Chelsea v Bournemouth: Preview, Team News and Predictions
Chelsea will hope to bring some luck after the season’s festivities when they host AFC Bournemouth at Stamford Bridge on December 27th.
The Blues’ last Premier League victory happened to be a 2-0 win over Aston Villa on October 16th. Winless in six (including the 1-0 defeat in the friendly against Villa), Graham Potter’s imprinted ideas will have to churn out results to ease the tensions of a restless fanbase that feeds off positive results with avidity.
What’s more worrying is they have failed to score in any of their last three competitive matches. This run sees Chelsea languishing in eighth place on the table, eight points off the Champions League spots.
Several teams would want to be placed against Chelsea at the moment, perhaps not any more than the Cherries.
Bournemouth have beaten the Blues thrice in five visits to West London. Since 2015, only Manchester City and Liverpool have bagged more wins at the Bridge. This run also includes a tally of seven points collected in the three latest meetings between the two sides.
Having surged to 14th place, Bournemouth have got their tails up, having notched eight goals in their last three PL games. That’s as many as they managed in their previous 11 combined.
Bill Foley’s recent £120m takeover has imbibed newfound optimism and advantage that could help the side on the pitch.
Team News
Chelsea
The injuries continue to cause problems, as the Blues are without as many as seven players for their return to action in the league.
Armando Broja’s frightening scare in the friendly against Aston Villa turned out worse than the loud, unpleasant cry in the aftermath of a clash with Ezri Konsa. The Albanian striker is set to remain on the sidelines until at least the end of the season.
While N’Golo Kante and Ben Chilwell continue to work their way into their respective stages of rehabilitation, Wesley Fofana endured a fresh injury concern on his way to recovery from a knee injury.
Mason Mount could be back into contention, whereas Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Kepa Arrizabalaga complete an already stacked treatment room.
Hakim Ziyech and Mateo Kovacic, two Chelsea representatives who went farthest in the FIFA World Cup, will be given more time to relax some muscles and return thereafter.
AFC Bournemouth
Gary O’Neil, who was recently given a permanent position following a mini turnaround of form, revealed that his side will head to Stamford Bridge with no fresh concerns.
Updating on Jefferson Lerma and Marcus Tavernier, he notified the press:
“Everyone came through the other night okay. Jefferson Lerma should be okay, we hope. His knee has been a little bit sore but we’re hopeful he’ll back in and around it in the next day or so. Marcus Tavernier is not as far forward as Jeff but we’re still hopeful, still hopeful we’ll get them both. There’s more chance of Jeff being available.”
Predicted XI
Chelsea probable line-up (3-4-2-1):
Mendy; Chalobah, Silva, Koulibaly; James, Jorginho, Gallagher, Cucurella; Mount, Havertz, Sterling
Bournemouth probable line-up (4-4-2):
Travers; Smith, Mepham, Senesi, Zemura; Christie, Cook, Lerma, Anthony; Billing, Solanke
Match Prediction
Chelsea, without their key men, will find it difficult to break the Cherries down. They will be dependent on their fans supplying home comforts, and the welcome return of James will hand them a vital win.
The Blues will appear more refreshed, free from white noise and on top gear once they find their rhythm.
Predicted score: Chelsea 3-1 Bournemouth
-Roy Akarshak
Twitter: @RoyAkarshak
Photo: Ank Kumar. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.