Two early-season protagonists go head-to-head on Saturday afternoon [15:00 BST] in what promises to be a truly fascinating encounter, as Crystal Palace welcome Bournemouth to Selhurst Park.
The Cherries will arrive in South London aiming to continue the sparkling form they displayed before the international break. Currently sitting fourth in the top flight, Andoni Iraola’s side last tasted a Premier League defeat over two months ago, away at Anfield on the opening day. Since then, they have sent shockwaves through the league, registering four wins and two draws, and will be hoping their scintillating football can guide them to their 100th Premier League win.
Their hosts were on a hot streak themselves and would have come into this fixture 20 games unbeaten, if not for a late Jack Grealish winner for Everton – clipping The Eagles’ wings prior to the break. Eager to return to winning ways, Palace can take confidence in the fact that they are unbeaten at Selhurst Park in their last nine Premier League outings – a run stretching back to last season’s campaign.
Both Iraola and Oliver Glasner, two of the most highly rated managerial prospects in the game right now, will be feeling a huge sense of relief, as both squads come away from the international break unscathed – adding no fresh injury concerns to their matchday preparation.
Glasner, who was recently named both Premier League Manager of the Month for September and Austria’s Coach of the Year, will be hopeful his Palace stars translate their success with their country to performances in South London.
There was a first senior start and goal for French striker Jean-Philippe Mateta, whilst Ismaïla Sarr also impressed for Senegal, registering two goals and one assist across two matches.
Elsewhere, Marc Guéhi featured in England’s 3-0 win over Wales, and attacker Yeremy Pino also made one start and one substitute appearance for Spain.
As for Bournemouth’s top talent, there was success for the in-form Antoine Semenyo, who helped Ghana top their group with a 1-0 victory over Comorosto to qualify for the 2026 World Cup. David Brooks, Justin Kluivert and Djordje Petrovic were also in action for Wales, Netherlands and Serbia respectively.
As North and South American international friendlies played late into Wednesday night, question marks may be placed next to a small sample of names from either camp. Bournemouth defender Marcos Senesi was an unused substitute for Argentina, whilst Palace’s Jefferson Lerma and Chris Richards both featured for their respective nations.
Despite international excursions however, both Glasner and Iraola are expected to name full strength sides in the quest to come out on top in the clash of this season’s two surprise packages.
Predicted lineups
CRY: Henderson; Richards, Lacroix, Guehi; Munoz, Wharton, Kamada, Mitchell; Sarr, Pino; Mateta
BOU: Petrovic; Jiménez, Diakhate, Senesi, Truffert; Adams, Scott; Brooks, Tavernier, Semenyo; Evanilson