Football Previews

    Crystal Palace vs Bournemouth preview, predictions & confirmed line-ups

    By James Richards

    Published: 18:30, 3 December 2019

    Crystal Palace host Bournemouth on Tuesday night with the pair separated by just two points and one place in the Premier League table.

    Roy Hodgson will have been relieved to see the back of a run of fixtures that included games against Arsenal, Leicester City, Chelsea, Manchester City and Liverpool when his side beat Burnley at the weekend.

    It was the Eagles’ first win in six, which is hardly surprising given the teams they have played but will come as a welcome relief for a side who had been threatening the top four prior to that mid-October run.

    Bournemouth are in a similar position to Palace, just two points behind them in 12th, but are coming off the back of three straight defeats, all by a single goal margin. This will be an important game for the Cherries, who will not want to head into a run of four games that include Chelsea, Liverpool and Arsenal, on the back of four straight losses.

    Read on for our Crystal Palace v Bournemouth preview, predictions, team news and TV coverage information.

    When is Crystal Palace vs Bournemouth and where can I watch live?

    Competition: Premier League

    Venue: Selhurst Park

    Date: Tuesday, 03 December 2019

    Kick-off: 7:30 PM (UK time)

    TV coverage (UK): Amazon Prime Video

    Last five meetings: Crystal Palace vs Bournemouth

    12 May 2019: Crystal Palace 5-3 Bournemouth (Premier League)

    01 October 2018: Bournemouth 2-1 Crystal Palace (Premier League)

    07 April 2018: Bournemouth 2-2 Crystal Palace (Premier League)

    09 December 2017: Crystal Palace 2-2 Bournemouth (Premier League)

    31 January 2017: Bournemouth 0-2 Crystal Palace (Premier League)

    Aggregate Score: Crystal Palace (WLDDW) 12-9 Bournemouth (LWDDL)

    Ones to watch

    Crystal Palace: Wilfried Zaha

    Zaha is still Palace’s key player. On his day, defenders simply can’t live with him and any manager in the Selhurst Park dugout needs to work out how best to get him involved in the game.

    The winger has surprisingly not contributed as much going forward as you might expect, netting twice and assisting once in 13 Premier League appearances this season but as long as he is on the pitch, you know something exciting is just around the corner.

    Key stat: Wilfried Zaha (64) has completed more take-ons than any other player in Europe’s top five leagues this season.

    Bournemouth: Harry Wilson

    Harry Wilson has been an important player for the Cherries since arriving on loan from Liverpool. His speciality has been scoring from range and he already has six goals this season in the Premier League.

    Wilson has started 10 games for Eddie Howe’s side in 2019/20, which makes his six goals even more impressive. With Wilson on the pitch the Cherries always have a threat should they win a free-kick within striking distance which can be a deciding factor when playing in such a hotly contested league.

    Key stat: No player in the Premier League has scored more goals from outside the box this season than Harry Wilson (3 – level with James Maddison).

    Team news

    Crystal Palace

    Joel Ward remains out until the new year while Scott Dann and Gary Cahill are also set to miss out with injury, with the former having to be replaced against Burnley at the weekend.

    This has opened the door for Mamadou Sakho to make his first start in the Premier League since September.

    Confirmed XI: Guaita; Kelly, Tomkins, Sakho, van Aanholt; Townsend, Kouyate, Milivojevic, McArthur, Zaha; Ayew.

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    Bournemouth

    The Cherries have several injury problems with David Brooks, Joshua King, Junior Stanislas and Charlie Daniels all confirmed out.

    Adam Smith missed the defeat to Spurs due to illness but has recovered for tonight, while Andrew Surman and Lloyd Kelly sit out.

    Both Simon Francis and Phillip Billing return from suspension and Harry Wilson also starts after grabbing a brace off the bench against Tottenham.

    Confirmed XI: Ramsdale; Smith, Mepham, Ake, Rico; H Wilson, Lerma, Billing, Groeneveld; Solanke, C Wilson.

    Squawka prediction

    Bournemouth have been unable to keep a clean sheet in the past three games despite not conceding a single goal in the three matches prior. They were sloppy at the back against Spurs, leaving Eddie Howe frustrated at the defensive display.

    It is hard to gauge this Palace side as the last six matches suggested they are not yet ready to compete with big guns but a comfortable win at Turf Moor shows they are still an excellent side on their day.

    They will take confidence from the victory over Sean Dyche’s side and should be able to see off the Cherries on Tuesday.

    Scoreline prediction: Crystal Palace 3-2 Bournemouth

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