Bournemouth will be bidding to extend their unbeaten run in the Premier League to six matches when they come up against Crystal Palace at the Vitality Stadium on Boxing Day.
The Cherries provided their supporters with some pre-Christmas cheer by putting Manchester United to the sword 3-0 at Old Trafford on Sunday.
That stunning triumph means Andoni Iraola’s team have taken maximum points from four of their last five Premier League matches.
As such, Bournemouth head into their Boxing Day battle with Crystal Palace surveying the top-flight standings from the lofty heights of fifth place.
As for Palace, their five-game unbeaten run in the Premier League came to a shuddering halt when being hammered 5-1 by Arsenal at Selhurst Park on Saturday evening.
That bruising setback coupled with results elsewhere has left Oliver Glasner’s side residing two places and four points above the relegation zone ahead of their trip to the south coast.
How the bookies view it: More Christmas cheer for the Cherries
Despite winning just one of their last three Premier League games in front of their own supporters, Bournemouth head into their latest home game as 20/21 favourites with Boylesports.
Crystal Palace – who won each of their previous two Premier League away games – are 13/5 (Boylesports) outsiders while a share of the Vitality Stadium spoils is an unfancied 5/2 (Boylesports).
Head to head: Bournemouth bidding for three on the bounce.
Bournemouth banked maximum points from each of their two Premier League encounters with Crystal Palace last season. It's also worth noting that the Cherries kept clean sheets in each of those respective successes against the Eagles last term.
Players to watch: Sarr to star?
Ismaila Sarr has scored three goals across his last two top-flight outings for Crystal Palace. The flying forward is an eye-catching 4/1 on Boylesports to make the net bulge at the Vitality Stadium on Boxing Day.
Dean Huijsen has got himself on the scoresheet in two of Bournemouth’s last four Premier League games. The young Spanish defender is as big as 11/1 on Boylesports for an anytime strike during this contest.
Predicted line-ups
As was the case against Manchester United last time out, Bournemouth will again be unable to call upon the services of Alex Scott, Julian Araujo, Luis Sinisterra, Marcos Senesi and Marcus Tavernier.
Eberechi Eze missed Crystal Palace’s 5-1 defeat against Arsenal at the weekend and is a major doubt for the Boxing day trip to Bournemouth. However, Daniel Munoz is available again after serving a one-match suspension.
Bournemouth: Kepa; Smith, Zabarnyi, Huijsen, Kerkez; Cook, Christie; Semenyo, Kluivert, Ouattara; Evanilson
Crystal Palace: Henderson; Chalobah, Lacroix, Guehi; Munoz, Hughes, Doucoure, Mitchell; Sarr, Kamada; Mateta
Anything else catch the eye?
I successfully backed both teams to score in Crystal Palace’s clash with Arsenal at the weekend but a repeat here is too short to side with as a single.
Instead, dip into the Bet Builder market and bundle up BTTS and each team to receive a booking at 4/5 on Bet 365.
This combination has clicked in five of the Eagles’ last six Premier League games and the same formula looks worth siding with on the south coast again during this festive clash.
This English Premier League match between AFC Bournemouth and Crystal Palace will be played on Dec 26, 2024 and kick off at 15:00. Check below for our tipsters best AFC Bournemouth vs Crystal Palace prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
