Bournemouth v Crawley preview

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Bournemouth have no new injury problems but are still coming to terms with the loss of Shaun MacDonald.

The midfielder is sidelined for 10 weeks after rupturing ankle ligaments in the victory over Colchester. He was replaced by Harry Arter for the Boxing Day clash with Yeovil, who scored the second in a comfortable 3-0 victory.

The victory extended the Cherries’ unbeaten run to 14 games but the previous 13 had all featured MacDonald in the midfield.

But Eddie Howe received a boost against Yeovil as Richard Hughes made his first appearance since October as a second half substitute. He will be pushing for further action against Crawley after recovering from his hamstring problem.

Long-term absentees Miles Addison, Darryl Flahavan, Stephen Purches and Charlie Sheringham remain sidelined.

Crawley’s Shaun Cooper will look to continue on the road to recovery.

The versatile 29-year-old made his return as a substitute against Portsmouth on Boxing Day after three months out with a groin problem.

And although the Cherries clash is likely to be too soon for him to make a start, he should get longer than the four minutes of game time he experienced against Pompey.

Claude Davis was restored to the starting line-up last time out after recovering from a knee injury and he looks set to continue.

Fellow defender Kyle McFadzean is suffering through illness and is unlikely to make the squad.

Billy Clarke managed 83 minutes against Portsmouth following a hamstring problem and he will compete for a starting place once again.