Chelsea face the team who against all odds has been out of the relegation battle and are sitting comfortably in the league table, Bournemouth. The cherries are just three points behind Chelsea and a victory will enable Howe’s men to be in the top half. Hiddink has four games remaining in his second stint and he must want to finish the season on a strong note.
Eddie Howe deserves a lot of credit for his team and what this team from the south coast has done in their first season. It will be an entertaining contest at the Vitality stadium and the pressure is on the blues to finish as high as possible and they have to win all the remaining games to have European football next season.
Team news :
Chelsea had a lot of injury problems and Thibaut Courtois’ suspension has added more pressure to the manager. Eden Hazard is fit and will play a role tomorrow, Hiddink has confirmed in today’s press conference. Kurt Zouma, John Terry, Loic Remy and Radamel Falcao are still out.
Bournemouth just have two injuries to worry about with Adam Smith and Harry Arter set to miss the game against the last season’s Champions.
Recent form : (all competitions)
Bournemouth : WWLLWL
Chelsea : LLDWLL
Players to watch out for :
Joshua King is the man in form and has scored four goals in his last six League games and Cahill – Ivanovic duo have their work cut out.
Pedro has been looking sharper with each game passing by and his pace and finishing can decide the outcome of the game.
Tactics :
With RLC set to continue in the no.10 role, Cesc Fabregas will enjoy a free role that he has been playing under Hiddink and look to dictate the tempo of the game. Bournemouth’s fullbacks, Daniels and Francis can be targeted with the pace of both Pedro and Willian.
The cherries’ main threat are Matt Ritchie and Joshua King. Ritchie if given space can inflict some damage on the blues and also Chelsea have to be wary of the threat of Stephen Cook from the set pieces.
Predicted lineups :
Bournemouth : Boruc, Daniels, Cook, Elphick, Francis, Surman, Gosling, Ritchie, Gradel, King, Grabban.
Chelsea : Begovic, Azpilicueta, Ivanovic, Cahill, Rehman, Mikel, Fabregas, Willian, RLC, Pedro, Costa.
Prediction :
Bournemouth 1 – 2 Chelsea
Betting odds :
Bournemouth win : 85/40
Chelsea win : 11/8
Draw : 5/2