And the Bournemouth boss revealed he has been impressed with what he has seen from a Chelsea side who have kept three clean sheets in their last three games.
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The club will certainly need to sell before they buy players in the January Transfer Window and Eddie Howe will have to be smart in his decisions to find potential quality to save the Cherries and fill the absence of Callum Wilson.
He said: “From our perspective, we are meeting Chelsea at a good time”.
“Every player wants to play and start but managing those players that you do not pick is incredibly hard whether you are at Chelsea or at Bournemouth I think the principles are the same”.
“If we are in a good place and we perform then we can compete”.
Bournemouth were involved in a thrilling 3-3 draw at home to Everton last weekend, with Ross Barkley’s stoppage time strike for the visitors cancelled out by a Junior Stanislas header right at the death.
Howe said: “You hope a result like that can really boost the confidence and the belief of the players – it certainly helps to build momentum”. It is just about trying to get the better of the individual battles. What we’re looking to do it try to add some wins to those performances and a game like Everton can be the catalyst for that.
Howe said: “Whenever you get injuries, it is a test and a challenge for your squad to adapt and I think we have done that with the outfield positions”.
“From our perspective, we are really happy with the last four games apart from the first few minutes against Southampton (2-0 defeat on November 1) where we thought we were poor – we are building momentum”.
Artur Boruc is troubled by a groin injury, while Adam Federici has an ankle problem and Howe is keeping his cards close to his chest on the fitness of the pair.
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‘When you consider what the other people nominated had achieved this season – to win the award was very special’.
