Bournemouth v Crystal Palace: Premier League betting preview, free tip & TV

Free football tips, best bets and analysis for Bournemouth v Crystal Palace in the Premier League on Saturday.

Where to watch

Live on BBC1, 7.45pm Saturday

Best bet

0-0 at half-time
1pt 17-10 Betfair

Team news

Bournemouth
Ryan Fraser will not play for the Cherries again after turning down a new contract. David Brooks is fit for the first time this season and Harry Wilson's loan from Liverpool has been extended. Philip Billing (ankle) faces a fitness test.

Crystal Palace
Mamadou Sakho is available but Martin Kelly, Jeffrey Schlupp and James Tomkins have not travelled.

Match preview

Bournemouth take on Crystal Palace in the first Premier League game to be televised live on the BBC but it could be a case of Blankety Blank – at least in the early stages at Dean Court.

Struggling Aston Villa couldn't find a goal against Sheffield United in the first game after the resumption of the English top-flight season and the relegation-threatened Cherries may find it equally tough to break down Palace.

Roy Hodgson's men eased clear of danger with successive 1-0 wins over Newcastle, Brighton and Watford before the season came to a halt in March.

The former England manager says he is delighted with his players' attitudes and fitness levels since they returned to training and they should be as competitive as ever.

Palace are far from expansive under Hodgson, as that trio of 1-0 wins suggests, but their solid defence and hard-working midfield has taken them to the brink of the top half.

Bournemouth know all about Palace's grit after losing December's reverse fixture 1-0 despite the Eagles having centre-back Mamadou Sakho sent off in the first 20 minutes.

The Cherries dominated possession against the ten men but managed only three shots on target and Jeffrey Schlupp scored a 76th-minute winner for Palace.

Palace are unlikely to fly out of the traps, having scored just two goals before the half-hour mark in league games this season, and the longer they can keep Bournemouth quiet, the more Eddie Howe's men may feel the pressure.

The Cherries are in serious trouble after a horror run over the Christmas period in which they lost to bottom-six rivals Brighton, West Ham, Watford and Norwich by an aggregate score of 10-0.

A couple of home wins over Brighton and Aston Villa followed and the availability of David Brooks and Harry Wilson should boost their creativity during the run-in.

However, Howe's side have had problems in both penalty areas and they can expect little mercy from their well-organised visitors.

Palace have had their moments against the big guns this season, winning 2-1 at Manchester United and drawing 2-2 at Manchester City, but the key to their success has been taking points off the weaker teams.

They have won seven and drawn three of their ten meetings with sides in the bottom six and Jordan Ayew and Wilfried Zaha provide enough attacking quality to turn one point into three in such fixtures.

Eight of those ten matches have featured no more than two goals – the exceptions were a brace of 2-1 wins over West Ham – so the Generation Game between 42-year-old Howe and 72-year-old Hodgson could be a slow-burner.

Key stat

Crystal Palace's last 19 league matches have featured only eight first-half goals.

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