Preview: Bournemouth vs Crystal Palace - prediction, team news, lineups

Two managers who have decided to seek pastures new in the summer will butt heads at the Vitality Stadium on Sunday afternoon, as Andoni Iraola’s Bournemouth play host to Oliver Glasner’s Crystal Palace.

A six-goal thriller was played out between these two teams in the reverse fixture at Selhurst Park, with Jean-Philippe Mateta completing his hat-trick with a 97th-minute equaliser for the Eagles.

Match preview

It is fair to say that Bournemouth are the Premier League’s stalemate specialists this season, as they have drawn 16 of their 34 matches, at least three more than any other team in the division, most recently letting two one-goal leads slip in a 2-2 home draw with Leeds United last weekend.

Nevertheless, the Cherries have extended their impressive club-record unbeaten run in the top flight to 14 matches (W6 D8) and remain firmly in contention to secure European football for the first time in their history, as they sit seventh in the table and only one point behind Brighton in sixth.

Only two teams in Premier League history have ever finished outside of the top six after putting together a 14+ game unbeaten runs within a single season – Wimbledon in 1996-97 (14 games, eighth) and Chelsea in 2015-16 (15 games, 10th) – but Bournemouth cannot rest on their laurels in their final four games against Palace, Fulham, Man City and Nottingham Forest if they wish to give Iraola the perfect send-off.

Watched on by incoming boss Marco Rose, Bournemouth know that they will be more likely to keep hold of some of their star players if they qualify for Europe this season, with teenage forward Eli Junior Kroupi, midfield maestro Alex Scott and key defender Marcos Senesi among those who have been linked with transfers away from the club in recent months.

The Cherries head into Sunday's contest having lost only two of their 17 Premier League home games this season (W6 D9), while they are also unbeaten in their last five top-flight battles with Crystal Palace (W2 D3) having previously lost five in a row against the Eagles.

Four years on from steering Eintracht Frankfurt to Europa League glory, Oliver Glasner has moved a step closer to guiding Crystal Palace into this season’s Conference League showpiece after overseeing a 3-1 first-leg victory against Shakhtar Donetsk in their semi-final on Thursday.

Ismaila Sarr scored the fastest goal in Conference League history after just 21 seconds, while second-half strikes from Daichi Kamada and Jorgen Strand Larsen helped the Eagles soar to success in Poland, despite having only 31% possession on the night.

The Conference League is Palace’s priority heading into the final few weeks of the season, but Glasner will not want to write off the possibility of securing the club’s third top-10 finish in the Premier League era, with just six points separating the Eagles in 13th from Sunday’s opponents Bournemouth in seventh spot.

Palace were beaten 3-1 by Liverpool at Anfield last weekend, ending a four-game unbeaten run in the Premier League, and they have now suffered defeat seven times in their last 13 top-flight away matches (W5 D1), as many losses on the road as in their first 28 games under Glasner (W11 D10).

The Eagles have kept five clean sheets in their last eight away encounters with Bournemouth, though, claiming two 2-0 victories and playing out a goalless stalemate in three of their last four visits to the Vitality Stadium.

Bournemouth Premier League form:

Crystal Palace Premier League form:

Crystal Palace form (all competitions):

Team News

Bournemouth attacker Justin Kluivert has returned to first-team training this week after recovering from a knee injury that has kept him sidelined since January 3. The Dutchman may be ready to return to the matchday squad, and the same can be said for Lewis Cook and Julio Soler (both thigh).

Iraola may decide to name an unchanged starting lineup, but one change he is likely to consider is the return of January signing Rayan, who scored against Leeds last time out, at the expense of David Brooks on the right flank.

Eli Junior Kroupi scored a brace in the 3-3 draw with Palace earlier this season and also found the net against Leeds, moving him onto a team-high 11 goals in all competitions. The in-demand 19-year-old is expected to retain his starting spot in behind central striker Evanilson.

As for Crystal Palace, Evann Guessand (knee), Eddie Nketiah (thigh) and Cheick Doucoure (muscle) all remain in the treatment room with injuries, though the former is making progress in his recovery and may return before the end of the season.

With one eye on next week’s European second leg, Glasner will consider resting some of his key players including top scorer Sarr – 18 goals in all competitions – and Mateta, with Brennan Johnson and Strand Larsen in contention to take their places in attack.

Having recently recovered from an Achilles problem, Tyrick Mitchell’s minutes could be managed and Borna Sosa may get the nod to play at left wing-back, while Will Hughes and ex-Bournemouth man Jefferson Lerma are both contenders to start in centre-midfield.

Bournemouth possible starting lineup:

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

Crystal Palace possible starting lineup:

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

We say: Bournemouth 2-1 Crystal Palace

Each of the last three head-to-head meetings between Bournemouth and Crystal Palace have ended all square, and another tight contest could be in store this weekend.

However, taking into account the Cherries’ formidable unbeaten run, and the prospect of Palace protecting key assets for their continental second leg, we are backing the hosts to claim three valuable points to boost their top-seven hopes.

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