Chelsea has one hand on the English Premier League trophy, but can’t afford to slip up when they travel to the south coast this weekend to take on Bournemouth. The two clubs will meet at Dean Court on Saturday, April 8th to battle it out for the three points. Chelsea is coming off of a huge 2-1 home win over Manchester City at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday while Bournemouth scored a late equalizer to leave Anfield in Liverpool with a 1-1 draw.
Bournemouth vs Chelsea – Pinnacle Soccer Betting Line:
- Pinnacle currently lists Chelsea as the favorites to win the game at -162 with Bournemouth +502 and a draw at +324
Bournemouth vs Chelsea – Head to Head:
- These two clubs last met in league action on Boxing Day with Chelsea winning 3-0 at home at Stamford Bridge. They also met twice last season with Chelsea winning 4-1 away on the south coast, but losing 1-0 in London. The teams have met just eight times in the past with Chelsea winning six and losing two.
Bournemouth – A Closer Look:
Bournemouth enters the weekend in 13th place in the 20-team league even though they’re unbeaten in the past five games. They have just 35 points out of a possible 93 after 31 games. They have nine wins, eight draws and 14 losses with 44 goals scored and 56 allowed. Bournemouth is too far back in the standings to fight for a spot in Europe and is just seven points ahead of 18th-place Swansea City and the relegation zone. They’re also tied on points with Burnley.
Bournemouth has been pretty good at home this season with seven wins, three draws and five defeats while scoring 26 goals and conceding 23. They’ve won just two of their past 10 league contests though along with four draws and four losses with 14 goals scored in those games and 19 conceded. Manager Eddie Howe also has some injury concerns as goaltender Adam Federici, defender Rhoys Wiggins and forward Callum Wilson are out for the rest of the season and midfielder Andrew Surman is still sidelined. In addition, defender Tyrone Mings is suspended.
Chelsea – A Closer Look:
Chelsea bounced back from their surprising home loss to Crystal Palace last weekend to beat Manchester City at home in midweek. They still lead the league with 72 points from 23 wins, three draws and four losses with 62 goals scored and 24 allowed. The Blues still have a fine away record with 10 wins, three draws and two losses while scoring 23 times and conceding just 13. Chelsea has seven victories in their past 10 league outings along with two draws and a loss with 20 goals for and nine against.
Chelsea still leads second-place Tottenham Hotspur by seven points, but now has a 12-point lead on third-place Liverpool with a game in hand and a 14-point bulge over fourth-place Manchester City. Chelsea’s loss to Crystal Palace has been their only defeat in their past 14 games in all competitions and was just their third loss since October 26th. New manager Antonio Conte has a relatively healthy squad to choose from as the only player in doubt is midfielder Victor Moses.
Bournemouth vs Chelsea – Takeaway:
Chelsea can still be caught by Tottenham if they slip up anywhere along the way. Bournemouth could use as many points as possible to stay above the relegation zone and will be happy with a draw.