Bournemouth and Crystal Palace square off in the EFL Cup second round on Tuesday night having both gotten their league campaigns underway by recording maximum points.
Palace edged past Southampton by a 1-0 scoreline in the Premier League, while Bournemouth marked their return to the Championship with a thrilling 3-2 triumph against Blackburn Rovers.
Match preview
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After Palace's desperately poor finish to the end of last season, many questioned whether now was the right time for veteran boss Roy Hodgson to be replaced in the Eagles dugout.
However, Hodgson watched his side, devoid of any new signings in the starting lineup, put together an improved performance to register an excellent 1-0 success over opposition whom many fancy to finish in the top 10 this season.
While it is still early days, the majority of Palace's supporters can only be encouraged by their activity both on and off the pitch over the past six weeks.
Although Wilfried Zaha could potentially be sold later in the transfer window, Palace are much stronger with the additions of Nathan Ferguson, Eberechi Eze and Michy Batshuayi.
At a time when Palace may have to weigh up parting ways with their best player, Bournemouth have already begun that transition by selling Nathan Ake and Callum Wilson to Manchester City and Newcastle United respectively.
Jason Tindall, who has stepped up from assistant to Eddie Howe, is yet to replace the star duo, but remaining patient is giving him the chance to weigh up his options going forward.
Most importantly for the Cherries, they were able to get off to a winning start in the Championship, twice repelling comebacks from Blackburn to run out 3-2 victors.
Given the names which featured among the replacements at the weekend, it is clear that Tindall will be prepared to hand opportunities to each of his small squad over the coming weeks.
Providing that he is able to add to his current crop, the foundations are there for the newly-appointed boss to enjoy a successful first year in the hotseat at the Vitality Stadium.
Bournemouth form (all competitions): W
Crystal Palace form (all competitions): W
Team News
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Despite speculation regarding his future, David Brooks should come back into the starting lineup on Tuesday evening.
Dan Gosling and Philip Billing are also likely to be handed minutes after being used as substitutes at the weekend.
Will Dennis, Jack Simpson, Nnamdi Ofoborh and Sam Surridge will all expect to feature at some stage.
Palace manager Hodgson will also rotate his players, likely handing starts to the likes of Luka Milivojevic, Eze and Batshuayi.
Given their injury situation in defence, Martin Kelly and Sam Woods could replace Cheikhou Kouyate and Scott Dann in the middle of the backline.
Bournemouth possible starting lineup:
Dennis; Stacey, Simpson, Cook, Kelly, Smith; Brooks, Gosling, Billing, Stanislas; Surridge
Crystal Palace possible starting lineup:
Hennessey; Ward, Kelly, Woods, Mitchell; McArthur, Milivojevic; Eze, Meyer, Schlupp, Batshuayi
We say: Bournemouth 1-2 Crystal Palace
With both managers expected to make mass changes, this game is a difficult one to predict. Based on their backup options and a potential reluctance to risk certain players, we feel that Palace are in the best shape to come through with the win, albeit by a narrow margin.
Top betting tip
Our expert tipster partners at Sporita.com are predicting an away win in this match. Click here to find out what else they are predicting for this game and for more of their tried-and-tested football tips.Away Win:curlNo Data Analysis info
