Chelsea vs. AFC Bournemouth: Prediction, Preview & Betting Tips

Even with Bournemouth's striker crisis, this one will be tough for Chelsea. The Blues were largely second best when the two sides last met, and even though they won that game, they're coming into this one winless in their last four in the league, while Bournemouth are unbeaten in their last nine.

With BTTS having occurred in four of Chelsea's last five games at home and four of Bournemouth's last five on the road, we're backing both sides to register on the scoresheet here in a game that we think will end all square. Chelsea 1-1 Bournemouth.

Bournemouth are looking to continue their top four charge as they take on Chelsea in the Premier League this weekend.

• Date: 14/01/2025
• Kick-off time: 19:30
• Location: Stamford Bridge, West London

Chelsea currently sit 4th in the Premier League with 36 points from 20 games. The Blues have been a vastly improved unit under Enzo Maresca this season and after a couple of seasons of pain, fans of the Blues finally feel like their club is back on track. Chelsea have managed to mould their squad of, in the words of Gary Neville, “billion-pound bottle jobs” into a coherent team that plays to its strengths.

In fact, Chelsea have been so much improved that many fancied them as title contenders up until a few weeks ago, but a recent poor run of results has flipped that narrative on its head - as tends to happen. Now, many people are arguing that the Blues have been “found out”, a claim that is likely hyperbolic, but there is some truth in the claim that certain deficiencies have been exposed in recent weeks. Enzo Marescas’s side seem to struggle quite heavily in games where they can’t force waves of transitions, so against well-drilled defences, they can look devoid of ideas. Chelsea are still a very good team, but they’re now coming into this game off the back of a four-match winless run, so it’s likely that future opponents are going to take inspiration from Chelsea’s recent matches and make life difficult for them, so Maresca and his side are going to have to come up with some novel solutions.

Chelsea likely aren’t title contenders, but a top four berth come May would still represent a successful season in comparison to what has been established as the norm in recent campaigns. However, despite how strong their start to the season was, their place in the top four is not particularly secure, with Newcastle United only one point behind them in 5th. This one is, then, a very important game for Chelsea, and with how strong Bournemouth have been this season, it’s going to require a much bigger performance than what we’ve seen of late.

Bournemouth are coming into this game in 7th in the Premier League with 33 points from 20 games. Simply put, the Cherries have been outstanding this season and come into this game just three points shy of Chelsea in 4th. Bournemouth finding their way into the Champions League would be incredible, and with the way they’ve been playing, it’s not out of the question.

However, the Cherries’ campaign was dealt a major blow last week as striker Evanilson has been ruled out for a major chunk of the remainder of the campaign with a broken metatarsal, while backup striker Enes Ünal will be out for up to a year with an ACL tear. Those injuries leave Bournemouth without a senior striker for the foreseeable future, and unless they can bring someone of a similar level in this January, that’s likely going to cap what they can achieve this season.

Still, there is a lot of attacking talent in this team, and in Dean Huijsen and Illya Zabarnyi, they have one of the best centre-back partnerships in the league. Andoni Iraola is also one of the league’s finest managers, and it feels likely that he’s going to be the subject of a snatching attempt from a bigger club in the not-too-distant future.

When Bournemouth played Chelsea earlier in the season, they were comfortably the better side but missed a host of chances and ultimately fell to a 0-1 defeat by way of a late Chelsea goal, so they’ll be out for revenge here. With Chelsea’s recent form, Bournemouth may not get a better chance to win at Stamford Bridge in quite some time.

This game will be televised live to all subscribed UK viewers on TNT Sports 3.

Chelsea Team News:

The Blues remain without the services of defender Wesley Fofana, who may not appear again this season, while Benoît Badiashile is also on the sidelines.

Carney Chukwuemeka and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall are not expected to be involved here either, with the pair both tipped to move on from the club this summer.

Predicted lineup: Sánchez; Gusto, Acheampong, Colwill, Cucurella; Fernández, Caicedo; Neto, Palmer, Sancho; Jackson.

Bournemouth Team News:

Bournemouth were dealt a major blow recently when both Evanilson and Enes Ünal were ruled out with long-term injuries, meaning options up top are limited. The Cherries will now likely use a makeshift option, with Dango Ouattara likely to operate as the furthest man forward.

Bournemouth also come into this game unable to call upon the services of Luis Sinisterra, Adam Smith, Marcus Tavernier, Marcos Senesi, Julián Araujo and Alex Scott.

Predicted lineup: Travers; Hill, Zabarnyi, Huijsen, Kerkez; Christie, Cook; Semenyo, Kluivert, Brooks; Ouattara.

Chelsea:

Chelsea’s form has dipped in recent weeks, with the Blues having won one, drawn two and lost two of their last five games. Chelsea’s most recent game was a 5-0 hammering of League Two side Morecambe, with Tosin Adarabioyo (X2), Christopher Nkunku and João Félix (X2) scoring the goals.

Before that, Chelsea were held to a 1-1 draw by Crystal Palace as a Jean-Philippe Mateta goal cancelled out Cole Palmer’s opener, which came after a damning 2-0 loss away at Ipswich Town.

Those results followed a 1-2 loss at home to Fulham, where the Blues were foiled by a late comeback, and a 0-0 draw away at Everton.

Bournemouth:

By contrast, Bournemouth’s form is very strong, with the Cherries boasting three wins and two draws from their last five outings. Last time out, Bournemouth surged to a commanding win over West Brom by a 5-1 scoreline as a Dango Ouattara goal on top of finishes from Justin Kluivert, Antoine Semenyo and Daniel Jebbison secured the win.

Prior to that, a David Brooks goal off the bench resulted in a hard-fought 1-0 win over Everton, which was preceded by a 2-2 draw against Fulham, where Ouattara’s goal in the 89th minute secured a fine point after Evanilson had equalised earlier in the half.

Before that, Bournemouth drew 0-0 against Crystal Palace and beat Manchester United 3-0, with Dean Huijsen, Kluivert and Semenyo scoring the goals.

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