Bournemouth welcome Crawley to the Vitaly Stadium in their Fourth Round tie of 2020-21 FA Cup.
A win would see Bournemouth or Crawley visit Burnley at Turf Moor in the Fifth Round and move closer towards a trip to Wembley.
Team News
Philip Billing and Rodrigo Riquelme could both feature for Bournemouth after missing the Cherries’ defeat at Derby last week with tight hamstrings, as Jason Tindall expects to have a full squad available for selection.
Crawley will be without six unnamed players following positive Coronavirus tests.
Stat Attack
- This is Bournemouth’s first-ever FA Cup tie against Crawley Town, although they won their only previous home game against the League Two team, winning 3-0 in League One in December 2012.
- Bournemouth are unbeaten in four of their last six FA Cup matches against lower league opposition (W3, D1, L2).
- Crawley have failed to win six of their last seven FA Cup matches against higher league opposition (W1, D2, L4).
Prediction
Bournemouth come into this game having taken a confidence knock with one goal defeats in their last two outings, which shows just how clinical their opposition have been in both games although I do expect the Cherries to rediscover their spark given their superior quality over Crawley.
Crawley meanwhile showed excellent composure to weather Leeds’ attacks in the last round and take their chances well in the second-half, yet this is a game in which they need another polished performance if are to beat Bournemouth even without six players.
I however am struggling to see past a routine Bournemouth win given their solid FA Cup record against lower league opposition in recent seasons, especially given that win over Leeds is Crawley’s only win in their last seven FA Cup games against higher league opposition.
Prediction: Bournemouth 2-0 Crawley
Result: Bournemouth 2-1 Crawley
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