'Iraola may decide to throw all his eligible eggs in the FA Cup basket'

[ASFN Admin]

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[BBC]

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The international break feels like a time for Bournemouth to regroup and take stock before the final nine league games of the season.

Any "regrouping" may be more metaphorical than literal with nearly a dozen players called away for international duty, but having been running away like an express train in January and for most of February, the brakes have been somewhat slammed on in March with only one point from four league games.

Whether the players are feeling the cumulative fatigue of 33 league and cup games under Andoni Iraola's high-intensity, high-energy pressing style – as some television pundits have suggested – is probably one for the strength and conditioning coaches to determine, but over the past few games it feels more like they are being punished for a lack of clinicality at both ends of the field.

After the break, the Cherries face three games in seven days with a Sunday-Wednesday-Saturday fixture list, but following that trio of matches, it settles down to one game per weekend – plus any potential FA Cup progress.

And having lost a little ground on the teams above them in the Premier League, that FA Cup quarter-final with Manchester City takes on added significance with the cup being potentially Bournemouth's best route to owner Bill Foley's dream of qualifying for European football.

While FA Cup yellow-card suspensions will rob Iraola of the services of key defenders Milos Kerkez and Dean Huijsen for the City game, Iraola may decide to throw all his eligible eggs in the FA Cup basket rather than make wholesale changes elsewhere – and that would likely find favour with the supporters dreaming of Wembley.

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