CHERRIES will head into their penultimate Championship fixture at home to Bolton next Monday with a clear of idea of what is required for automatic promotion.
The Dean Court club’s three rivals for the top two face road trips on Saturday and leaders Watford have the opportunity to forge four points ahead in the early kick-off at Brighton (12.15pm).
In the 3pm starts, Middlesbrough travel to Fulham and Norwich journey to Rotherham, whose Championship survival prospects could yet be dented by a points deduction for an administrative error.
If Boro lose and Norwich don't win, Cherries could all-but seal promotion with victory over Bolton. Eddie Howe’s men would be three points clear of the Teessiders with a significantly better goal difference going into the last day.
A setback for Watford would afford Cherries the chance to establish a two-point lead on the Hornets.
The worse-case scenario would be Cherries dropping to fourth ahead of their showdown with Wanderers. Victories for all three rivals would see them trail the top two by three points and third place by two.
Irrespective of results elsewhere, Cherries cannot be mathematically win or blow a chance in the top two before the last day of the season because they are currently level on points with Boro.
Should Watford win and Cherries lose, they would not be able to catch the Hornets.
A Cherries win coupled with a draw or defeat for Norwich would prevent the Canaries catching Howe’s charges on the last day.
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