Wharton talks tight turnarounds & taking on Bournemouth
Just three days after defeating Shakhtar Donetsk in Krakow, Crystal Palace are bound for Bournemouth (14:00 BST kick-off) – and Adam Wharton and his teammates will once again be ready for the task.
Should the Eagles see off Shakhtar on Thursday evening to reach the UEFA Conference League Final, 2025/26 will officially become Palace’s longest-ever season in terms of number of competitive fixtures (60) – surpassing the previous highest total of 59 (1989/90).
With today’s trip to the Vitality Stadium – to face a Bournemouth side unbeaten in their last 14 Premier League matches – marking the 54th game of the campaign, tight turnarounds have posed a new challenge for Wharton and his teammates this season.
“It’s a lot different to usual!” the midfielder said. “Obviously, we’ve not had Europe before, and we’ve had 15 games in the Conference League – we've had a lot with the qualifiers as well – so it's been hectic.
“It's been difficult, but also a good thing. We want to be involved in these competitions. We want to get far in the domestic competitions if possible as well. It's a positive thing, but definitely something new for a lot of players.”
It's just about keeping on going
—Adam Wharton
On the biggest challenge, Wharton added: “I think it's more mental. A lot of players at this level can definitely play two, three games a week physically, but mentally it's tough, especially when you get back in the early hours of the morning from a European game.
“You get back Friday morning and then you play on Sunday. If you've got an away game, you've got to travel on Saturday. I think it's more trying to get the right amount of sleep, because you can't sleep after a game with the adrenaline.
“You're getting back at 3am, 4am… Your body clock's a bit messed up. I think that part's difficult. It's trying to figure out the best way to recover in the short amount of time that you've got.
“We've not had a lot of preparation with the game in Europe, but it's part of football. We played Fiorentina in the Europa League a couple of weeks ago in the home leg and we won 3-0.
“We didn't create that many chances, not as many as we did against Liverpool, or not as big chances. But we scored three and against Liverpool we scored one. It's just part of football. One day you can be very clinical and the other just might not be going in for you.
“It's just about keeping on going. We know that we'll get the chances and hopefully when we get chances, we take them.”
Wharton recognised the scale of the challenge that Bournemouth will pose, noting: “They’ve been very strong recently. They've not lost games in a long time, so their confidence will be very high.
“But we know from the start of the season [the 3-3 draw at Selhurst Park] that we'll be able to create opportunities against them and it'll be a tight game.
“Hopefully we can go there and we'll have to be strong defensively, but at the same time we know we can create chances against them and we'll have an opportunity, so hopefully we get a good result.
“We’re at a similar sort of points tally from last year, but this year it's very tight in the middle of the table. I think if you get a few wins, you'll probably jump up quite a few spots.
“We're definitely looking at that as an opportunity to try and get in Europe again, and hopefully we can.”
Match Details
Bournemouth v Crystal Palace
- Sunday, 3rd May
- 14:00 BST
- Premier League
- Vitality Stadium
- Live audio commentary on Palace TV+.