Chelsea hope to go into the international break with 12 points, which will mean defeating Bournemouth at Stamford Bridge. Everything is pointing in the right direction.
Before the squad scatters to pursure glory in the UEFA League of Nations, they must first overcome Eddie Howe’s Bournemouth. The first three games for both sides points to a high-scoring affair.
Scott Brant: Chelsea 2 – 1 Bournemouth. The Blues haven’t been convincing as of yet. But with three wins of three, only so much complaining and finger-pointing is allowed. With so much possession and so little creation, look for Chelsea to get a goal from a corner and possibly another penalty. Alvaro Morata and Eden Hazard to make those happen.
Barrett Rouen: 2 – 1. Chelsea will continue to move forward and get more comfortable with Sarrismo. Bournemouth, though, are a high character side and won’t go down easily. In the end, the higher level of talent from the larger side wins out. Eden Hazard to score, Marcos Alonso to be phenomenal.
Nate Hofmann: 3 – 2. If the first three matches of the season have taught us anything, it’s that Chelsea are shaky on defense and Bournemouth score two goals per match. Meanwhile, Bournemouth have conceded zero goals to Cardiff, one to West Ham, and two to Everton. Therefore, the only logical conclusion is a 3-2 win for Chelsea.
From an actual footballing standpoint, Bournemouth have the elusively healthy Callum Wilson, who has scored two goals so far and looks deserving of an England call-up sooner or later, while the surprisingly-Norwegian Josh King got off the mark with a penalty against Everton. They will be missing Adam Smith after his red card against Everton, leaving their already suspect backline even more suspicious. Expect goals both ways and plenty of possession for Chelsea. Hazard, Antonio Rudiger, and Mateo Kovacic to score.
Abhishek Pancholi: 4 – 2. Get ready for some more slapstick defending accompanied by a couple sumptuous strikes from the Blues. I wouldn’t be surprised to see David Luiz at the heart of the defence yet again, despite his extremely convincing impression of a statue for Newcastle’s goal. In fact, Sarri could field an almost unchanged lineup from the last game, with the only change being Willian coming in for Pedro. The Brazilian will then get on the scoresheet and set one up for Hazard. Morata and Rudiger will also get in on the act in the second half.
Daniel Mcclue: 3 – 0. Eddie Howe actually taught Sarri everything he knew, bet you didn’t know that. Sarri’s Chelsea are getting there, perhaps quicker than we all thought. Bournemouth will commit men forwards and leave the door open for counter attacks. Not an 80% possession performance from the Blues, but a suprise cameo from Callum Hudson-Odoi cheers everyone up.
Hugo Amaya: 2 – 1. After Chelsea’s last match the Blues would have clear instructions from Maurizio Sarri to be more deadly. From a defensive point of view, this match will be critical for some players as Sarri will want to fix the defensive problems as soon as possible.
Chelsea will score one well-crafted goal, only to concede the equalizer before half time. But with so much attacking potential, the Blues will score their second of the game early in the second half and see out the rest of the game for three points.