AFC Bournemouth face Championship leaders Burnley on Saturday afternoon, with Kick-Off at 15:00 GMT. 

The Cherries will be looking to respond to four consecutive losses in all competitions, with the latest of those coming at the hands of Manchester United at Old Trafford in the week. 

Goals from Casemiro, Luke Shaw and Marcus Rashford condemned Gary O'Neil's side to a 3-0 loss in the Premier League. 

Bournemouth will be looking to better their FA Cup campaign last season after being on the end of a cup upset, losing to National League side Boreham Wood. 

  • Gary O'Neil - Burnley "hard to beat" 

Cherries boss O'Neil spoke to the AFC Bournemouth website in the build-up to tomorrow's game, insisting Bournemouth are always improving as the season progresses:

"It's been a tough spell, we understand we are going to suffer some tough spells, the performance at Man United I thought was good, I thought the boys were unfortunate. We need to constantly just keep improving all aspects, and the boys are improving."

Another set-piece was Bournemouth's downfall at Old Trafford, after a Christian Eriksen free-kick found Casemiro at the front post, to put the Red Devils in front. 

Despite more problems from dead-ball situations, the Bournemouth boss is still focusing on the positives:

"There are still positives. You see the boys giving absolutely everything. Everyone's still together."

"To suffer the disappointment against Crystal Palace then have to go to Old Trafford, to go 1-0 down in the first half, and then show resilience and create chances. It's a huge strength, that we're definitely going to need to help us be successful this season."

Speaking ahead of the FA Cup tie with Burnley, O'Neil stated that the squad is in a similar situation prior to the Man United game: 

"It's a game we want to win. The squad is in a similar place to it was before Manchester United. We have a couple of late checks tomorrow. It's a game that we want to win against a very good side that are used to winning football matches.

"They've had an incredible run in an extremely tough division, so it will be a tough game for us for sure, but one I'm looking forward to and one I expect to see a real good performance in."

The Cherries face a Burnley side, who with Vincent Kompany at the helm, have gained 56 points from 26 games, and sit 14 points clear in the automatic promotion places. 

With just three losses in all competitions this season, O'Neil understands the challenge that Burnley pose to the Cherries on Saturday afternoon:

"They're a good side, they play good football, dominated possession in the Championship, been hard to beat, they look like they're going to be a Premier League team, so it will be a tough game for us. But the lads are in a good place, they've recovered well from Manchester United trained well again this morning, they understand fully that we go into tomorrow to win the football match."

"The players are well aware of the challenge, they always are."

With the January transfer window well underway, O'Neil emphasised the importance of focusing on the players he already has at the club:

"January can be tricky, my main job is to improve the players that we have. We're keen to have new arrivals, keen to help the group that are still here."