Premier League Picks, Predictions, Best Bets | Crystal Palace vs Bournemouth
Visionhaus/Getty. Pictured: Neto.
Crystal Palace vs Bournemouth Odds
Crystal Palace Odds | -118 |
Bournemouth Odds | +330 |
| Draw | +275 |
| Over/Under | 2.5 (-117 / -107) |
| Both Teams to Score (Yes/No) | (-121 / -108) |
| Odds via BetRivers. Get the latest soccer odds here. | |
Crystal Palace and Bournemouth will both attempt to continue a promising close to the season when they meet on Saturday in South London.
Not all that long ago, it appeared this fixture might be crucial to the Premier League relegation battle. Instead, with Palace on 40 points and Bournemouth on 39, both sides could target a finish as high as 11th in their final three games.
Bournemouth have posted a 6-4-0 record (W-L-D) over their last 10 games to get to their position of relative security while staying with manager Gary O'Neil despite a difficult winter. Palace are 4-2-1 since parting with Patrick Vieira and bringing back veteran gaffer Roy Hodgson.
Palace won 2-0 at Bournemouth last New Year's Eve when both clubs were in considerably different places.
Crystal Palace a Hit or Miss Squad
The famously pragmatic Hodgson might not have seemed the most likely man to lead an attacking revival, but he's largely succeeded so far at doing so.
Palace have scored multiple goals in four of their seven games since he took over, compared to six times in the first 28 league fixtures under Vieira.
It's a little feast or famine, though. Palace have been scoreless in their other three games. They've also created more than 2.0 xG in three matches in that stretch, and less than 1.0 xG in the other four games.
Most recently, they lost 1-0 at Tottenham Hotspur to a goal from Harry Kane, in a match that lacked the edge you'd typically expect of a London derby.
Eberechi Eze has scored half of his eight goals since Hodgson's arrival, and Jordan Ayew has three of his four since then.
Bournemouth in Similar Form as Counterpart
The Cherries have also run hot and cold even amid their recent improvements. While they've won six out of 10, all four of their defeats in that run have come by multiple goals.
Most recently, they fell 3-1 at home to a Chelsea side that looked lost in recent weeks and had scored only two goals in their previous eight games in all competitions.
If Bournemouth are experiencing a letdown after reaching likely Premier League safety, you could understand why.
Not only are the Cherries in their first EPL season back since promotion, but they were also one of the earliest teams earmarked for the drop.
There was their early, headline-making 9-0 loss to Liverpool that led to the dismissal of former manager Scott Parker. Then came a stretch of only one win in 12 league games that extended from October, through the World Cup break, and all the way to February.
Crystal Palace vs Bournemouth Pick
Both teams' recent form is more reflective of who these teams are now than their overall body of work.
As such, the line is leaning a little too heavily toward Palace here in a game of sides who are currently virtual equals, even if the data suggest Palace have been the better side overall this campaign.
Bournemouth were also the considerably more active team in the winter transfer window, which supports the idea that they might be on more even footing now with Palace than at earlier points this season.
So, I'm backing the Cherries to pick up at least a point here at +105 odds and an implied 48.8% of the time, in a league where the average away side takes a point about 52% of the time this season.
Pick: Bournemouth or Draw – Double Chance (+105 via BetRivers)
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