Premier League: Bournemouth Face a Fierce Blue Backlash

Chelsea vs Bournemouth

There isn’t much festive cheer in Chelsea at the moment, nor is there on the south coast in Bournemouth after both clubs suffered Christmas hangovers on Saturday.

While the Cherries are already bruised after they were walloped 4-1 by Brentford on Saturday, they will meet a Chelsea side seriously annoyed after they let a lead go and lost to top-four rivals Aston Villa. The loss meant Enzo Maresca’s Blues dropped down to fifth in the Premier League table, while Andoni Iraola ‘s Bournemouth continued their slide down the table and will start this game in 15^th.  

So the 7:30 PM kick-off at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday, Premier League: Chelsea vs Bournemouth gives both clubs a chance to shrug off their disappointment, though I suspect the hosts will give the Cherries a rough ride.    

 

Talking Points

Chelsea must find a ruthless streak 

This is a young Chelsea side and, after winning two trophies last season, the expectations have, understandably, grown. The Blues have spent much of the campaign so far in the top four of the Premier League table as well as going along nicely in the Champions League and reaching the semi-final of the EFL Cup, where they will face Arsenal.  

The pre-match Chelsea vs Bournemouth betting odds say the hosts will beat the Cherries on Tuesday but they will need to be more clinical when they step out again in front of their own fans on Tuesday. Against Aston Villa the Blues were totally dominant for an hour and Maresca, suspended and sitting in the stands, must have been reasonably happy with a one goal half time lead, after Joao Pedro had deflected in a Reece James corner. 

But the Blues should have been more than one up at the break, missing a glut of chances while Villa didn’t register a shot and, in the second half, they paid for their wastefulness…heavily.  

Villa substitute Ollie Watkins scored twice to give his team a record 11^th successive win. His first was a poacher’s classic as he seized on sloppy Chelsea defending, and his second a well placed header from a corner. It was a heavy blow to Maresca and his men and they need to pick themselves up quickly; but the Blues will be boosted by the return from injury of Brazilian wonderkid Estevao.  

 

Bournemouth are ready to say goodbye to Semenyo 

If Maresca had a bad day on Saturday the Chelsea boss may have had some sympathy for Iraolo who watched his team lose convincingly to a Brentford team they should, on paper, be able to match. On grass the Cherries were gone before they got started and Iraola summed it up, saying: “It’s quite easy to analyse. We arrived 45 minutes late to a Premier League game. When this happens, you’re out of the game. The manager reacted to a non-existent first half from his players by bringing on Justin Kluivert and Evanilson and they got their goal when top scorer Antoine Semenyo back-heeled in, but the Cherries were already 3-0 down at that stage. 

And it may well be the last goal the Ghana star scores for Bournemouth.        

Semenyo has a £65m release clause in his contract, which becomes inactive midway through January and Manchester United, Liverpool and Chelsea have all been linked. The player’s preference is Manchester City and he must be thrilled by the prospect of getting service from the likes of Phil Foden and Jeremy Doku. 

But Bournemouth need to look to the future; replace their man quickly if he goes and start winning again…before it’s too late.       

 

History 

The historical Chelsea vs Bournemouth results favour the hosts. Chelsea have won 12 of their last 20 encounters with Bournemouth with the Cherries picking up four wins and four draws, while at Stamford Bridge Bournemouth have won just one in ten, with six wins and three draws for the Blues. 

The two sides played out a 0-0 draw when they met on the south coast at the beginning of December; and the Cherries took a point away from Stamford Bridge last season in a 2-2 draw as they turned around an early deficit, before conceding an injury time goal from James.  

The Blues have struggled for consistency in recent weeks with two wins, two draws and two defeats from the last six games, while the Cherries have drawn three and lost three.   

 

Betting Tip

Chelsea are at SBOTOP odds of 1.57 to win this clash with Bournemouth at 5.50 and the draw is at 4.20. The Cherries were in the top four at the end of October but have been on a terrible run and are now looking over their shoulders. 

I can’t see anything other than a Chelsea win here, with the most likely score-line of 2-1 at odds of 7.45; but I quite fancy 3-1 to Chelsea at 10.00.

   

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