Speaking to the media on Thursday, Eddie Howe was under no illusions with regards to how tough AFC Bournemouth's match will be against Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday.
Great result at home against Spurs this season give Cherries confidence
The Cherries played extremely well to hold Mauricio Pochettino’s side to a goalless draw at The Vitality Stadium back in October and Howe described his side’s performance that day as being aggressive and solid.
More importantly for the Cherries boss that day, they kept a clean sheet, something which he his eager for the team to do and perhaps even better the result at White Hart Lane.
Getting any kind of result in North London will be extremely tough, given Spurs faultless run they have enjoyed at home of late. Pochettino’s men are looking to seal their 12th successive home win and they looked in deadly form going forward last weekend as they dismantled Watford 4-0.
Spurs 'toughest opponent of the season'
Howe has been very impressed by his side’s opposition both last season and even more so this season. “Last year, probably with Manchester City, they were our toughest opponents and the game (on Saturday) will be one of our toughest this year”, he said.
AFC Bournemouth are looking to bounce back after suffering defeat at home to Spurs title chasing rivals Chelsea 3-1. That loss ended the Cherries five match unbeaten run, but Howe is relishing the chance to take on one of the Premier League’s top sides once again.
A Harry Kane double and another goal from Christia Eriksen saw Spurs ease past the Cherries 3-0 at White Hart Lane last year, completing the double over Howe’s side in the 2015/16 season.
Currently sitting in 15th in the table on 35 points, there is still work to be done for the South Coast side to secure Premier League survival and Howe’s men are certainly not getting complacent. He said: “We know we need more points so we’re desperate to do that and if we don’t do that in our next game, we’ve got five other games to do so.”