around Kings Park, while only a short walk to Vitality Stadium, allowing easier access.

Available from 11am, the car park will be manned by a steward until kick-off and is free to use.
We respectfully ask that all visitors keep to the 10mph and then the 5mph speed limits.

Residents have direct access to parking enforcement officers on a matchday and so to avoid any issues please respect their access.

10.30am 1910 BAR OPEN

Want a drink before the game? The 1910 bar is open for home supporters and is located next to the press entrance in the Vitality Main Stand.

Supporters are required to show their home ticket on entry.

Hot food is available in the bistro section of the 1910 and bar does get busy, but below is an alternative…

10.30am THE GREAT ESCAPE OPEN

Our outside bar is open for business from 10.30am, with last orders at 12.45pm and closing at 1pm. Situated between the
Thistlebarrow Road entrance and the Superstore, it’s a great place to meet friends before entering the ground for a drink and a hot snack.

11am RETAIL POD OPEN

Our retail pod behind the Colmar Construction Ted MacDougall South Stand is open from 11am and you can get your home and away shirts and plenty more!

It's also open for 20 minutes after the final whistle.

11am DC LOUNGE OPEN

The DC Lounge is open to both home and away disabled supporters pre-match.

It is based on the ground floor and first floor in the East Stand for the use of disabled supporters only.

This offers Sky/BT Sport TV and a refreshment service, and a great opportunity for supporters to socialise before the match. There is a lift available for supporters using the platform and two accessible toilets. The matchday quiz is a highlight too.

12pm TURNSTILES OPEN

Supporters can take their seats from 12pm and make the most of our pre-match combo. Choose from either a pie & pint for £5 or a pie & soft/hot drink for £4, both available up to half an hour before kick-off. The Junior Cherries meal deal remains fantastic value at just £2.50 – just show your JC card at the food counter when ordering, and then enjoy!

Supporters who have entered the ground up to 45 minutes before kick-off will be entered into a draw to win the previous game’s man of the match signed by the player. This week, a signed Joshua King shirt is the prize.

12.45pm PRE-MATCH ENTERTAINMENT BEGINS

We’ve revamped our big screen so there’s plenty of new entertainment on offer this season.

See previous goals against Southampton, the community draw and plenty more.

Make sure you are in your seats to see our latest Fans’ Champion place the matchball on the Premier League plinth just before kick-off.

Fan Champion is new this season and gives supporters the chance to nominate for selected games a fellow Cherries fan they think deserves a special matchday – someone who has achieved something great or is a valued member of the community. Just email [email protected] with your nominee’s name and why you think they should be a Fans’ Champion.

This weekend’s Fans’ Champion is Richard Butler – we look forward to welcoming him.

1.30pm KICK-OFF

We get underway for a big game against Southampton!

Supporters are reminded that AFC Bournemouth does not tolerate any abusive or discriminatory language or behaviour and fans are encouraged to contact a steward should they witness this. Alternatively, supporters can confidentially text the support number on 07968 980580 with details.

On the size of Sunday's match...  

I see it as a derby, I do, it's as close as we're going to get. I think the rivalry is growing. I don't think at the start it was viewed like that for them.

It's up to us to grow as a club and become serious rivals to Southampton, last season they deservedly beat us here but we should have beaten them at their place.

On Southampton and the match to come... 

They have very good players and we had two very good encounters against them last season. They have a good, experienced manager so we know it will make for a tough test on Sunday.

We know that if we play to our potential that we can be very competitive in the match.  

On the Cherries finding their spark... 

It's difficult, we scored four against Huddersfield, two with ten men and two games later we're talking about a lack of spark.

We reflect on Burnley with disappointment because we didn't perform, it wasn't our spark in front of goal that was missing it was the spark in our general play.

It's up to us to respond against Southampton as we know how big a game it is.

On Jermain Defoe and Asmir Begovic coming up against Southampton...

For the former Portsmouth players we have, the Southampton fans won't forget their history but the players in question will enjoy that.

Against Burnley we didn't get our fans into the game so we have to make sure against Southampton that we do get them involved and give them something to get behind.

On going into a bumper run of fixtures in December... 

It's a challenge and exciting, it's imperative that we get as many points as we can and do our best to get them.

When you look back we'd have taken the month we had in November, but ended the month with a real disappointment.

What's important now is the month ahead, we can't afford to have a poor month and need to start the month on Sunday in good fashion.