Chelsea vs. Bournemouth predictions: Low Cherries make for easy picking

Bournemouth are at one of their lowest points of the Eddie Howe era, which means Chelsea need to be particularly heedful not to drop points cheaply or clumsily (again).

Bournemouth had a one way trajectory under Eddie Howe through 2016/17, as he brought them up from League Two in 2010 to ninth place in the Premier League three seasons ago. Since then, Bournemouth have dropped towards the bottom quarter of the table. They are in 15th place as they come to visit Chelsea, and could be in the relegation zone by the end of the weekend.

Tan Yi Hao: Chelsea 4 – 0 Bournemouth. Chelsea’s recent results may have ChelsTwit on some kind of meltdown( “Let’s sign Chilwell and Koulibaly in January now the ban’s lifted!”) but let that not distract you from the fact that Chelsea have still been creating as they have been all season. The problem is that they are not finishing these chances while the defence has somehow found a way to make themselves an even bigger joke since *that* 4-0 loss.

Somewhere along the line, however, some team is bound going to get torn apart by the Blues. With how things are heating up for the top four, perhaps Saturday is the day for a 4-0 statement win of our own.

Kevin Peacock: 3 – 0. Bournemouth have picked up a couple of decent results against Chelsea in recent years. Not this time, though. Off the back of a nervy qualification for the knockout stages of the Champions League, Super Frank Lampard’s Blues will be upbeat.

Tambraham will, of course, score, as will Willian, if he remembers how to shoot. Chelsea to run out winners with the final goal going to Lampard’s son and cultist boo-boy, Mason Mount.

Barrett Rouen: 2 – 1. Chelsea will still struggle to defend, as that seems to be their major issue.  Callum Wilson is in good form and exactly the type of smart-moving center forward Chelsea struggle with. Luckily, Bournemouth have similar issues. Frank Lampard simply has more quality in his side, who have the added benefit of playing at home. I’d never predict a loss, anyway.

Scott Brant: 2 – 0. Bournemouth are hard up injury-wise and have lost their last five. That’s right. Five, and shut out in their last two.

I am hoping that trend continues with a clean sheet. The Blues have three this season in the Premier League, all at home. The defense will be outstanding regardless of what some may predict. Tammy Abraham to get us off and running as he usually does, followed by a goal from midfield to put the Cherries away.

Vansh Ambashta: 3 – 2. Chelsea should be able to go past the desperate Cherries with ease. Goals from Tammy Abraham, Willian, and Mason Mount will get the three points. The Blues will concede, though. They definitely will. Clean sheets aren’t part of the game plan anymore, and Kepa Arrizabalaga will commit another blunder.

Olaoluwa Nwobodo: 3 – 1. Chelsea has been creating many chances but are not converting enough of them. The defense is still shaky. Antonio Rudiger seems to be back from injury, which will no doubt be a positive for the defense. However, Rudiger started against Lille and the Blues still conceded, so obviously he cannot single-handedly deliver clean sheets.

Bournemouth have many players that can threaten Chelsea, but they will only be effective with the Blues’ permission. Tammy Abraham with a brace and Mount with the other goal.

Nate Hofmann: 3 – 1. This isn’t really against Bournemouth. It’s against the limping corpse of an otherwise decent side.

If Chelsea have had an injury issue this season, Eddie Howe’s side are in a full-blown code red crisis.  Most crucially, January transfer target Nathan Ake is set to miss a month and a half, while Blues-killer Callum Wilson looks to be unavailable, as well. That leaves Ryan Fraser and Joshua King as the only real players of interest, and even King is questionable to play.

Chelsea certainly don’t look like they’ve entirely put their bad run of form behind them, but it would be an absolute shock if Frank Lampard’s squad don’t run Bournemouth out of town. Still no clean sheet, though.

Abhishek Pancholi: 3 – 0. I don’t usually predict a clean sheet, but I’ll make an exception this time. Bournemouth have been decimated by injuries to key personnel, meaning there will be crossed fingers and toes in the Cherries dugout, hoping Chelsea don’t smack them into the middle of next week.

Chelsea will seek to right the wrongs of the previous two league outings and storm into a two goal lead before halftime. The second half will be more of the same, with the Blues seeking to capitalize on their momentum. This will lead to another goal before Bournemouth wave the white flag and shut up shop for the rest of the game.

Varun Dani: 4 – 0. Chelsea’s rollercoaster of a season changed course again with an all-important win against Lille. While the Blues were far from perfect, the victory gave the players, manager and fans a much-needed morale boost. The physically taxing winter period of the Premier League multiplies even the slightest psychological advantage, which can help a team push through the grueling weeks ahead.

Count on Lampard’s rotated line up to gain momentum by crushing an injury-struck Bournemouth, finding the clinical edge and defensive soundness it has been lacking, before two massive derbies in the coming weeks.