Bournemouth vs Crystal Palace – News and Probable Lineups

On Sunday afternoon at the Vitality Stadium, two managers transitioning to new roles this summer—Andoni Iraola of Bournemouth and Oliver Glasner of Crystal Palace—are set to clash.

The earlier fixture at Selhurst Park was a thrilling encounter, ending with a 3-3 scoreline, highlighted by Jean-Philippe Mateta’s hat-trick, with a dramatic equalizer in the 97th minute for the Eagles.

Match overview

This season, Bournemouth has established themselves as the Premier League’s draw specialists, currently holding 16 draws out of 34 matches, significantly more than any other club. They recently squandered a couple of one-goal leads in a 2-2 draw at home against Leeds United.

However, the Cherries have managed to extend their club-record unbeaten streak in the Premier League to 14 matches (W6 D8), keeping their hopes alive for European football for the first time in their history. They currently occupy seventh place in the league, just one point behind sixth-placed Brighton.

In Premier League history, only two clubs have failed to finish within the top six after achieving a 14+ game unbeaten run in a single season: Wimbledon in 1996-97 (14 games, eighth) and Chelsea in 2015-16 (15 games, 10th). Bournemouth will need to stay focused over their last four matches against Palace, Fulham, Manchester City, and Nottingham Forest to provide Iraola with a fitting farewell.

Under the watchful eye of incoming head coach Marco Rose, Bournemouth understands that securing European qualification this season could help retain some key players, including rising star Eli Junior Kroupi, midfield dynamo Alex Scott, and vital defender Marcos Senesi, all of whom have drawn transfer interest recently.

Bournemouth approaches Sunday’s game with a solid home record, having lost only two of their 17 Premier League fixtures at the Vitality Stadium this season (W6 D9), and are also unbeaten in their last five encounters against Crystal Palace (W2 D3), reversing a previous trend where they lost five consecutive matches to the Eagles.

Following his successful tenure in leading Eintracht Frankfurt to Europa League triumph, Oliver Glasner is now on the brink of taking Crystal Palace to this season’s Conference League final, having secured a 3-1 first-leg victory against Shakhtar Donetsk in the semi-finals on Thursday.

Ismaila Sarr netted the quickest goal in Conference League history after just 21 seconds, and additional goals from Daichi Kamada and Jorgen Strand Larsen propelled the Eagles to victory in Poland, despite them having only 31% possession during the match.

While the Conference League is a priority for Palace in the closing weeks of the season, Glasner will also be keen on potentially securing a third top-10 finish for the club during the Premier League campaign. The Eagles sit just six points below Bournemouth, who are in seventh place.

After suffering a 3-1 defeat to Liverpool at Anfield last weekend, Crystal Palace’s four-match unbeaten run in the Premier League came to an end. They’ve faced defeat in seven of their last 13 away fixtures (W5 D1) as many losses as they recorded in their initial 28 outings under Glasner (W11 D10).

Despite this, the Eagles have kept five clean sheets in their most recent eight away games against Bournemouth, which included two 2-0 victories and a goalless draw in three of their last four trips to the Vitality Stadium.

Team News

Bournemouth’s Justin Kluivert is back in first-team training this week after recovering from a knee injury that sidelined him since January 3. He may be prepared to rejoin the matchday squad, along with Lewis Cook and Julio Soler (both thigh injuries).

Although Iraola might opt for an unchanged starting lineup, he is likely to consider reintroducing January recruit Rayan, who found the net against Leeds last time out, possibly at the expense of David Brooks on the right wing.

Eli Junior Kroupi, having scored twice in the earlier 3-3 draw with Palace and netting again against Leeds, now leads the team with 11 goals across all competitions. The talented 19-year-old is expected to remain in a starting position behind central striker Evanilson.

For Crystal Palace, Evann Guessand (knee), Eddie Nketiah (thigh), and Cheick Doucoure (muscle) continue to receive treatment for their injuries. However, Guessand is making progress and could return prior to the season’s end.

With one eye on next week’s European second leg, Glasner may consider resting some key players, including top scorer Sarr, who has netted 18 goals in all competitions, and Mateta. Brennan Johnson and Strand Larsen may step into the attack in their stead.

After recently recovering from an Achilles issue, Tyrick Mitchell’s minutes might be closely monitored, allowing for Borna Sosa to take on the left wing-back role, while Will Hughes and former Bournemouth player Jefferson Lerma are potential starters in centre-midfield.

Bournemouth probable starting XI:

Petrovic; Jimenez, Hill, Senesi, Truffert; Christie, Scott; Rayan, Kroupi, Tavernier; Evanilson

Crystal Palace probable starting XI:

Henderson; Richards, Lacroix, Canvot; Munoz, Lerma, Hughes, Sosa; Pino, Johnson; Strand Larsen

The last three head-to-head clashes between Bournemouth and Crystal Palace have all concluded in stalemates, suggesting another closely contested fixture this weekend.

Nevertheless, considering the Cherries’ solid unbeaten streak and the likelihood of Palace safeguarding key players for their upcoming European match, it seems reasonable to predict a victory for the hosts, potentially earning them three crucial points as they chase a top-seven finish.