Twitter-Chelsea
BOU vs CHE Match Preview: After the 3-0 thumping at home to Bayern Munich in the Champions League Round of 16 first leg, Chelsea will now shift focus back to the Premier League top-four race. Frank Lampard’s men have been a subject to inconsistency this season but still find themselves at the fourth spot in the league with 44 points, while being just six points behind third-placed Leicester City. The Blues will now be taking a trip to Dean Court to face a struggling AFC Bournemouth side who are 16th in the league with 26 points on board. In their last four games, the Cherries won the first two against Brighton and Aston Villa, which was soon followed by back to back defeats to Sheffield United and Burnley.
Match Details
Date- Saturday, February 29
Kick-Off- 8:30 PM (IST)
Venue- Dean Court
Bournemouth
Jefferson Lerma missed out the 3-0 defeat to Burnley due to a back injury and is still in doubt of starting for the hosts. David Brooks, Charlie Daniels, Chris Mepham, Lloyd Kelly and Arnaut Danjuma Groenveld are also out injured. Steve Cook and Diego Rico could get the nod to be in the starting eleven.
Chelsea
Tammy Ibraham sustained a knock against Bayern Munich and is in doubt of starting for the Blues. Ruben Loftus Cheek is in contention of featuring in midfield, while Christian Pulisic and Callum Hudson-Odoi are on the sidelines once again. William, Kurt Zouma and Fikayo Tomori are likely to start for their side. Frontline goalkeeper Kepa might have to settle for the bench while making way for Cabellero.
BOU (Expected Playing 11)- Ramsdale; Rico, Ake, Cook, Smith; Billing, Gosling, Surman; King, C Wilson, H Wilson
CHE (Expected Playing 11)- Caballero; James, Zouma, Rudiger, Azpilicueta; Mount, Jorhinho, Kovacic; Pedro, Giroud, Willian
Harry Wilson can pack a punch in the forward line for Bournemouth. Wilson has seven goals and has a pass accuracy of 76.5% from 1448 minutes in the league this season.
Olivier Giroud has looked impressive in his limited starts for Chelsea. The centre-forward has a goal from 285 minutes in the league this season.
Callum Wilson has also shown signs of quality in the advanced position for Bournemouth. The 22-year-old has seven goals from 26 appearances this season.
Mason Mount has bagged five goals and has four assists and has a pass accuracy of 84.5% from 2152 minutes in the league this season for Chelsea.
Considering both teams inconsistent run this season, a draw is a possible outcome.
Goalkeeper- A Ramsdale
Defenders- C Azpilicueta, A Rudiger, N Ake, S Cook
Midfielders- Willian, Jorginho, M Mount, H Wilson
Forwards- O Giroud (vc), C Wilson (c)
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