Bournemouth v Chelsea: Team news, predictions & odds

The game kicks off at 1730 GMT at the Vitality Stadium, live on BT Sport 1 HD.

Bournemouth v Chelsea: Our prediction 

Our David John writes... The Cherries are one of the octet of teams jostling away in the lower reaches of the division but an unbeaten run of five games has them trending in an upward direction at the right time.

The good work was continued at Liverpool thanks to a last-gasp 2-2 draw via Josh King’s smart finish and turned out to be a third highly-creditable point picked up against some good teams during that spell to go with victories over West Ham and Swansea.

The tasks don’t get any easier with the visit of champions elect Chelsea but Eddie Howe has the confidence and belief flowing back through his squad at the moment and this should be a game to really get their teeth into.

The visitors have not been quite at their best either over the past week but crucially got back in the saddle to beat Manchester City on Wednesday following the 2-1 home loss to Crystal Palace.  

Antonio Conte watched Eden Hazard prove the difference in the first half against City but then switched his formation around by swapping Kurt Zouma for Nemanja Matic after the break and the latter ensured Chelsea were pretty comfortable for much of the second half.

John Stones could have made things awkward with some better finishing from close range but Chelsea march on as points count much more at this stage compared to aesthetically pleasing performances.

Bournemouth was one of the places where Chelsea actually ran riot (4-1) towards the end of their ‘lost season’ last year as Hazard pulled the strings and proved he was still a major force.  

His team-mates will be looking to the diminutive Belgian once more in a bid to ride out a relatively rocky patch and move one game closer to the title with three more points. 

I would expect a stiffer test 12 months on from the hosts but a narrow away victory gets the vote.

Prediction: Bournemouth 1-2 Chelsea

Bournemouth v Chelsea: Manager quotes  

Eddie Howe (Bournemouth)

On facing Chelsea: "We are feeling good and confident at the moment.

"Our home form has been very good, we have won our last two here and performed well away in the last two as well, against Southampton and Liverpool, which were really big points for us.

"If we can continue that momentum we have a chance.

"We have to maximise (ourselves) in every game, be difficult to break down, and we have been able to do that recently, so the next two (matches) are going to be similar types." 

On the 2-2 draw against Liverpool: "It reinforces our belief we can get points against anybody, we have always believed that this season.

"We do need the team to perform, every unit, at a very high level and we had that against Liverpool.

"We showed the character and belief you need, because even when you are chasing games you have to believe you can score a goal at any time to get something from it, that is a really important quality to have." 

On the rest of the season: "You have to get over the line, to finish the job off and that would be the view from our perspective, we still need points ourselves.

"At the start of the season it was all about getting over 42 points, which was our total from last year and that is still our aim." 

On Nathan Ake: "We were very thankful to Chelsea for loaning him to us in the first place, there has to be that element of trust that we are going to look after one of their brightest prospects, so we were very appreciative of the loan.

"We were of course disappointed to lose him because he was integral part of our team, but that is Chelsea's right, their player, they could recall him and I have no problem with it, but obviously it impacted on us at that time.

"We have missed him, on and off the pitch, because he is a great lad and fitted well into our team.

"They did what they felt was right for him and their club, so I have no problem with that." 

Antonio Conte (Chelsea)

On his future: "I stay here. I'm very happy to stay here.

"This is the most important thing. I don't like when I listen to other persons talking about me.

"I don't know why, but I think it's normal to try to involve my name in this situation.

"I worked in Italy. They want to come back for me in Italy.

"I have two more years of contract with Chelsea. This is the truth." 

On Andrea Pirlo being linked with a coaching role at the club: "In this period I'm listening (to) a lot of things. This is very strange, for example: Andrea Pirlo is playing and he wants to continue to play." 

On the title race: "This race is open. I think now I can see two teams, Chelsea and Tottenham, in this race. But anything can happen because there are 24 points (to play for) and other rivals can go in this race." 

Bournemouth v Chelsea: Team news 

Bournemouth midfielder Dan Gosling is rated as only 50/50 for Saturday's match at Premier League leaders Chelsea because of a knee injury.

Ryan Fraser comes back into contention for a starting place after his substitute appearance at Liverpool, but Andrew Surman is out with a knee problem.

Winger Junior Stanislas has been carrying a groin injury, while defender Tyrone Mings serves out his five-match suspension for a stamp on Zlatan Ibrahimovic. 

Forward Callum Wilson, goalkeeper Adam Federici and defender Rhoys Wiggins all continue their recoveries from knee injuries.

Victor Moses is back in contention for Chelsea.

The right wing-back missed Saturday's loss to Crystal Palace and Wednesday's win over Manchester City with a toe injury.

Chelsea have no other injury concerns. 

Teams

Bournemouth (from): Boruc, A Smith, Francis, Daniels, Cook, Wilshere, Pugh, Arter, Ibe, Afobe, King, Allsop, Gradel, Fraser, Cook, Mousset, Cargill, B Smith, Allsop, Stanislas, Gosling. 

Chelsea (from): Courtois, Begovic, Fabregas, Zouma, Alonso, Kante, Hazard, Loftus-Cheek, Moses, Pedro, Costa, Matic, Willian, Batshuayi, Cahill, Terry, Azpilicueta, Chalobah, Luiz, Eduardo, Aina, Ake. 

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Bournemouth v Chelsea: Opta facts 

Bournemouth have lost six of their eight games against Chelsea in all competitions (W2). Their only win at home came in their first game against them in September 1988. 

After losing 1-0 to the Cherries in December 2015, Chelsea have won their last two against Bournemouth netting seven goals. 

Eden Hazard has scored three times in three previous Premier League appearances against Bournemouth. 

Antonio Conte’s side have won 33 points from their 15 away games so far in 2016-17; only twice in Chelsea’s history have they picked up more points at this stage of the season (35 in 2003/04 and 38 in 2004/05). 

The Blues have lost only once in their last 12 Premier League away matches, winning nine (D2). 

Bournemouth have won consecutive Premier League fixtures at the Vitality Stadium, netting five goals in the process. They could win three in a row for just the second time in the competition (also in October 2016). 

Josh King has doubled his Premier League goal tally from last season (6) with 12 goals, scoring nine goals in his last 10 Premier League appearances for the Cherries  

King has been directly involved in five goals in his last five Premier League appearances at the Vitality Stadium (four goals, one assist). 

Diego Costa has netted just one goal in his last five away appearances in the Premier League, this after scoring eight in his previous nine this season. 

Costa hasn’t scored in any of his last three Premier League appearances and he’s never gone four in a row in the competition without scoring. The last time he did this in league competition was in La Liga with Atletico Madrid in January 2014.  

Bournemouth v Chelsea: Sky Bet odds

Chelsea are 8/13 with Sky Bet to take another step towards the title with a victory over 9/2 shots Bournemouth, while a draw is priced at 29/10. Antonio Conte’s men were cut to just 1/20 to lift the trophy, with Tottenham considered their only remaining opposition at 8/1 as Manchester City drifted out to 150/1 following their Stamford Bridge loss. Diego Costa (11/4) is followed by Eden Hazard (9/2) in the first goalscorer betting, while Josh King is considered the hosts’ main threat at 9/1.   

Click for Sky Bet's Bournemouth v Chelsea odds!