Chelsea vs Bournemouth – Match preview and team news | OneFootball

Chelsea meet Bournemouth at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday evening to round off 2025.

Both sides head into the fixture on the back of disappointing defeats but Chelsea will be confident given their record against the Cherries. They haven’t lost against the south coast outfit in their last nine matches.

Chelsea vs Bournemouth – Match preview and team news

Chelsea team news

Marc Cucurella faces a fitness assessment after requesting to be substituted during the defeat to Aston Villa with a suspected hamstring injury, forcing Enzo Maresca to confirm scans will be conducted. Left-back Malo Gusto is expected to deputise should the Spanish international fail to recover in time.

Wesley Fofana has returned to contention and is in line to start. The centre-back could partner Trevoh Chalobah at the heart of the defence. However, Chelsea will continue without long-term absentees Levi Colwill (ACL injury, expected to return April 2026), Dario Essugo (thigh, January 2026) and Romeo Lavia (thigh, January 2026).

Jorrel Hato is also sidelined until at least January.

On a positive note, Liam Delap, Jamie Gittens and Estevao Willian have all returned from injuries and featured against Aston Villa last time out. Cole Palmer made his welcome return after 74 days on the sidelines against Leeds United on Wednesday, 4th December and is starting regularly again, though he is yet to play a full 90 minutes since his return.

Bournemouth team news

Andoni Iraola will be without Tyler Adams for at least two to three months after the midfielder sustained an MCL injury during the 4-4 draw against Manchester United, leaving the Cherries short in midfield. Ben Gannon-Doak, Veljko Milosavljevic and Matai Akinmboni are also sidelined with injury.

Alex Scott was withdrawn in the latter stages of Saturday’s Brentford defeat and is under observation, while David Brooks, Justin Kluivert and Evanilson all came on as half-time replacements and are pushing for starting berths against Chelsea. Kluivert will be particularly keen after scoring a penalty in January’s 2-2 draw at Stamford Bridge.

Form

Chelsea

Enzo Maresca’s side will be disappointed after squandering a lead in Saturday’s 2-1 home defeat to Aston Villa. The defeat has left Chelsea fifth in the table, now 13 points behind leaders Arsenal and in a concerning trend where they have won just one of their previous six Premier League matches.

Bournemouth

Bournemouth’s dire form has extended to a nine-game winless streak following Saturday’s humbling 4-1 loss to Brentford at the Gtech Community Stadium. Kevin Schade’s hat-trick proved decisive, with an own goal from Djordje Petrovic adding to the Cherries’ misery. Antoine Semenyo’s 75th-minute strike proved only a consolation. The South-coast side now find themselves 15th in the table on 22 points, just five points above the relegation zone. Manager Andoni Iraola admitted frustration with his team’s lack of intensity in the opening period, stating: “I think they weren’t themselves in a very one-sided first half”.

Predicted lineups

Chelsea: Sanchez; James, Fofana, Chalobah, Gusto; Fernandez, Caicedo; Neto, Palmer, Garnacho; Pedro

Bournemouth: Petrovic; Jimenez, Diakite, Senesi, Truffert; Scott, Cook; Brooks, Kluivert, Semenyo; Evanilson

How to watch Chelsea vs Bournemouth?

Fans can watch the fixture on TNT Sports and Sky Sports in the UK.

Read – Emery keen to play down Aston Villa title talk

See Also – When does the 2026 January transfer window open?

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