Chelsea have had a long time to digest their 3-0 defeat at Brentford and they will be keen to bounce back against winless Bournemouth, who are the visitors to Stamford Bridge in the Premier League on Saturday.
The international break presented the opportunity of a reset for the Blues, who approach the Bournemouth game with the intention of emerging from a sticky patch of results.
After starting the season with victories away to Fulham (3-2) and at home to Brighton (4-3), Chelsea were being spoken of as potential title contenders.
But their strong start came to an end with the 2-1 defeat at Arsenal and, to this point, there hasn’t been much of a response.
Chelsea drew 2-2 at home to Hull City and were swept aside by London rivals Brentford, who netted three times in a one-sided second half.
Next up for the Blues is a potentially tricky test against Bournemouth, who held them to a 2-2 draw in last season’s corresponding fixture.
But Bournemouth are another club with issues to address after failing to win any of their opening five Premier League games.
The Cherries slipped to 17th after a 1-0 loss at home to Liverpool and their sombre mood would not have improved upon hearing that key midfielder, Alex Scott, had picked up a thigh strain while representing England on international duty.
Chelsea v Bournemouth Tips Summary
Best Bet - Chelsea to win and both teams to score @ 15/8
Alternative Bet - Morgan Rogers to score any time @ 15/8
Bet Builder - Morgan Rogers 1+ shots on target, Over two goals & Adrien Truffert to be booked @ 29/4
Chelsea v Bournemouth Prediction
Best Bet: Chelsea to win and both teams to score @ 15/8
Chelsea head coach Xabi Alonso is still getting to know the strengths and weaknesses of his players, but he has a talented group to work with and can lead them to a high-scoring success over Bournemouth, who are going through a difficult time.
One of Chelsea’s major frustrations on transfer deadline day was their failure to bring in a top-level midfielder.
The Blues are short of options in the centre of the park and their weakness in this area was exacerbated by early season injuries to Moises Caicedo and Romeo Lavia.
Chelsea’s depleted midfield were dominated in the heavy defeat at Brentford, but Caicedo and Lavia should be in the mix to face Bournemouth and their involvement could make a significant difference.
While Chelsea are looking stronger, Bournemouth will be weaker due to Scott’s injury picked up on international duty.
The Cherries are already playing catch up after taking just three points from their first five games, and they are now heading towards a congested period without one of their best players and could start it with a third league loss of the campaign.
Alternative Bet: Morgan Rogers to score any time @ 15/8
While Cole Palmer passed up the chance to represent England, his team-mate, Morgan Rogers, seized the opportunity.
Rogers was among the scorers in England’s 7-0 success away to Croatia and he looks a likely match-winner against the Cherries.
Chelsea v Bournemouth Bet Builder Tip
Morgan Rogers 1+ shots on target
Over two goals
Adrien Truffert to be booked
Pays 29/4
Bournemouth may have their hands full against a Chelsea attack featuring a rested Palmer and a confident Rogers.
Cherries’ keeper Dorde Petrovic could be a busy man and is likely to face at least one shot on target from Rogers, who has netted three goals in five league appearances.
Chelsea may need to score multiple goals because they have ongoing defensive issues, with their last top-flight clean sheet coming in January.
However, the majority of the play will probably take place in the visiting team’s half and Chelsea pressure could force a rash tackle from Bournemouth defender Adrien Truffert, who has totted up 11 fouls since the start of the league campaign.
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Key Match Stats
Chelsea have scored at least two goals in each of their last five home fixtures
Chelsea’s last three home matches have generated at least four goals
The Blues have gone 21 Premier League games without keeping a clean sheet
Bournemouth haven’t won any of their last seven Premier League games
Five of Bournemouth’s last seven away matches have generated at least three goals
Six of Bournemouth’s last seven away games have featured goals for both teams
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This article was written by a partner sports writer via Spotlight Sports Group. All odds displayed on this page were correct at the time of writing and are subject to withdrawal or change at any time.
