Eddie Howe surprised by Aston Villa's relegation plight

Bournemouth boss Eddie Howe admits he is surprised Saturday's opponents Aston Villa are facing relegation.

The Cherries lost 1-0 at home to Villa in their opening game of the season - Bournemouth's first in the Premier League.

But since then, Villa have won just two more games and - now 15 points off 17th place in the table - they are virtual certainties to go down. If they don't at least match Norwich's result against Crystal Palace this weekend, their fate will be sealed.

"A lot has happened since that day (first game against them)," Howe said ahead of their trip to Birmingham.

"It was a welcome to the Premier League. That's how tight it is and it was a tough lesson for us.

"I didn't think then they would be a team who'd get relegated. They looked like they had good individual players. But you can't look at the result and jump to conclusions on the first day of the season because it can work out different.

"It's difficult for me to talk about what's going on there and what they're feeling in the club. That negativity can turn to positivity if we allow it to be, so we have to win the game."

Howe says that the fact a club of Villa's size and history can be relegated proves what a difficult league it is this year.

"There are some huge clubs, with long spells in the Premier League, towards the bottom," he said.

"It's the nature of the league. It's difficult to win games so you have to value every success. We want to win every game and that's how we always approach games."