Chelsea v Bournemouth preview
Chelsea and Bournemouth will both be eager to end 2025 on a positive note when they meet at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday night in the Premier League.
The Blues come into the contest off the back of a disappointing home defeat to Aston Villa, while Bournemouth arrive in West London having been comprehensively beaten away at Brentford.
Joao Pedro continued his fine form by scoring in a second successive league match to put Chelsea ahead at the interval, but Enzo Maresca’s side were unable to cope with Ollie Watkins’ impact from the bench, as the England international struck twice inside 21 minutes to end Chelsea’s four-game unbeaten home run.
That result saw Chelsea slip behind Liverpool and drop to fifth in the Premier League standings, with only goal difference keeping them ahead of Manchester United.
Maresca, who served a touchline ban at the weekend, will be concerned by his side’s recent league form, with Chelsea winning just one of their last five Premier League matches, drawing three and losing two.
That run includes a goalless draw away at Bournemouth earlier this month, meaning Chelsea are facing the same opponent twice in one calendar month for the first time since 1998.
The hosts can take some encouragement from their home record against the Cherries, having won two of their last three Premier League meetings at Stamford Bridge, although they did require a stoppage-time equaliser to rescue a 2-2 draw in January’s encounter.
Chelsea also tend to perform strongly in year-ending home fixtures, having won 13, drawn eight and lost just one of their last 22 league matches played at Stamford Bridge in December.
Bournemouth’s season began in impressive fashion, with the Cherries sitting second at the end of October after collecting five wins, three draws and just one defeat from their opening nine league games.
However, Andoni Iraola’s side have endured a sharp downturn in form since that point, picking up only four points during a nine-game winless run following their victory over Nottingham Forest on October 26.
Saturday’s 4-1 defeat away to Brentford represented one of Bournemouth’s poorest performances of the campaign, with Antoine Semenyo’s strike offering little more than consolation as they suffered a fifth straight defeat against the Bees.
Bournemouth have not beaten Chelsea since Dan Gosling’s late winner at Stamford Bridge in December 2019, and their hopes of changing that record are further dented by a poor end-of-year trend, with just one win from their last seven year-ending league matches.
Chelsea v Bournemouth team news
Chelsea remain without Levi Colwill, who continues his rehabilitation from an anterior cruciate ligament injury, while Dario Essugo and Romeo Lavia are also sidelined with thigh problems.
There are doubts over Marc Cucurella after the left-back was forced off during the second half of the defeat to Aston Villa with a suspected hamstring issue.
Malo Gusto is expected to deputise should Cucurella be unavailable, especially with Jorrel Hato also a doubt after missing the weekend squad.
In central defence, Wesley Fofana is pushing for a recall ahead of Benoit Badiashile to partner Trevoh Chalobah.
Winger Mykhailo Mudryk has not played since November 2024 after being suspended by the FA over an alleged adverse finding in a drug test.
Bournemouth will be without Tyler Adams, who is set to miss several months after suffering an MCL injury earlier this month.
Ben Gannon-Doak, Veljko Milosavljevic and Matai Akinmboni also remain sidelined, while Alex Scott will be assessed after being withdrawn late on against Brentford.
David Brooks, Justin Kluivert and Evanilson all came off the bench at half-time on Saturday and are pushing for starting roles.
Expected line-ups for Chelsea v Bournemouth
Chelsea: Sanchez; James, Fofana, Chalobah, Gusto; Fernandez, Caicedo; Neto, Palmer, Garnacho; Pedro
Bournemouth: Petrovic; Jimenez, Diakite, Senesi, Truffert; Scott, Cook; Brooks, Kluivert, Semenyo; Evanilson
How to watch Chelsea v Bournemouth: TV channel, online stream
Kick-off on Tuesday is at 19:30 GMT (14:30 ET / 11:30 PT), with live coverage in the UK on Sky Sports Main Event.
Via Now TV, Sky Sports costs £14.99 for a day membership, £28 a month for a 12-month membership or £34.99 a month with no contract.
Sky Sports memberships include access to all 12 live Sky Sports channels and Sky Sports+, which offers live streams and a dedicated channel.
Streaming is available on a vast variety of devices via the Sky GO app.
The stats for Chelsea v Bournemouth
• Chelsea have won just one of their last five Premier League matches
• Chelsea are unbeaten in 21 of their last 22 year-ending home league games
• Chelsea failed to score in the reverse fixture earlier this month (0-0)
• Bournemouth are winless in their last nine Premier League matches
• Bournemouth have conceded 27 goals in nine away league games this season
• Bournemouth have lost five consecutive matches against Brentford
• Chelsea have won two of their last three home league games against Bournemouth
• Bournemouth have not beaten Chelsea since December 2019
• Bournemouth have won just one of their last seven year-ending league fixtures
Prediction
Chelsea
2
–
1
Bournemouth
Chelsea were unable to break down Bournemouth in the reverse fixture earlier this month, but the Cherries’ defensive fragility away from home suggests a different outcome at Stamford Bridge.
With the Blues’ attacking quality and Bournemouth’s struggles on their travels, the hosts should have enough to just about secure an end-of-year victory.
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