Chelsea are looking for a much-needed return to winning ways in the Premier League on Tuesday when they face Bournemouth.
Title talk has faded from the west London boroughs with the Blues without a win in four league games. Enzo Maresca's side have been beaten by Fulham and Ipswich, and held by Everton and Crystal Palace during their barren run which has seen them slip to fourth in the table.
A 5-0 thrashing of Morecambe in the third round of the FA Cup gave Chelsea some respite at the weekend, with centre-back Tosin Adarabioyo and luxury playmaker Joao Felix scoring in the comfortable triumph.
Bournemouth have had an injury-plagued start to the new year, but Andoni Iraola's side showed no signs of fading at the weekend as they thrashed West Brom 5-1 on the south coast. The Cherries have enjoyed an excellent season to this point and are currently seventh in the Premier League table.
A top European berth is within reach and they will see off Tuesday's hosts with a memorable win at the Bridge.
Here it is 90 minutes guide to Chelsea against Bournemouth at Premier League.
Chelsea vs Bournemouth head-to-head record (last five games)
Current form (all competitions)
|
Chelsea |
Bournemouth |
|---|---|
|
Chelsea 5-0 Morecambe – 11/01/25 |
Bournemouth 5-1 West Brom – 11/01/25 |
|
Crystal Palace 1-1 Chelsea – 04/01/25 |
Bournemouth 1-0 Everton – 04/01/25 |
|
Ipswich 2-0 Chelsea – 30/12/24 |
Fulham 2-2 Bournemouth – 29/12/24 |
|
Chelsea 1-2 Fulham – 26/12/24 |
Bournemouth 0-0 Crystal Palace – 26/12/24 |
|
Everton 0-0 Chelsea – 22/12/24 |
Man Utd 0-3 Bournemouth – 22/12/24 |
|
country |
TV channel/live streaming |
|---|---|
|
United Kingdom |
TNT Sports 3, discovery+, discovery+ app |
|
United States |
peacock |
|
Canada |
fuboTV Canada, Fubo Sports Network 3 Canada |
There was plenty of rotation from Maresca, who were able to welcome Reece James and Romeo Lavia back into the fold after spells on the sidelines at the weekend. Both players started the cup match on Saturday and are in contention to play against the Cherries.
Malo Gusto is likely to return at right-back, while Enzo Fernandez and Moises Caicedo will partner in the middle of the park.
Noni Madueke missed the Morecambe game due to illness but could be welcome on Tuesday, with Pedro Neto able to hold on at right-back.
Wesley Fofana, Benoit Badiashile, Mykhaylo Mudryk and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall are all absent.
Chelsea predicted formation against Bournemouth (4-2-3-1): Sánchez; Gusto, Tosin, Colwill, Cucurella; Caicedo, Fernandez; Neto, Palmer, Sancho; Jackson.
Bournemouth have been dealt some devastating injury blows at the start of the new year, with Enes Unal tearing his ACL in training after they lost Evanilson to a long-term foot injury.
Impressive winger Antoine Semenyo is likely to fill the void up top for the foreseeable.
Kepa Arrizabalaga is ineligible to play against his parent club on Tuesday, so Mark Travers will make a rare start between the sticks. Iraola is also without Alex Scott, Julian Araujo, Marcos Senesi, Adam Smith, Luis Sinisterra and Marcus Tavernier.
Bournemouth predicted formation against Chelsea (4-2-3-1): Travers; Aarons, Zabarnyi, Huijsen, Kerkez; Christie, Cook; Brooks, Kluivert, Ouattara; Semenyo.
Bournemouth were last beaten on November 23 and just belief may be needed to see them through next term without Unal and Evanilson.
Given their injury problems, you have to expect the Cherries to crash at some point and a potential drop could begin in west London. Chelsea have been out of sorts over the past month, but the breather provided to many of Maresca's key names at the weekend should serve the hosts well heading into this match.
While Iraola's side deserve immense credit for the run they've put together over the last couple of months, this looks like the right game for Chelsea.