Chelsea and Bournemouth meet at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday night, with both sides desperate to finish the year with a win. Chelsea comes off a painful home defeat to Aston Villa, while Bournemouth arrives after a heavy loss away at Brentford. Chelsea looked on course for 3 points at the weekend after Joao Pedro scored again to give them the lead against Villa. But a late double from Ollie Watkins turned the game around and ended Chelsea’s four-match unbeaten run at home. That defeat dropped the Blues to 5th, with their recent league form also a concern. They have won just one of their last five Premier League games.
Bournemouth, meanwhile, are struggling to find form. After a bright start to the season, they have gone 9 league games without a win. Saturday’s 4-1 defeat at Brentford summed up their problems, especially at the back. The Cherries have the worst away defensive record in the league and have conceded at least 2 goals in each of their last seven away matches. Chelsea are dealing with injuries in defence and midfield, with Colwill, Lavia, and Essugo still out. Cucurella is a doubt after picking up a knock, while Fofana could return to the starting XI. Palmer, Neto, and Joao Pedro are expected to lead the attack again.Bournemouth are without Tyler Adams, Ben Gannon-Doak, Milosavljevic, and Akinmboni. Kluivert, Brooks, and Evanilson are all pushing for starts after coming on at half-time against Brentford.
🔁 Chelsea vs Bournemouth: Key Stats 📊
📊 Head to head: Chelsea 12 wins, Bournemouth 4 wins, Draws 4
📊 Chelsea: Unbeaten in last 9 games vs Bournemouth
📊 Chelsea: Scored in last 11 home games
📊 Chelsea: Won just 1 of last 6 league matches
📊 Bournemouth: Won 1 of last 11 league games
Predicted Lineups
🦁Chelsea (4-2-3-1) Sanchez; James, Fofana, Chalobah, Gusto; Caicedo, Fernandez; Neto, Palmer, Garnacho; Pedro
🍒Bournemouth (4-2-3-1) Petrovic; Jimenez, Diakite, Senesi, Truffert; Scott, Cook; Brooks, Kluivert, Semenyo; Evanilson
Players and Matchups to Watch
🔹 Joao Pedro – In scoring form
🔹 Antoine Semenyo – Bournemouth’s biggest threat
🔹 Justin Kluivert – Can unlock tight games
