SKIPPER Simon Francis hopes Crystal Palace’s attacking instincts at Selhurst Park will play into Cherries’ hands.

The Eagles have netted twice in each of their past four home games, beating Chelsea and Stoke and drawing with West Ham and Everton.

A four-match unbeaten run, including back-to-back stalemates on the road at Brighton and West Brom, has seen them climb off the foot of the Premier League table.

And while Francis acknowledges Roy Hodgson is an “excellent manager”, he is confident Cherries are equipped to exploit the former England boss’s game-plan.

Francis told the Daily Echo: “Palace will be tough opponents. They have improved under Roy Hodgson, especially at home, and we know it is always a tough place to go.

“He is an excellent manager and has worked at the top level with England. Palace brought him in to get them out of the relegation fight and keep them in the Premier League.

“They will be hard to break down and he definitely works on the defensive side of things.

“Although they have struggled for goals away from home, they will come at us at Selhurst Park. Hopefully, that will suit us and we will be able to play our football.

“We certainly won’t go there to sit back. We want to win because it is a huge game for us with the fixtures coming up.

“We have had a couple of good results there in the past two seasons so will go there full of confidence.

“We know getting a positive result would really make a big difference to the league table because it would put a big gap between us and them.

“We know we have a difficult run of games on the horizon but we have to take it one game at a time.”