Preview
Chelsea will be looking to make it 4 games in a row without a defeat when they take on Bournemouth in Saturday’s evening kick off.
Bournemouth enjoyed last season having won the Championship, however they have been knocked off cloud 9 quickly in the Premier League. The Cherries have tried to keep their own style of play from last season which has placed them in the bottom 3 in the Premier League.
Chelsea, who are high on confidence having picked up 3 good results in a row while not conceding in that time will certainly take the game to Bournemouth and look to peg them back quick. Eddie Howe’s side may struggle tomorrow if they fail to adapt to Chelsea.
Unfortunately Chelsea started the season poorly so a win tomorrow will only take us above West Brom providing our rivals Tottenham beat them at The Hawthorns.
Match details
Saturday, 5th December, kick off 5:30pm (UK Time) at Stamford Bridge on Sky Sports 1.
Previous meetings and recent form
The two sides have met only 5 times before tomorrow with Chelsea winning 4 and Bournemouth only winning 1. Bournemouth have only ever lost at Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea’s form has picked up recently and we have only lost 1 of our last 5 games, this coming against Stoke City. We have won 3 (Dynamo Kyiv, Norwich and Maccabi Tel Aviv) with the other resulting in a draw last week to Tottenham.
Bournemouth have struggled for form of late and haven’t won a game since September. In their last 5 they have lost to Liverpool, Southampton and Newcastle but claimed draws vs Swansea and Everton.
Team news
Mourinho confirmed this morning that John Terry, Ramires and Radamel Falcao all remain injured and will be out of tomorrow’s game. But he provided good news about Thibaut Courtois and confirmed he is in the squad for the match. He went on to say if Courtois doesn’t start tomorrow, he will vs Porto midweek. Against Tottenham, Nemanja Matic double fractured his nose however Jose said he’s comfortable to play and will wear a protective mask over his face.
Bournemouth have an injury crisis on their hands and will start the game with their 3rd choice keeper due to injuries to Boruc and Federici. Howe confirmed earlier too that Pugh will miss the game and Arter is a doubt. This adds to the long term injuries on Mings, Wilson, Gradel and Atsu. If Atsu was fit he wouldn’t feature however due to Premier League loan regulations. Bournemouth will also be without their captain Elphick who will be sorely missed.
I expect Chelsea to win comfortably tomorrow after picking up good form recently. Bournemouth will be in for a long day unless they adapt to Chelsea, with a lot of injuries the Cherries will find it a lot harder too.
My prediction: Chelsea 2-0 Bournemouth.
