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Bournemouth are closing in on their best Premier League unbeaten run but will face a stern test at Vitality Stadium on Tuesday (19:30 GMT) against a Brentford side in sparkling away form.
Four wins and four draws in their past eight league fixtures mean the Cherries are unbeaten since the turn of the year, a sequence which has moved them from 15th to 10th in the table, and only Manchester United (11) are on a longer unbeaten spell.
Just once have Bournemouth enjoyed a longer run without defeat in the top flight, going 11 games without losing between November and January last season.
Another South Coast stalemate?
But for a dozen draws – the joint most of any club in Europe's top five leagues this term – Andoni Iraola's men could be in the hunt for a European spot. Indeed, Bournemouth's 12 stalemates – six of them at home – is already their most in a top-flight campaign.
With much talk about the quality of Brazilian teenager Rayan since his arrival in January, it was his more experienced countryman Evanilson who rescued a point against Sunderland on Saturday, coming off the bench to notch his sixth league goal of the season.
Worryingly, he was taken off with five minutes to go after suffering a knock to the hip, giving him the quirky honour of becoming the first Bournemouth player to be subbed on, score and then be subbed off in a league match since James Keene against Brentford in October 2005 – when the two clubs were in League One.
Brentford for Europe?
While Brentford can't match Bournemouth's unbeaten record this calendar year, their form across the piece has them riding high in seventh place and dreaming of European qualification for the first time in their 134-year history.
Keith Andrews' side boast an eye-catching recent record on their travels, with Mikkel Damsgaard's late winner in Saturday's epic 4-3 victory at Burnley the latest example – even if they did have a contentious VAR decision to thank for denying the Clarets a stoppage-time equaliser.
Across their past six away games, Brentford have picked up more points than anyone else in the division.
