AFC Bournemouth will look to continue their strong run of form this mid-week, as they travel to Crystal Palace on Wednesday night, under the lights at Selhurst Park.
Bournemouth are going into the game off the back of what, on the surface, seems a strong 2-2 draw against Aston Villa. However, given the nature of the game, with Bournemouth leading up until the final moments, Andoni Iraola’s men will likely be disappointed with the two points dropped, rather than the one point gained.
Despite the dropped points, the game was a clear sign of a huge step forward by Bournemouth compared to the start of the season and has left fans excited about the prospects of ‘Iraola-ball’ for the future.
Crystal Palace come into the game off the back of one point from their last three games, so there is work to do for Roy Hodgson’s men, who currently sit 12th in the table. With a win, Bournemouth would be level on points with Palace.
Andoni Iraola spoke to the media, including Nerve Sport, on Tuesday morning.
On the injury front, Iraola confirmed that there are no new injuries since the Villa game, a big boost for a team that has suffered a lot in the injury front so far this term.
Iraola described Roy Hodgson as a “pleasure to face” and was keen to praise his longevity as a manager, while also mentioning that he doesn’t see himself being a manager at the age of 76!
One player who impressed last weekend was Milos Kerkez. He was crucial in the second Bournemouth goal and produced one of his best performances of the season. When asked if this was a crucial time for the full-back, Iraola responded:
“For him this season is about learning. He is young and needs to improve quickly as we are demanding a lot of things. He has very good things but he knows he needs to adapt to the level of the wingers he is facing. I am happy he contributed with the assist.
This experience will help him to control his energy, he uses a lot of energy and this experience he’s having will make him a better player.”
Ryan Christie has been playing a deeper role recently and has been one of the stand-out players of the AFC Bournemouth team. When asked about the Scotsman’s form, Iraola admitted this new position was no accident:
“We talked about this [a deeper role] pre-season and he’s played there really well. It is true he has been performing really well both with and without the ball. We hope he can keep this level because it’s really high.”
In a time of many positives for Bournemouth, one negative is the lack of available centre-backs, with just one on the bench last weekend. Iraola admitted this was a position of concern for the Cherries:
“We are thin in the defensive positions with Kelly and Aarons out. We have players who can play there but not natural defenders. We have to adapt and be ready, everyone has to play in unnatural positions as good as they can.”