AFC Bournemouth v Crawley Town FA Cup preview: No reason why Reds can't cause another upset

It’s another tough test for the Reds but as they proved in the previous round against Leeds, anything can happen in the FA Cup.

Crawley’s hosts Bournemouth have adapted well to life in the Championship, following their relegation from the Premier League last season. They are pushing to get back into the Premier League and sit 3rd in the Championship, just four points off automatic promotion.

The Cherries still have a talented squad that has some players of Premier League quality in it. This highlighted perfectly by the signing of Jack Wilshere on Monday after he had been training with the club for a long time.

Wilshere could feature against Crawley on Saturday if selected by boss Jason Tindall. In the third round Bournemouth slightly rotated their side for the visit of League Two Oldham Athletic and came out 4-1 winners.

Despite Bournemouth’s rotation there were still some real quality on the pitch, with the likes of David Brooks, Josh King and Philip Billing all starting for the Cherries. They will also know not to take Crawley lightly following their giant killing of Leeds and will know the big threats that Crawley can cause any team.

For Crawley it’s another chance to test themselves against a club in a higher division and show people that they are able to compete with these kinds of sides. It’s a club that manager John Yems will know extremely well after being a big part in their rise to the Premier League. Yems feels harshly treated by Bournemouth and it would be great for him to get one over on the people at Bournemouth that treated him wrongly.

This should make it very easy to get the players up for causing another upset and giving them a chance of facing either Burnley or Fulham should they win the contest at Bournemouth.

If they play like they have done in recent weeks there is no reason why Crawley can’t cause another upset and equal their best run in this competition by reaching the fifth round. It’s another game that if the Reds don’t get embarrassed they’ll be able to come out of with their heads held high knowing they gave a very good side a good game.