Chelsea received a major boost in the race to finish in the top four of the Premier League after beating Spurs last weekend and this Saturday they take on AFC Bournemouth away from home.
The Blues go into this match, four points clear from the fifth spot and given the recent form of Bournemouth, this should be an easy three-pointer for Frank Lampard’s men especially since their away form has been better than their home form.
Bournemouth have only won three of their last 16 Premier League matches meaning the Cherries have very little hope of picking up anything positive from this match and Chelsea will be wishing to open up a decent enough lead.
Having said this though, Chelsea suffered a humiliating 3-0 loss to Bayern Munich in the Champions League which is why the Blues will go into this game with dented confidence along with some major injury concerns.
Chelsea team news vs Bournemouth:
Arrizabalaga once again remained on the bench for Chelsea against Bayern Munich and there’s a big chance that the manager will once again choose Willy Caballero in front of goal this weekend.
Rudiger and Christensen have been playing in central defence for the Blues during their past couple of games but Christensen has been playing with a facial mask. And maybe the manager could opt to rest him which would mean that the manager could choose to name Kurt Zouma in the starting line-up.
Lampard will hopefully revert back to his usual 4-2-3-1 formation meaning Marcos Alonso will drop back to the bench while Azpilicueta and Reece James moves back to the full-back roles.
Mateo Kovacic put in a fine shift against Bayern in midweek and him along with Jorginho will keep their place in the first XI while young Mason Mount is expected to move back into the midfield after playing in a more advanced role in midweek.
Ross Barkley had a very average game against Bayern Munich and the England international will also move to the substitute’s bench on Saturday vs the Cherries.
N’Golo Kante is recovering from a muscle injury and it seems like the Frenchman will only return back to full training sometime next month.
Callum Hudson-Odoi and Christian Pulisic are both ruled out due to injuries meaning both Pedro and Willian will play in the advanced roles.
Tammy Abraham reportedly pulled up with injury during Chelsea’s warm down after their Champions League game and the extent of his injury is yet to be revealed.
If the young forward is not fully fit by Saturday then Olivier Giroud will once again start upfront.
Chelsea’s predicted line-up vs Bournemouth:
Starting XI: Caballero; Kurt Zouma, Rudiger, Azpilicueta, Reece James; Jorginho, Kovacic, Mason Mount; Willian, Pedro, Olivier Giroud/Abraham.
