Andoni Iraola has revealed that AFC Bournemouth will be brave and aggressive ahead of their trip to Stamford Bridge to face Chelsea on Tuesday evening.
The Cherries go into the contest just three points behind the hosts, who currently occupy the last of the Champions League spots, and are looking to avenge their defeat to Enzo Maresca’s side earlier in the season.
Iraola said: “We are going to be brave, we are willing to press them and willing to play as much as possible around their box.
“We’ve shown that we can be competitive against any team this season, I think it’s a step forward compared to last season.
“We will try to be aggressive, but the game we played here (at the Vitality Stadium) they adapted quite well to our press and didn’t take a lot of risks.
“I expect the same Chelsea, or even better, than the one we faced at the start of the season.”
Despite his bullish comments, Iraola is still wary of the quality that Chelsea possess, especially in terms of their squad depth and ability to rotate their players.
“I think they are in a very good place,” said Iraola.
“They have a very large squad and can change starting XIs from European Cup games to Premier League games.
“Everyone is normally very fresh, because they manage their squad very well.”
Over the last few days, both Max Aarons and Phillip Billing have left the club on loan deals, moving to Valencia and Napoli respectively.
The Cherries gaffer revealed that these departures are with a view to the future, despite leaving his squad a little stretched.
Iraola said: “We prioritised the mid-long term rather than to survive the next 2-3 weeks, but it is true that we are now even thinner.
“The loans are not something that happened in the last two or three days, it’s something that was the plan with the players and the agents.
“It’s a great chance for both of them.”
Iraola praises ‘top professional’ Aarons as move to Valencia is confirmed