Chelsea team news vs Bournemouth and predicted lineup | OneFootball

Chelsea will be looking to recover from a shock defeat when they travel to face Bournemouth on Saturday at 3pm.

The Blues were beaten 3-1 by Leeds United in midweek, putting a dent in any Premier League title hopes they may have had.

Chelsea predicted lineup vs Bournemouth

Chelsea (4-2-3-1): Sanchez; Gusto, Fofana, Chalobah, Cucurella; James, Fernandez; Palmer, Neto, Garnacho; Pedro.

Enzo Maresca’s men now sit fourth in the league, but hold onto their spot in the top four by just one point. They have lost just one of their eight Premier League away games against Bournemouth, and are unbetaen in their past seven vs the Cherries.

But Chelsea have also lost both of their Saturday 3pm kick-offs this season.

Chelsea team news vs Bournemouth

Chelsea rotated against Leeds in midweek and suffered for it. So Maresca is likely to go back to his first-choice XI, or as close as he can get to it. Moises Caicedo serves the second of his three-match suspension, so will be absent from the midfield.

Andrey Santos struggled in replacing him, so the Brazilian is unlikely to keep his spot. Reece James is the most likely candidate to move into midfield, with Malo Gusto at right-back.

But that then opens up a question about the rest of the midfield. James started alongside Caicedo last weekend, with Enzo Fernandez as the No.10. But Fernandez could drop deep alongside James, if Santos is indeed not trusted.

Cole Palmer could be given his first start after injury, having come off the bench in the defeat to Leeds. The Englishman may start on the right, with Estevao dropping out. Pedro Neto could then move to the No.10, with Alejandro Garnacho on the right — the pair impressed after coming off the bench in midweek.

Liam Delap might drop out of the starting XI after his poor showing, with Joao Pedro leading the line.

Who can Chelsea rely on?

Chelsea looked bereft of ideas against Leeds, with Delap not causing much threat up front. The Englishman still doesn’t look accustomed to Chelsea’s system.

So Maresca may rely on Pedro to lead the line. He’s a good man to rely on for this fixture, having netted in both of his games against the Cherries last season. But he has also hit a run of poor form.

Pedro was directly involved in five goals in his first four league appearances this season, scoring two and providing three assists. He has two goal involvements in his 10 matches since. The Brazilian isn’t testing himself anywhere enough, partly because he has been used in different positions. He averages just 1.53 shots per 90 minutes across his past 10 matches, compared to 2.44 per 90 in his first four. His Expected Goals have also dropped from 0.48 per 90 to 0.26.

Interestingly, though, Pedro is performing better in other metrics. His post-shot xG has risen from 0.28 per 90 to 0.35, the latter also an improvement on his xG. So his shot placement has got better. Pedro is also creating more chances per 90 at 1.53 from 1.08, as a result of his deeper positioning. The problem is, it just hasn’t led to assists. A reason might be that Pedro is creating fewer big chances at 0.22, down from 0.81 per 90.