Chelsea vs. AFC Bournemouth, Premier League: Preview, team news, how to watch
Today at 11:30 PM
Three points needed
It's a short turnaround for Chelsea from Saturday's FA Cup match against Morecambe FC, but considering the expected rotation by head coach Enzo Maresca from a cakewalk against fourth division opposition to a proper Premier League contest, most relevant players will be coming in with over a full week's rest.
We've seen that rotation pay dividends in terms of results and injury-prevention for much of the first-half of the season — save for a few notable exceptions — but it has also led to some (expected) disgruntlement from those on the second line(up). Some of those concerns will play out more clearly in the next few weeks as the January transfer window rolls on, but for now, the focus is on this game, against a surprisingly good Bournemouth team, who are just three points behind us as we speak.
In fact, the Cherries are unbeaten in their last nine (six wins), a stark contrast with Chelsea's recent slide (four without a win in the league, two draws) and our generally disappointing home record (just four wins from our nine home Premier League games so far).
So, it's a bit of a must-win.
Date / Time: Tuesday, January 14, 2025, 19:30 GMT; 2:30pm EST; 1am IST (next day)
Venue: Stamford Bridge, SW6
Referee: Rob Jones (on pitch); Graham Scott (VAR)
Forecast: Calm and cold
On TV: TNT Sports 3 (UK); none (USA); none (India); SuperSport MáXimo 3, Canal+ Sport 5 (NGA); elsewhere
Streaming: discovery+ (UK); Peacock (USA); Disney+ Hotstar (India); DStv Now (NGA)
Chelsea team news: As alluded to above, a number of second-string players have been linked with January exits, including the likes of Carney Chukwuemeka, Cesare Casadei, Axel Disasi, Renato Veiga, and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, and it would be surprising to see any of them part of the matchday squad. Combined with the injuries to Wesley Fofana and Benoît Badiashile, and Mykhailo Mudryk's suspension, our squad may be looking a bit more trim than in recent times, though that may not necessarily be a bad thing.
In better news, Reece James and Roméo Lavia both came through unscathed their 45-minutes stints on Saturday, and Noni Madueke should be available after his brief bout with unwell-ness.
Chelsea's four-goal second half Monday ensured that we finally managed to score more than 1 goal for the first time in four games — now we just need to do it against proper opposition in a league game. The chances have been there, mostly, but finishing has deserted us, mostly. These things can be streaky and small data samples can paint overly negative or positive pictures, but given our continuing leaky goals habit, we need to rediscover that scoring touch very soon if we are to maintain our top-four credentials.
AFC Bournemouth team news: Bournemouth would be the Premier League's most surprising team this season were it not for Nottingham Forest, but Andoni Iraola has his charges firing on all cylinders, creating plenty of chances (even if they're significantly underperforming the fourth highest xG total in the league) and keeping plenty of clean sheets. They have four in their last eight games and have the division's fifth best defense. Certainly not what we would've expected when we beat them back in September!
Most of those clean sheets belong to our very own Kepa Arrizabalaga, who of course will be ineligible to play in this one. Joining him on the sidelines will be a long list of players with long-term injuries, including the likes of Enes Unal, Adam Smith, Luis Sinisterra, Alex Scott, Julián Araujo, Marcos Senesi, Marcus Tavernier, and record-signing Evanilson, who's out with a broken metatarsal.
While the Cherries have had a fairly easy run of games of late, they are a side who need to be taken seriously in the ever-expanding top-six race.
Previously: Ironically, one of our few clean sheets of the season came against Bournemouth, in our 1-0 win back in September. That win was our fourth in the last five meetings with the Cherries. Christopher Nkunku scored the late winner after Robert Sánchez saved a penalty.
