Crystal Palace vs Bournemouth – Analysis, Prediction, Team News
Saturday 13th May 2023
15:00 GMT
Selhurst Park
As part of our weekend Premier League predictions, we take a look at Bournemouth’s visit to Crystal Palace. Bournemouth’s have won their last 3 away games – can they get something? Free betting tips and more with our Crystal Palace vs Bournemouth prediction.
Premier League Form:
Crystal Palace
Spurs
1-0 (A)
West Ham
4-3 (H)
Wolves
2-0 (A)
Everton
0-0 (H)
Southampton
2-0 (A)
Bournemouth
Chelsea
3-1 (H)
Leeds
4-1 (H)
Southampton
1-0 (A)
West Ham
4-0 (H)
Spurs
3-2 (A)
Crystal Palace vs Bournemouth Preview
Having assured their Premier League safety, Crystal Palace continued their up and down recent form with a 1-0 away defeat to a struggling Spurs side who are somehow still 6th in the table. It wasn’t a particularly bad performance from Roy Hodgson’s men, but they didn’t create much either and Spurs were probably good value for their 1-0 win. Having won a couple of away games to preserve their Premier League status, Palace have now lost 10 away matches this season, but considering that seven other teams have reached that milestone it’s not particularly remarkable in itself.
Crystal Palace could still conceivably finish above Chelsea – a statement we never thought we’d be uttering at the start of the campaign – should they contrive to pick up perhaps a couple of victories with Chelsea facing both Manchester clubs and Newcastle United to round off the season. An away match to Fulham and a home game against the league’s worst away team Nottingham Forest look to be winnable, so we can assume that Palace will be sufficiently motivated between now and the end of the campaign.
Bournemouth have essentially swapped around their impressive home form and their mediocre away form. We acknowledge that often it’s the strength of the opponent that can account for such reversals much of the time. However, Bournemouth have now won their last three away Premier League fixtures and that accounts for O’Neil’s men preserving their Premier League status. Victories over Leicester, Spurs and Southampton, each by a single goal,
constitute 3 of their 5 away victories all season.
When taking their last 15 Premier League matches in isolation, Bournemouth are 10th in the table with 22 points from those 15 matches. Looking at their last 10, they’re 6th with 18 points from 10 games. Clearly, the south coast club is on an upward trajectory and manager Gary O’Neil has shut down his critics following an indifferent start to his tenure at the club.
Team News
Injuries and Suspensions
Crystal Palace:
Might Not Play: McArthur, Schlupp
Will Not Play: Ferguson, Milivojevic, Tomkins
Bournemouth:
Might Not Play:
Will Not Play: Fredericks, Stanislas, Tavernier, Traore
Crystal Palace vs Bournemouth Lineups (Predicted)
Crystal Palace (4-3-3): Johnstone; Mitchell, Guehi, Andersen, Ward; Doucoure, Hughes, Eze; Zaha, Olise, Edouard
Bournemouth (4-2-3-1): Neto; Vina, Senesi, Kelly, Smith; Lerma, Rothwell; Christie, Outtara, Billing; Solanke
Crystal Palace vs Bournemouth Analysis
Bournemouth’s Switch to a Back Four Could Suit Crystal Palace
Palace seem to have better luck under Hodgson when playing against teams who look to attack Palace. This isn’t to say that Crystal Palace are the archetypal defend and counter team. It’s more that they thrive in transitioning rapidly and getting the likes of Wilfried Zaha and Michael Olise involved quickly in dangerous areas. With both players capable of driving and creating as the penetrate the box, it makes sense that Palace are well-placed to take advantage of more open teams.
Bournemouth have been a more enterprising attacking outfit lately, and generally speaking, it has paid off for them but they do sometimes commit too many men forward and they can be picked off. We expect to see the Crystal Palace midfield act as more of a conduit to get the ball into those areas for Palace, and it could very well work in their favour as Bournemouth often try to get their fullbacks involved high up the pitch.
Bournemouth Will Play in Much the Same Way
Tactically, these two sides are rather similar. They both have functional midfields (this is not meant as a criticism) whose primary responsibility is to win the ball and get it to their ball-carrying attacking midfielders as quickly as possible. As Christie and Outtara are both able to play inside and out as wide men, and Phillip Billing is able to link the midfield unit with attack, it works rather well as a fluid counter-attacking system.
Notably, and this has been responsible for their upturn in form, they’re able to play precise one-touch football when the opposition isn’t ‘playing ball’, so to speak. Bournemouth’s counter-attacking prowess has drawn the respect of the opposition and now they’re sometimes facing a packed defence. It’s to the Bournemouth coaching staff’s credit that they’re able to attack in a versatile manner and this has seen them pick up favourable results in a variety of situations.
Our Prediction
This game should be entertaining – famous last words because they also could cancel each other out. However, both sides are full of pacey, inventive attackers and they look to play what some would call positive football. Neither side is generally given to taking the lead and sitting on it unless they’re up against one of the bigger clubs in the division.
On the flip side, neither side is the most solid defensively, and they both seem to ‘have a mistake in them’. With both sides safe from relegation and with not too much to be worried about save for a bit of prize money and also the carrot of finishing above Chelsea in the final standings, we think they’ll open up and go for a win – cancelling each other out in a positive way instead.
Crystal Palace 2-2 Bournemouth
Crystal Palace vs Bournemouth Betting Tip – Draw Odds:
11/4
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