AFC Bournemouth
AFC Bournemouth return to action against Crystal Palace on Saturday, but with no supporters in Vitality Stadium and regulations brought in to ensure control of Covid-19, it isn’t a Cherries matchday as we all know it.
Hopefully supporters at home will not experience too many differences to our normal great Premier League coverage, as we endeavour to keep you as involved in the action as possible.
The Cherries will stride out in their newly-revealed 2020/21 home shirts for the first time ahead of the 7.45pm kick-off, and here’s what you can expect from us with our coverage across the important opening weekend of the restart.
FRIDAY
Eddie Howe’s press conference
The Cherries manager will conduct his pre-match press conference at Vitality Stadium as normal, though there will not be the usual journalists in attendance.
Howe will instead perform his media duties via an online video call as he looks ahead to Saturday evening’s match.
Later on Friday the manager’s press conference with a difference will be available to watch as normal for FREE on afcbTV.
The afcbTV Preview Show
Zoe Rundle and Kris Temple will be back together previewing Saturday’s big match, though the backdrop won’t be the stadium but their homes as the Preview Show also makes use of a video chat.
There’s a special guest to start things off, with Aaron Ramsdale set to join the pre-match conversation to talk about his eventful lockdown and what he and his team-mates are looking forward to ahead of the restart.
The Preview Show will be released on afcb.co.uk at the usual time of 6pm on Friday evening.
SATURDAY
Though the Palace match is being played behind closed doors, you will still be able to follow all the action across our official channels.
The match is also the first-ever Premier League match to be broadcast live on the BBC, with coverage starting on BBC One at 7.15pm.
Live commentary
Kris Temple and John Williams will be at Vitality Stadium and will be on hand to provide full commentary from the match.
You can listen for FREE on afcb.co.uk with your FREE account, which can be registered for in under a minute by clicking here.
Social media
While restrictions prohibit the usual free movement around the stadium, we will continue to bring you exciting and innovative coverage of the action on social media, from team news and updates on Twitter and Facebook to photos and a story on Instagram.
On afcb.co.uk
On Saturday morning we have planned a very special video preview of the Palace match, with Charlie Daniels joining champion boxer (and Cherries fan) Chris Billam-Smith and Junior Cherries Evie and Finn to look ahead to what promises to be an exciting, if slightly unusual, day.
During the evening you can follow our live blog, giving a detailed account of the build-up to the match and then the action during what promises to be an intense 90 minutes.
As soon as the action is over, the match report will be published, with the watching of the game becoming the dissection.
Post-match Reaction
The match will be reacted to and discussed as usual, though all post-match interviews will take place pitch side with social distancing observed.
That means you can expect to hear from Howe and the evening’s main protagonists across our channels following the final whistle.
SAFETY MEASURES
While your support remains incredibly important to the club, we ask that fans stay away from Vitality Stadium and the areas surrounding the ground before, during and after Saturday’s match.
This is to preserve safety measures and ensure we can finish the Premier League season.
