CHERRIES travel into London this evening as they take on Crystal Palace under the floodlights at Selhurst Park.
Palace are without a win in their previous six Premier League matches, including thumpings from Manchester City (4-0) and Chelsea (3-0) in January.
However, Alan Pardew’s men bounced back with an impressive 1-0 victory on Saturday, beating fellow Premier League side Stoke in the FA Cup fourth round.
On the flip side, Cherries have only lost two in their previous thirteen games in all competitions, and haven’t lost away from home so far in 2016.
But Eddie Howe will not be particularly impressed with Bournemouth’s most recent encounter with Portsmouth in the FA Cup, having to dig deep with two late goals to beat their League Two neighbours 2-1 after trailing for most of the game.
Bournemouth have no fresh injury concerns since Saturday’s win. Juniour Stanislas is out with a knee injury, but captain Tommy Elphick could make his first league appearance since September after returning to full fitness last week.
Crystal Palace have two new injury concerns since Saturday. The highly rated Yohan Cabaye is doubtful and Joe Ledley is out. However, Emmanuel Adebayor could make his debut for the Eagles after signing in the January window.
Cherries won on their last trip to Selhurt Park in 1989, walking away as 3-2 winners.
Palace have claimed just one point from their last three meetings with the Cherries, including the 0-0 draw at Dean Court in December.
Players who could feature tonight who have represented both teams include Glenn Murray and Lewis Grabban of Cherries, and Joel Ward of Crystal Palace.
Prediction: Crystal Palace 1 Cherries 1
Cabaye out will be a massive blow for the hosts. He is the figurehead of most of their attacks and a set piece expert. However, Adebayor has scored on his last three debuts and may feel like he has a point to prove tonight. Cherries are in great form at the moment and having Tommy Elphick back will be a huge confidence boost.
Benik Afobe has two goals in his first three games for Cherries and there’s no reason why he can’t add to that tonight. I think the two sides will cancel eachother out in a close encounter, similar to the reverse fixture this season.
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