On the second day of Christmas, December 26, we have a spicy and unpredictable Premier League match. In Round 18, one of this year’s surprises, AFC Bournemouth will host a Crystal Palace squad fighting for every point and showing flashes of promise. In a league where anyone can beat anyone and during holidays, you can expect the unexpected. Let’s look at the current situations for both teams.
Bournemouth vs Crystal Palace | Match Details
When: December 26, 2024
What time: kick-off at 3 PM
Venue: Vitality Stadium, Bournemouth
Bournemouth position: 5th (28 PTS)
Crystal Palace position: 16th (16 PTS)
Bournemouth vs Crystal Palace | Current Situations in the Premier League
AFC Bournemouth in 2024/25 Premier League
These two squads are currently in very different situations. Bournemouth is one of the Premier League’s nicest surprises, winning 8 out of the first 17 matchups. Dutchman Justin Kluivert, Ghanese national Antoine Semenyio and the Brazilian Evanilson have scored a total of 15 goals in all competitions – spearheading an offence that’s been very efficient during most games this season.
Preventing scoring chances and attacks through the wings are the main areas which opponents have to consider when facing this team. In the 2024/25 Premier League season, Bournemouth have demonstrated excellent resilience, displaying excellent football in some tough matchups.
- Round 3 miraculous comeback victory 3:2 over Everton
- Round 8 rout 2:0 over title contenders Arsenal
- Round 10 2:1 beating of Manchester City
- Round 14 victory 1:0 over Tottenham
- Round 17 statement by thrashing Manchester United 3:0
Andoni Iraola has done a great job with the team he’s heading. The Spanishman has turned a squad that has been fighting off relegation just two seasons prior into a formidable force to be reckoned with.
Crystal Palace in 2024/25 Premier League
Crystal Palace is currently above the zone of relegation, sitting at the 16th spot before Round 18. However, their season hasn’t been as successful as some forecasts suggested. They only managed to win their first Premier League game this season in Round 9, when a single goal from Jean-Philippe Mateta allowed Oliver Glasner’s side to beat Tottenham 1:0.
Since then, things have been on an upward trend, with Crystal Palace tallying up 3 more wins, 4 draws, and only losing twice. This stretch allowed them to leapfrog the zone of relegation and put some breathing room between themselves and the bottom three.
Ismaila Sarr and Jean-Philippe Mateta seem to be the most reliable options on offence, with Tyrick Mitchell leading Crystal Palace’s assist tally. However, there seems to be plenty of areas for improvement – mainly in the middle of the field and defence. From the odds perspective, Crystal Palace is the definite underdog.
Bournemouth vs Crystal Palace: H2H & Recent Form Comparison
In the last few outings, Bournemouth has displayed sublime form
Bournemouth’s last 5 games:
- W 4:2 vs Wolves
- W 1:0 vs Tottenham
- W 2:1 vs Ipswich
- D 1:1 vs West Ham
- W 3:0 vs Manchester United
In these games, Bournemouth is averaging 2.2 goals for and 0.8 goals against, which places them amongst the very best teams in the Premier League. In addition, there were 2 clean sheets for Kepa.
Crystal Palace’s last 5 games:
- W 1:0 vs Ipswich
- D 2:2 vs Man City
- W 3:1 vs Brighton
- L 2:3 vs Arsenal
- L 1:5 vs Arsenal
Back-to-back losses to Arsenal in the EFL Cup and Premier League definitely took the wind out of Crystal Palace’s sails. However, before that, they were maximising pretty much every opportunity. In the last 5 games, they recorded 1 clean sheet and scored 1.8 goals per game while allowing 2.2.
Bournemouth vs Crystal Palace H2H
The last 5 matchups have shown very different outcomes:
- 2020 September 15, EFL Cup – Bournemouth wins 1:0 after penalties
- 2022 December 31, Premier League – Crystal Palace routs Bournemouth 2:0
- 2023 May 13, Premier League – Crystal Palace solidifies their superiority in the matchup, repeating the same result 2:0
- 2023 December 6, Premier League – Bournemouth get their revenge 2:0 against Crystal Palace
- 2024 April 2, Premier League – Bournemouth win the season series, defeating Crystal Palace 1:0
One interesting observation shows that in their last 4 Premier League matchups, only one team has managed to score goals.
Bournemouth vs Crystal Palace: 7bet Pre-Match Betting Odds
At the time of publishing this article, the odds for Bournemouth vs Crystal Palace game look like this:
| Bournemouth (1) | x | Crystal Palace (2) |
| 24/25 | 8/3 | 13/5 |
You can check other markets on our Premier League betting page.
Crystal Palace has been better lately, and the Cherries should take this game seriously if they want to take away 3 points.
Please keep in mind that odds can change in real time, so check out the numbers in the 7bet catalogue before making any betting decisions.
Bournemouth vs Crystal Palace: Summary and Responsible Bets
With the Holidays just around the corner, the Premier League offers a gift of exciting games. While Bournemouth vs Crystal Palace might fly under the radar, some experts suggest this can be a spicy game, which is worth your while. Don’t miss this Round 18 game on the second day of Christmas, December 26.
Find the best odds for this and other Premier League games on 7bet.
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