Chelsea vs Bournemouth

Stamford Bridge forms the backdrop for a high-stakes Premier League top-seven six-pointer between Chelsea and Bournemouth. 

Chelsea took advantage of a brief break from Premier League action to snap a dismal four-game winless run (D2, L2) with a 5-0 rout of lower-league Morecambe in the FA Cup third round at the weekend. However, Enzo Maresca’s men desperately need a win in league football to bolster their top-four hopes after allowing fifth-placed Newcastle United to close the gap to a single point. Stamford Bridge hasn’t been Chelsea’s safe haven this term, with the Blues dropping points in over 50% of their Premier League home fixtures (W4, D3, L2), including a heart-wrenching 2-1 defeat to Fulham last time out. But the omens look promising for the Pensioners, considering they’ve not lost a Tuesday-held top-flight match on home turf since January 2002 (W10, D4). 

Adding to Chelsea’s optimism, Bournemouth haven’t won any of the last five H2Hs (D1, L4). However, the visitors head into proceedings in a buoyant mood after a 5-1 thumping of second-tier West Brom in FA Cup action over the weekend extended their unbeaten streak in all competitions to nine matches (W6, D3). Eight came in the Premier League, including a narrow 1-0 home triumph against Everton in their first top-flight outing of 2025, lifting the Cherries to seventh in the table, only three points adrift of fourth-placed Chelsea ahead of the kick-off. Interestingly, all three draws during the abovementioned unbeaten sequence came against London-based clubs. It’s hard to put it past Andoni Iraola’s side to go one better here after bagging 2+ goals on their last five Premier League road trips (W3, D1, L1).