Aston Villa remain third in the Premier League. They still have a five point lead over Manchester United below them but the fact that Michael Carrick's side and Chelsea have won their last three league games may add extra pressure onto Villa.
They previously went on an eleven game unbeaten run at Villa Park but have now suffered back-to-back defeats, losing 1-0 to both **Everton**and **Brentford.**Last week, they lost to a Brentford side who had ten men for large parts of the game.
They have won games in Europe and won away at Tottenham Hotspur in the FA Cup and at Newcastle United in the league but it is certainly a dip in form for the side from Birmingham.
Heading to the south coast, they face a Bournemouth side who were on a long winless run themselves but Andoni Iraola's men have picked up and are now unbeaten in their last four league games, winning three of them.
Last week, the Cherries won 2-0 at Wolverhampton Wanderers and the week before it was a 3-2 home win against Liverpool. Therefore, it will be a tough test for Villa.
However, Unai Emery's side won 4-0 when the sides met back in November.
Boosted by new signings
A couple of weeks ago, it looked as though the Villa squad was under a bit of pressure with injuries mounting and a lack of incomings.
However, since then, they made moves in the January window and new signings Douglas Luiz and Tammy Abraham started last week.
It may not have been the most memorable game from a Villa perspective last week but, after struggling at Nottingham Forest earlier in the season, Luiz received praise for his second debut on his return to Villa Park.
Abraham's return to Birmingham also came at a good time for the side as Ollie Watkins missed last week's game against his former club due to injury.
However, with the games coming thick and fast, the arrival of Abraham will help take the load off Watkins and mean that Emery has two central strikers to choose from.
There will also be a hope that Morgan Rogers can find the net again, as he looks to nail down a spot in Thomas Tuchel's England squad for the World Cup.
Some players returning
**Amadou Onana**was an unused substitute last week but was not judged fit enough to feature. However, it looks as though Onana will be involved at Bournemouth and could even start.
Watkins has also been involved in training this week and if he is judged fit enough to be involved then it could be expected that he will start as he is undoubtedly the club's first choice striker.
Overcome the challenges?
It may be a testing time at Villa at the moment but they are still in a good position. After narrowly missing out on Champions League football last season, they will be desperate to secure entry into Europe's elite competition this time around.
To finish outside the top four or five would demonstrate a significant downturn in results and a real disappointing end to the campaign.
Villa will want to ensure that they are still in a good position by the time the next UEFAEuropa League**** games come around. The Europa League is a competition that Villa have a good chance of winning and this would also give them entry to the Champions League.
They will not want to be in a position where qualification is uncertain and they find themselves not knowing which competition to prioritise.
In recent years, they have worked hard to strengthen the squad to allow them to compete on multiple fronts but with the injuries they have it is not helping their cause at the moment.
However, they come into this game after having a rare week off and that could mean that Emery's side will be fresh when they arrive on the south coast.