A quick turnaround sees the Eagles back at it on Tuesday, this time they head to hosts Bournemouth who are off the back of a solid win against Everton.
To see what the Cherries have in store for us, I caught up with Steven from The South End.
TEB – The Cherries have won lots of plaudits this season and you sit ‘comfortably’ in mid table – has the decision to move on from Gary O’Neil been justified?
SJ – From a points and position perspective you would have to say yes, and the football offers more ‘chaos’ and excitement. A lot of Bournemouth fans were glad to see the back of O’Neill, but he did a good job in a very short space of time, and what he has done at Wolves proves he had more to offer.
TEB – What is your hope for the remainder of the season?
SJ – To beat Palace, to help us get the best points total we have achieved in our short Premier League history.
TEB – Who has been your player of the season so far? Dominic Solanke has been getting a lot of plaudits, but is there anyone else really showing their class?
SJ – It’s a tough one. Solanke has shone, but without the unsung heroes in the team he will struggle to score. For me Ryan Christie and Lewis Cook have both been on another level this season, while Zabarnyi has been outstanding. But that feels like I’m cheating on other players like Semenyo and Senesi, who I thought deserved a mention as well.
TEB – Assuming you finish relatively well, where are the areas you will hope to improve over the summer?
SJ – Goalkeeper. We have two decent keepers, but Neto can be brilliant, nonchalant and careless in equal measures and Travers still needs more experience before he becomes a number one. Elsewhere I would like a right back, central defender (if Kelly leaves) and a left back, along with a backup for Solanke.
TEB – If you had a magic wand, which Palace player would you have at Bournemouth?
SJ – I was always a big fan of Jefferson Lerma, and was sad to see him go, but he wouldn’t be my wish for a Palace player. Love Michael Olise and Marc Guehi, happy to take either of those, but think when they leave, they might be moving to a bigger club than ours.
TEB – How do you think you’ll line up/style of play?
SJ – Depends who’s fit, but much the same as the last game;
Line-up – Neto; Smith (Aarons), Senesi, Zabarnyi, Kelly; Christie, Cook; Semenyo, Scott, Tavernier; Solanke
Style – press and attack
I would like to see Tyler Adams start in a midfield two and move Christie into Scott’s position to see how that works. Don’t think that will happen though.
TEB – Views on Palace this season?
SJ – Thought they would have done better. It looks like they did lack a bit of inspiration, which maybe the new man will give them.
TEB – Prediction for the game?
SJ – If we defend like we did in the first half against Luton we’ll be f*cked. If we attack like we did in the second half against Luton for the whole game, we’ll win. I’m shit at score predictions, so let’s go 3-2 to us.
If you’d like to hear more about how Bournemouth are doing, you can catch Steven here on X
