Crystal Palace vs Bournemouth Predictions & Betting Tips, Match Previews

Crystal Palace have had a typically drab start to the season after their struggles at the end of last campaign. They were thought to be in contention for a European spot last year when they started the season brightly, but in typical Alan Pardew fashion they completely collapsed. They have only won two Premier League matches in the whole of 2016 and found themselves struggling desperately as they were dragged into the relegation battle.

The new season kicked off with a lifeless 1-0 defeat at home to West Brom as their suspected struggles in the striking department came to fruition. What followed was an equally drab attacking performance as they lost 1-0 to Spurs, which seemed to open the transfer fund pot. They swiftly signed Christian Benteke in the hope that he can answer their problems going forward.

Benteke’s debut was fairly uneventful as he played the first half of their 2-0 win at home to Blackpool in the League Cup, and as with any new player it might take him a bit of time to get used to Crystal Palace’s system. He will undoubtedly make the team better, it’s just a case of when and by how much.

Bournemouth also enjoyed a good start to their first ever season in the Premier League, but an end of season collapse from them saw them lose six of the last eight and resulted in a brief flirt with the relegation battle. They managed to avoid the drop though, but a home match against a reinvigorated Manchester United side on the opening day of the season wasn’t ideal.

They were dominated in the opener as Manchester United won 3-1 courtesy of goals from Juan Mata, Wayne Rooney, and Zlatan Ibrahimovic. Bournemouth put up much more of a fight when they contested the first ever Premier League match at the Olympic Stadium.

The visiting Bournemouth enjoyed as much of the ball and more than enough attacking opportunities as West Ham, and despite Harry Arter’s red card they continued to hold their own. But the 85th minute saw a pearler of a cross from new boy Gokhan Tore headed in by Michael Antonio for the win.

The lack of attacking threat from both teams means that this game is very likely to be low scoring. They have scored one goal between them in the Premier League this season and have shown little sign of scoring many more. I think odds of 2.150 for Under 2 Goal Line are excellent value for money, and I’m going for a goalless draw at 7/1 for my correct score prediction as well.