David Prutton has backed Bournemouth to continue their fine form by picking up three points against Derby County on Sunday afternoon.

Going into the weekend fixtures this will see top take on bottom, although the Rams are in that position because of a 21-point deduction that they have been hit with.

Nevertheless, the Cherries are flying, so Scott Parker's men are firm favourites and, writing in his regular Sky Sports column, pundit Prutton went for an away victory.

"Even the most optimistic fan in the world will admit that Derby are likely to be going down now. The gap was big enough before, now it is likely insurmountable. Wayne Rooney has a real job on his hands to keep spirits up within the squad now.

"Bournemouth showed before the break they are not going anywhere, recovering from that slip against Preston to thrash an in-form Swansea. The Rams will show resilience I'm sure, but the Cherries will have too much. 1-3."

Rooney's men will take encouragement from the fact they took four points off Bournemouth last season, including a 1-0 success at Pride Park.

The verdict

There won't be many disagreeing with Prutton here as Derby's confidence is sure to be low after the points deduction in the international break.

More importantly though, they are coming up against a top-class Championship outfit, with the Cherries picking up 40 points from 17 games showing just how good they are.

On paper, it appears as though there is a gulf between the two, so Derby will have to pull of a shock to get something from this tough fixture.

Thoughts? Let us know in the comments below.