Chelsea will be looking to end a miserable run of three successive Premier League defeats when they resume top-flight action against Bournemouth at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday night.
Date/Time : 27 December, 18:30 CET
Referee: Simon Hooper
The Blues entered the World Cup eighth in the table, while the Cherries have climbed to 14th, but are still in danger of being swept in the relegation battle.
From an unbeaten run in their first nine games under Graham Potter to four defeats in their last five competitive games before the World Cup break, the new manager’s return is exhausting indeed for a shy Chelsea side.
Moving into the knockout stages of the Champions League as group winners was a small silver lining against a backdrop of dismal domestic fortunes, with the Blues exiting the EFL Cup in the third round against Manchester City and suffering consecutive defeats in Premier League. Hove Albion, Arsenal and Newcastle United.
Even the addition of a winter friendly with Aston Villa didn’t change Chelsea’s fortunes, as they suffered a 1-0 defeat at the hands of Unai Emery’s men, leaving them without a single draw in their last four competitive games and uncompetitive. matches, in which they have not scored any goals.
Eight points separate Chelsea from the top four in the Premier League, but they’re just two points off a possible bottom-half finish and questions are already being raised about Potter’s future. . Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea have not suffered four consecutive Premier League defeats since Ruud Gullit and Gianluca Vialli in 1998, although leaders Arsenal are the only side to win this Premier League season and keep a clean sheet against the Blues at the time. Stamford Bridge.
A similar story to Potter befell Gary O’Neil, who also went on an impressive unbeaten run after taking the reins at the Vitality Stadium before defeats came, but the 39-year-old did enough to convince the Cherries board that a permanent agreement.
The recent £120m signing of Bill Foley has also sparked a new wave of optimism about the impending transfer deal, and two consecutive wins against Everton in the EFL Cup and Premier League by 7-1 aggregate scores saw Bournemouth take the game. world title. Cup break with highlights.
Bournemouth returned to competitive action on Tuesday, making the tough trip to Newcastle United to meet Eddie Howe in the fourth round of the EFL Cup, but only a 67th-minute own goal from Adam Smith could separate the sides into one. good luck for the magpie.
Attention now turns to the Premier League for the Cherries, who have suffered three dismal defeats in their return to the top flight and are winless in five away games against their rivals, where their 24 goals conceded are the worst in the league. .
However, recent history favors the Reds as Bournemouth are unbeaten in three Premier League games with Chelsea – wins two and draws between 2019 and 2020 – and the South Coast contingent facing the freezing trip to the capital, have every reason to believe such a streak may continue.
As if Chelsea weren’t already hungry for clever attacking moves, the Blues lost Armando Broja to a season-ending ACL injury during the friendly against Aston Villa, and he will be one of at least seven guaranteed absentees for the Blues at the market on Tuesday.
Morocco’s Hakim Ziyech and Croatia’s Mateo Kovacic will have more time to recover from the World Cup, while Wesley Fofana, N’Golo Kante, Ben Chilwell and Ruben Loftus-Cheek are also in the treatment room.
Mason Mount and Kepa Arrizabalaga could recover from calf and foot problems in time to make the squad, but only the former has a good chance of shaking off his worries and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang will score his second goal against Bournemouth on match day. boxing after doing so for Arsenal in 2019.
Bournemouth boss O’Neil is also working with a squad devastated for various reasons, with between eight and 10 players falling victim to the virus before meeting Newcastle, including Ben Pearson, Joe Rothwell and Ryan Fredericks.
O’Neil has still managed to call up a large part of his squad to the first team at St James’ Park, although Neto and David Brooks are out until the New Year, while Jefferson Lerma, Lloyd Kelly and Marcus Tavernier are undergoing minutes of fitness tests.
The Cherries boss is hoping Lerma recovers from the sore knee in time for Tuesday’s game, where Jaidon is expected to replace Anthony at left.
Chelsea vs Bournemouth H2H Results (Last 5)
Chelsea: 2 Wins
Bournemouth: 2 Wins
Draws: 1
Current Form (Last Five Games)
Chelsea: L W L L L
Bournemouth: L L W W L
Chelsea vs Bournemouth: Key stats
- Bournemouth have incredibly won three of their last five league games at Chelsea
- Chelsea have failed to score more than one goal in each of their past five league matches – the last time they did so for six consecutive league games was in January 2021
Probable Lineups:
Chelsea (3-4-3):
Arrizabalaga; Chalobah, Silva, Koulibaly; James, Jorginho, Loftus-Cheek, Cucurella; Mount, Aubameyang, Sterling.
Bench: Mendy, Bettinelli, Azpilicueta, Havertz, Pulisic, Zakaria, Gallagher, Hall, Hutchinson.
Bournemouth (4-4-2):
Travers; Smith, Mepham, Senesi, Zemura; Christie, Billing, Cook, Anthony; Solanke, Moore.
Bench: Sadi, Plain, Hill, Greenwood, Stacey, Emiliano, Dembele, Lowe, Adu-Adjei.