This fixture is somewhat of an early season relegation battle as the Premier League’s bottom two sides go head-to-head at Selhurst Park.
Crystal Palace are still yet to score in the Premier League this season and have lacked a goalscorer for a long time, stretching back to the middle of last season. They have tried to rectify that problem by bringing in Belgium international Christian Benteke from Liverpool for a club record £27m fee. The former Aston Villa striker is certainly a proven Premier League goalscorer, however, as Palace defender Damien Delaney said, he is ‘not Messi’ and it is important to provide him with service. I am not sure Palace will be able to do this.
Manager Alan Pardew has already said that he wants to sign another striker before the window closes but could actually be losing creative player Wilfried Zaha after Tottenham made a £15m bid.
Despite being bottom of the league, Bournemouth have not been terrible. They managed to score against Manchester United and it was a last minute winner from Michail Antonio away at West Ham that saw them lose out on a point at the Olympic Stadium.
This is undoubtedly a fixture that the Cherries should be looking to win if they are to have another successful campaign.
Although Christian Benteke has arrived in south London, I am not convinced Palace will give him the service he craves. It will be interesting to see whether Wilfried Zaha plays on Saturday after the Spurs interest.
As previously mentioned, Bournemouth will see this as a winnable fixture and I personally would back them to do the job on Palace at 12/5, despite being the underdogs for this match.
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