After facing the same team for two games in a row, it will be nice for the Eagles to take on someone different this Boxing Day but the hosts have hit a good run of form that has put them in the top five.
MATCH INFORMATION
| 26 December 2024 – 3pm |
| Vitality Stadium, Dean Court, Kings Park BH7 7AF |
PREVIOUS MEETING
| 02/04/2024 – The last trip to take on the Cherries was a tightly contested affair with a late goal from Justin Kluivert sealing the points for the hosts. |
| WHO SCORED MAN OF THE MATCH – Antoine Semenyo (7.7) |
MATCH OFFICIALS
| Referee | Thomas Bramall |
| Assistant | Adam Nunn |
| Assistant | Constantine Hatzidakis |
| Fourth Official | Andy Davies |
| VAR | John Brooks |
| Assistant VAR | Natalie Aspinall |
TEAM NEWS
PALACE – Matheus Franca, Adam Wharton, Franco Umeh, and Rob Holding are all expected to remain unavailable. Chadi Riad and Ebere Eze will be assessed. Daniel Munoz will return from suspension.
CHERRIES – Marcos Sensini, Julian Araujo, Alex Scott, Luis Sinisterra, and Marcus Tavernier are all expect to be unavailable. Adam Smith will face a late fitness test.
DISCIPLINARY RECORD
This is the section of our match preview that highlights those that have not been the best of friends with match officials as the season goes on. Of course, they all begin with a clean slate, but we will start to see those that will be heading for a ban or two as the campaign progresses.
| RED CARDS – Daichi Kamada (1) |
| YELLOW CARDS (over 3.5) – Will Hughes (6), Daniel Munoz (5), Antoine Semenyo (5), Ryan Christie (5), Jefferson Lerma (4), Justin Kluivert (4), Lewis Cook (4), Marc Guehi (4), Marcos Senesi (4), Adam Smith (4) |
FORM GUIDE
Last FIVE meetings between the two sides;
| 02/04/2024 | Bournemouth 1-0 Palace |
| 06/12/2023 | Palace 0-2 Bournemouth |
| 13/05/2023 | Palace 2-0 Bournemouth |
| 31/12/2022 | Bournemouth 0-2 Palace |
| 15/09/2020 | Bournemouth 0-0 Palace |
Last FIVE results for Palace:
| 21/12/2024 | Palace 1-5 Arsenal |
| 18/12/2024 | Arsenal 3-2 Palace |
| 15/12/2024 | Brighton 1-3 Palace |
| 07/12/2024 | Palace 2-2 Manchester City |
| 03/12/2024 | Ipswich 0-1 Palace |
Last FIVE results for Bournemouth;
| 22/12/2024 | Manchester United 0-3 Bournemouth |
| 16/12/2024 | Bournemouth 1-1 West Ham |
| 08/12/2024 | Ipswich 1-2 Bournemouth |
| 05/12/2024 | Bournemouth 1-0 Spurs |
| 30/11/2024 | Wolves 2-4 Bournemouth |
LEAGUE POSITION
Heading into the fixture, Palace are 16th in the Premier League with 16 points from 17 games played, while Bournemouth are 5th with 28 points from the same amount of games.
RECORD AGAINST BOURNEMOUTH
| Played | 79 |
| Won | 28 |
| Drawn | 20 |
| Lost | 31 |
FORM PLAYERS ACCORDING TO WHO SCORED
This is the section of our match preview where we list two players from each side that are top of the ratings by our friends over at Who Scored. Obviously, there are no ratings to share at the moment but that will soon change!
| Antoine Semenyo | 7.27 |
| Ebere Eze | 6.99 |
| Daniel Munoz | 6.96 |
| Marcus Tavernier | 6.93 |
ONE TO WATCH
| JUSTIN KLUIVERT |
| FORMER CLUBS – SV Diemen, Ajax, Roma, RB Leipzig (loan), Nice (loan), Valencia (loan) |
| The Dutch winder has been in great form of late and has managed 6 goals so far this season and provided 2 assists, and has become a key part of the Cherries front line. |
THE NUMBERS
Palace did the double over Bournemouth in 2022-23 but the Cherries won both matches last season.
Only one side has scored in each of the past 7 meetings in all competitions since Palace won 5-3 in a league thriller in May 2019.
Palace have kept 4 clean sheets in their 7 Premier League away games against Bournemouth.
Palace are unbeaten in their past 4 away league games and could equal the club top-flight record of 3 consecutive away wins.
Oliver Glasner’s side have scored 11 goals in 8 away games, as opposed to just 7 goals in 9 games at Selhurst Park.
Palace have lost their last 3 Boxing Day matches, all by a 3-0 scoreline. They can suffer 4 consecutive Boxing Day league defeats for the second time, after 1950 to 1953 in the Third Division South.
Ismaila Sarr has been involved in 6 goals in his past 6 Premier League appearances for Palace, scoring 4 and assisting 2.
KEY CLASH
| JEAN-PHILIPPE MATETA v DEAN HUIJSEN |
| The French striker has played a key part is recent games and scored an excellent goal at the Emirates in the cup, but will be keen to get back on the goal trail if Palace can ensure that he is not isolated. He will be up against a young Dutch defender who has been a surprise star for the hosts in recent weeks. |
PRE-MATCH STATS
This is the section of our match preview where we keep a tally on the statistics for Palace players as the campaign continues and how they compare to other Premier League players.
| Goals | Jean-Philippe MATETA, Ismaila SARR 4 (31st) |
| Assists | Tyrick MITCHELL 3 (22nd) |
| Passes | Marc GUEHI 892 (19th) |
| Tackles | Daniel MUNOZ 56 (1st) |
| Touches | Marc GUEHI 1124 (21st) |
| Shots | Ebere EZE 43 (12th) |
| Fouls | Will HUGHES 27 (11th) |
| Dispossessed | Ismaila SARR 20 (37th) |
| Saves | Dean HENDERSON 52 (6th) |
| Clearances | Marc GUEHI 82 (7th) |
| Big Chances Missed | Jean-Philippe MATETA 9 (6th) |
TEB PREDICTION
The Boxing Day fixtures can be a little odd and this one could see plenty of goals the that both teams have been played. The hosts have been in good form which will be a challenge for the visitors but the return of Daniel Munoz and potentially Ebere Eze should provide Oliver Glasner with more options offensively. We are going for an entertaining draw.
