Good afternoon! Thank you very much for joining
Sports Mole for today's late Premier League kickoff between Bournemouth and Chelsea!
Both sides have overcome recent spells of poor form to return to winning ways over the past week, with back-to-back victories for both the Cherries and Chelsea heading into this one. They are battling at opposite ends of the table, though, so another win for either today would be valuable for very different reasons.
Before we get into that, though, let's first have a look at the team news...
BOURNEMOUTH STARTING XI: Begovic; Francis, Ake, Cook; Smith, L Cook, Surman, Daniels; Stanislas; Defoe, Afobe
BOURNEMOUTH SUBS: Boruc, Gosling, Arter, Pugh, Ibe, Mousset, Wilson
CHELSEA STARTING XI: Courtois; Azpilicueta, David Luiz, Rudiger; Zappacosta, Bakayoko, Fabregas, Alonso; Pedro, Morata, Hazard
CHELSEA SUBS: Caballero, Cahill, Christensen, Ampadu, Drinkwater, Willian, Batshuayi
What can we make of those two sides, then?
Well, the headline from the home camp is that Jermaine Defoe returns to the starting lineup this afternoon having missed Bournemouth's last two games with a hamstring injury, leading the line alongside Benik Afobe.
Defoe is the only player to have scored a Premier League goal against Chelsea for four different clubs, doing so for Spurs, West Ham, Sunderland and Portsmouth. There have only been seven previous occasions where a player has scored against an opponent for five different teams in Premier League history.
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It could be a landmark day for Defoe too, with the England international currently on 200 goals in league competition for his career - including 11 for MLS side Toronto.
Defoe is not the only one celebrate a milestone this afternoon, though, as Asmir Begovic also makes his 200th Premier League appearances, which includes 19 for Bournemouth's opponents today during a two-year stay at Stamford Bridge.
Eddie Howe has made just the two changes from the team that beat Stoke last weekend, with Defoe and Steve Cook coming into the side, but there is a change of system to match Chelsea's 3-4-3 formation.
Francis, Ake and Steve Cook will play in that back three for Bournemouth, with Smith and Daniels handed more attacking roles than they carried out against Stoke. There are eight changes from the midweek win over Middlesbrough in the EFL Cup, with Smith, Cook and Daniels the only players to keep their place.
Josh King is still unavailable for Bournemouth, not suffering from a back injury having missed the last two games with a virus, but in his absence an unexpected name has taken on the goalscoring mantle.
Andrew Surman's opener against Stoke last weekend was his second goal in his last five Premier League appearances, which is as many as he had managed in his previous 81 in the competition before that - not that you would know considering how well he finished that one at the bet365 Stadium.
As for Chelsea, manager
Antonio Conte has opted to drop captain Gary Cahill to the bench this afternoon, with Cesar Azpilicueta getting the armband in the England international's absence.
The defensive unit has been a lot less solid than it was last season, with Conte chopping and changing in a bid to rectify that. Luiz and Rudiger - the latter of whom opened his account for the club during the EFL Cup win over Everton in midweek - do keep their place in the side, though.
Davide Zappacosta is the man to come into the side for Cahill, meaning that Azpilicueta will drop back into centre-back having played as a right wing-back against Watford last time out, helping himself to a goal from that position.
Marcos Alonso continues on the opposite flank, although Zappacosta is the only member of that midfield four who also started the EFL Cup match in midweek. Bakayoko and Fabregas sat out in midweek, but did start the last Premier League game and do so again today.
Fabregas's next goal in the Premier League will be his 50th, becoming the third Spaniard to reach that tally after Fernando Torres and Diego Costa - both former Chelsea players themselves.
It is Alvaro Morata who will be the most likely Spaniard to score today, though, while Pedro will also fancy his chances for the visitors as both return to the starting lineup having sat out in midweek.
As expected, Michy Batshuayi drops to the bench as a result, and the Belgian has scored six goals as a sub in the Premier League since the start of last season - a tally only Olivier Giroud can beat. Of course, that is not a record any player wants as they would rather start every game.
Hazard, on the other hand, remains an integral part of this Chelsea starting XI and he has scored four goals in as many Premier League appearances against Bournemouth - three of which have come in this very stadium.
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There is plenty of quality in that Chelsea team, then, and Bournemouth will know that they come into this match as underdogs following what has been a difficult start to the season for them.
The Cherries perhaps deserve more than what they have got so far this term as their performances haven't been as bad as their results suggest, but all that truly matters is their league position and, right now, that is a major concern for Antonio Conte.
With results as they stand in the 3pm kickoffs at the moment, victory for Bournemouth could lift them as high as 15th place, so the Cherries are by no means being cut adrift at the bottom of the table at the moment.
However, they do sit 19th in the table, above only Crystal Palace, which could provide them with a glimmer of optimism ahead of this match considering Palace's only win this season came against a visiting Chelsea side. Just one point separates Bournemouth from safety as things stand.
The stats certainly don't read well for Bournemouth so far - they are five points and nine places worse off than at the same stage last season, and before today's earlier matches only Crystal Palace had scored fewer goals.
However, while Bournemouth's Achilles heel last season was their defensive record, this time around it looks to be the opposite with Eddie Howe's side having shipped only 13 goals in their opening nine games - the best record in the bottom five and fewer than sixth-place Watford and ninth-place Liverpool.
Last weekend's 2-1 win at Stoke was a timely return to winning ways for Bournemouth - just their second league win of the season and one which injected new life into their survival hopes.
Howe's side did the damage early in that match with goals from Surman and Stanislas, and they made it back-to-back wins on Tuesday with a 3-1 EFL Cup victory over Middlesbrough to send them into the quarter-finals, where they will face Chelsea, incidentally.
Bournemouth did not win three consecutive matches at all last season, so a victory today would make for their best run of form since March 2016.
However, they have made their worst ever start to the Premier League season with only seven points from a possible 27 so far. At this stage last season they had 12 points, while in their first campaign in the top flight they had eight points after nine games.
Bournemouth's form is certainly on the up, though. They began the campaign with four consecutive defeats, but they have now won two, drawn one and lost two of their subsequent five league outings, in addition to reaching the EFL Cup quarter-finals.
Another victory today over the champions would make it back-to-back Premier League wins for the first time since April.
Bournemouth are also unbeaten in their last four home matches across all competitions, winning three of those since beginning the campaign with back-to-back defeats here at the hands of Watford and Manchester City. That already constitutes their best run of form in front of their own fans since April 2015, when they were en route to promotion to the Premier League.
However, only Swansea and Crystal Palace have amassed fewer home points in the Premier League this season, and the Cherries have only ever won one of their previous nine Premier League home games against London opposition.
Chelsea's recent struggles should be kept in context compared to Bournemouth's form this season, but the reigning Premier League champions have certainly found things tougher this season with the defence of their crown.
Results in the 3pm kickoffs mean that the Blues will begin this match in fifth place, a full 12 points adrift of leaders Manchester City. Victory would restore that gap to nine, but defeat leaves their title hopes hanging by a thread with only a quarter of the season gone.
Chelsea's didn't get off to the best start last season either, but they then went on that incredible winning run to storm to the top of the table and the likelihood of them repeating that form appears to be fairly slim right now.
Indeed, the Blues are already three points worse off than at the same stage of last season, and questions continue to arrive regarding Antonio Conte's future at the club with persistent rumours of unhappiness in the camp. Could the Italian become the third consecutive title-winning manager not to last the following season?
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Back-to-back defeats at the hands of Crystal Palace and Manchester City have done the biggest damage to Chelsea's title defence so far, and it could have been even worse but for a late comeback against Watford last weekend.
The champions were on course for a third consecutive league defeat with Watford leading 2-1 at Stamford Bridge, but Batshuayi came off the bench to score twice as Chelsea eventually won 4-2 - although they needed to wait until the 87th minute to regain the lead.
A narrow and somewhat fortuitous midweek victory over Everton in the EFL Cup means that Chelsea come into this match off the back of consecutive wins, though, and they will be hoping that their blip is over now having won seven and lost none of their eight outings prior to the recent three-game winless run across all competitions.
This match sees chelsea looking for back-to-back Premier League wins for the first time since September 9, though, which is a longer wait than you would expect from the champions and maybe too long a wait to expect to still be in the title race considering City's form.
Conte may be concerned about his side's defensive record, though, as Chelsea have failed to keep a clean sheet in their last six matches across all competitions, stretching back more than a month to September 23, having kept four clean sheets in six outings before that.
The problem is longer-lasting than that statistic suggests, though, with Chelsea having kept only eight clean sheets in their last 29 Premier League games since keeping 10 in 12 between October 1 and Boxing Day last season - immediately after their switch to three at the back.
Chelsea have had some hugely impressive results on the road already this season, beating the likes of Tottenham at Wembley and Atletico Madrid at the Wanda Metropolitano en route to four consecutive away wins at the start of the campaign.
However, Conte's side lost their most recent trip - a shock defeat to rock-bottom Crystal Palace - to end a five-match Premier League winning run away from home, which was their best run since December. Another loss here would make it back-to-back away defeats for the first time since November 2015.
This is the start of a big week for Chelsea, who take on Roma in the Champions League on Tuesday before welcoming Manchester United and former boss Jose Mourinho to Stamford Bridge next Sunday.
Four of their next five games come away from home - with that visit of United the only exception - and considering two of the last four Premier League champions have only lost three games all season, the same number as Chelsea have already lost this term, they cannot afford many more slip-ups in that time.
PREDICTION: Right, we're 10 minutes away from kickoff at the Vitality Stadium, which means that it is time for a prediction!
Chelsea will go into this match as favourites, but they are unlikely to have things all their own way. Bournemouth have strung together a couple of good results recently and their confidence is growing, although I still expect the visitors to come out on top.
SPORTS MOLE SAYS: Bournemouth 0-2 Chelsea
Unsurprisingly, Chelsea have dominant the past meetings between these two sides down the years, although there have only been nine in the league and cup.
The Blues have won seven of those, including three consecutive Premier League meetings after losing their first ever top-flight clash at Stamford Bridge in December 2015.
Chelsea have scored 10 goals in those last three meetings, including six over the two games last season as they netted three in both matches.
The most recent of those came here at the Vitality Stadium in April when a Smith own goal, Hazard strike and Alonso goal helped the Blues to a 3-1 victory, and at Stamford Bridge there was another Hazard goal and another own goal - this time by Cook - to help Chelsea to a 3-0 win. Pedro was also on the scoresheet on that occasion.
Chelsea have won both of their previous Premier League visits to the Vitality Stadium and four of their five away games against Bournemouth across all competitions.
The only exception came back in September 1988 when the two sides met in the second tier, with Bournemouth running out winners on that occasion.
Right, it's nearly time for kickoff at the Vitality Stadium, so allow me to give you a quick recap of the team news before we get started...
BOURNEMOUTH STARTING XI: Begovic; Francis, Ake, Cook; Smith, L Cook, Surman, Daniels; Stanislas; Defoe, Afobe
CHELSEA STARTING XI: Courtois; Azpilicueta, David Luiz, Rudiger; Zappacosta, Bakayoko, Fabregas, Alonso; Pedro, Morata, Hazard
KICKOFF: Chelsea get us underway!
Chelsea have seen plenty of the ball in these opening exchanges, but Bournemouth's defensive shape os already clear to see. They will pack men behind the ball when Chelsea have it today.
Benik Afobe has started this match very deep. Rather than playing alongside Defoe he is more like an extra midfielder when Chelsea have the ball, just to make things more difficult for the visitors.
Still Chelsea probe for a way through, but Bournemouth have been disciplined in their shape so far. Even so, this could be a long game for the hosts if it carries on in this fashion.
SHOT! Pedro suddenly bursts into life as he collects a pass from Fabregas before darting in from the right flank. He takes it past Ake and into shooting space, but then fires his effort over the crossbar when he probably should have done better.
Bournemouth need to get their foot on the ball for longer and push themselves out further. They have all 11 men inside their own half right now, and that has been the case for most of the match so far.
Bournemouth set out with a 3-4-3 formation, but in reality it is closer to 5-3-1-1 - and that is being generous in separating the defenders from the midfielders. It's all defence for the hosts at the moment.
Rudiger pings a beauty of a diagonal pass out to Zappacosta, whose first touch is good to take him into the box. Ake is alert, though, and slides in to dispossess Zappacosta in the area. Ake had to get that one right, and it was a good challenge in the end.
Chelsea are dominating possession at the moment, but they are yet to create much aside from Pedro's effort which flew over the bar. The visitors may have to be patient this evening.
CHANCE! Much better from Bournemouth as they break forward in a threatening manner for the first time. Stanislas squeezes a pass to Afobe, who beats one defender to break into space just outside the area. He makes the right decision in trying to lay the ball into the path of Daniels, but his pass is overhit to waste a great chance.
Daniels still gets there and pulls the ball back for Afobe, who sees his shot blocked by Luiz.
CHANCE! Chelsea respond with an opening of their own as Hazard fizzes a low ball into the near post with Morata can't steer home. From the resulting corner Hazard again fires a low ball in towards the near post, but this time the keeper collects.
We're approaching the quarter-way stage in this match, and Eddie Howe will be pretty content with what he has seen from his side so far. They have been on the back foot for the most part, but Chelsea have not created much at all.
Patient passing again from Chelsea, but as soon as they near the edge of the box Smith steps in to put an end to the move. No space for the visitors to operate at the moment.
CHANCE! Big chance for Chelsea to take the lead, and it really should be 1-0!
Begovic fires a clearance straight to Hazard, who in turn slips a pass through to Morata. The Spaniard only has the keeper to beat, but he steers his effort wide of the target when he should have scored.
SAVE! Bakayoko climbs highest in the area to get his head on a corner, but he plants his header straight at Begovic.
DISALLOWED GOAL! Morata does have the ball in the back of the net this time, but the linesman's flag is up for offside. A short corner allows Hazard to play a pass back to Luiz, who goes for goal first time. His effort goes via Azpilicueta just in front of the keeper, but Begovic still makes the save. Morata tucks home the rebound, but the flag is raised against Azpilicueta. That was a tight one!
Daniels swings a dangerous cross into the box following a one-two with Surman, and Luiz is only able to send a looping clearance onto the roof of his own net.
Almost another shooting chance for Chelsea as the ball is played to Zappacosta, who goes for goal first time. He is quickly closed down, though, and his effort is blocked before it can test the keeper.
CHANCE! Chelsea are really knocking on the door now! Morata comes close again as he collects Hazard's flick before spinning away from one defender and firing an effort towards goal which Begovic does really well to save.
I have just seen the replay for the offside goal once again, and it doesn't get much tighter. It is a matter of millimetres, but Azpilicueta's knee was just about offside so it is the right decision from the officials.
Alonso produces a contender for one of the worst crosses of the season, drilling a powerful one behind everyone and straight out for a throw-in. Chelsea need more quality in the final third here.
Good defending from Azpilicueta as he flicks a cross away from danger following a nice piece of play down the right channel from Bournemouth.
Bournemouth have nine players inside their own area as Chelsea probe for a way through just outside the box. It is so congested in that part of the field when Chelsea come forward.
Patience is definitely going to be the key for Chelsea here. Bournemouth are parking the bus to an extent here - they are so deep and have so many men behind the ball.
CHANCE! Another chance for Chelsea as the ball is played back to Fabregas, but he sees both of his efforts blocked before they can trouble Begovic.
HALF TIME: Bournemouth 0-0 Chelsea
The first half comes to an end at the Vitality Stadium, and it has been a frustrating one for Chelsea as they go into the break all square against Bournemouth.
The visitors have seen the lion's share of possession so far and have also had enough chances to be in the lead, but Bournemouth have held firm and are still in this match as things stand. They will need to show more going forward if they are to last for another 45 minutes, though.
Chelsea's best chances have fallen to Alvaro Morata - the man they would want them to - so far, but the Spaniard has not brought his shooting boots so far this evening.
The best of the lot saw him steer his finish wide of the target following a mistake from Begovic, but the keeper redeemed himself shortly afterwards with a fine stop to deny the Chelsea striker. Morata has has the ball in the back of the net, but his effort was disallowed for an offside against Azpilicueta.
Bakayoko, Hazard and Pedro have all threatened too, although Chelsea have perhaps not created enough considering how much of the ball they have seen.
It is tough for them as Bournemouth are leaving so many players behind the ball too, with as many as nine defenders packed into the box at some stages. It remains to be seen whether they can withstand the pressure throughout the second half, but Howe will certainly want to see more from his side going forward.
Bournemouth's only hint of a chance so far came when Afobe worked space just outside the area, but when trying to slip in Daniels he put too much on a fairly simple pass and forced the overlapping full-back wide.
Daniels still pulled the ball back for Afobe, but his subsequent effort was well blocked by Luiz.
KICKOFF: Bournemouth get us back underway for this second half, and the hosts have made a change at the break with Jordon Ibe replacing Defoe.
SHOT! The early signs are more encouraging from Bournemouth at the start of this second half and Lewis Cook tries his luck from range, driving a powerful strike over the crossbar.
Good football from Chelsea as they play a few quick passes to release Alonso down the left, but his low ball into the area is too far in front of Morata.
GOAL! Bournemouth 0-1 Chelsea (Eden Hazard)
Chelsea have the breakthrough, but it is a catalogue of errors from Bournemouth to help them!
Morata should be dispossessed in midfield to start with, but he manages to spin away from a number of red and black shirts before lifting a ball over the top. Francis should cut it out but he misses his kick to send Hazard clean through on goal, and then the Belgian beats Begovic at the near post.
Begovic gambled too early there, presuming Hazard would try to hit it across goal, but the former Chelsea keeper was caught out.
Chelsea come forward again as they look to make it a quickfire double, but this time Bournemouth just about deal with it. The hosts may have to weather a bit of a storm here.
The ball drops to Bakayoko, who tries to swing his leg at it but balloons his effort over the crossbar.
Hazard also has five goals in as many Premier League games against Bournemouth now...
CHANCE! Bournemouth could well be level here! Stanislas benefits from a defensive mix-up before poking the ball to Ibe, who lashes a powerful effort towards goal from the edge of the box which takes a slight deflection on its way narrowly over.
This has been a good response from Bournemouth, who have shown as much threat since the goal as they had in all the time before it.
YELLOW CARD! Silly foul from Smith as he slides in from behind on Hazard, and he can't have many complaints at going into the book.
Good pressing from Bournemouth as they pin Chelsea right back and force Courtois to boot the ball straight out of play.
Junior Stanislas's game might be over here - he pulls up when in full flight and looks to have pulled his groin.
BOURNEMOUTH SUB: The hosts make the change as Marc Pugh replaces the injured Stanislas.
CHANCE! Half a chance for the visitors as a fine passing move comes to an end when Pedro plays a pass just behind Hazard, who can only fire his effort over the top. A better pass may have brought about a second goal there.
Ibe again tries his luck with a speculative effort from range, but this time his powerful strike flies well over.
SAVE! Some more slick passing from Chelsea, with Bakayoko, Fabregas, Morata all involved to set up Pedro, who curls his effort straight into the arms of the keeper.
Just 20 minutes remaining in this match and, while the deficit remains at just one goal, it is hard to see Bournemouth getting back into this match at the moment. Chelsea are in control here.
Smith fires a vicious cross into the box which Pugh can't do much with except steer a header well off target.
BOURNEMOUTH SUB: Another injury blow for Bournemouth here as Afobe limps off to be replaced by Callum Wilson.
Brilliant defending from Azpilicueta yet again. He throws himself in the way of Wilson's effort from close range to smother the shot after Bournemouth broke forward.
Less than 15 minutes remaining in this one now and, while Chelsea remain in control with the lion's share of possession, they will still want that second goal. A 1-0 lead is never a safe one in the Premier League.
CHELSEA SUBS: Double change from the visitors as Pedro and Morata are replaced by Danny Drinkwater and Michy Batshuayi.
Bournemouth still haven't had a shot on target in this match, and that lack of threat in the final third looks like being costly today. They have had one or two glimpses of goal, but can not have many complaints if this one ends 1-0.
CHANCE! Bakayoko wins the ball really well in midfield and immediately launches a quick counter-attack, with Alonso leading the charge. He gives the ball out to Hazard, who in turn waits for an overlapping run from Fabregas, but the Spaniard lifts his effort over the bar from a tight angle.
CHELSEA SUB: The visitors make their third and final change as Hazard makes way to be replaced by Willian.
Francis floats a teasing cross towards the back post which is very well dealt with by Zappacosta, and then at the other end Begovic gets away with another howler - this time putting his clearance straight at Willian.
YELLOW CARD! Francis picks up a late yellow card for an off-the-ball challenge on Alonso.
There will be four minutes of added time at the end of this match. Time for Bournemouth to snatch a late equaliser?
SAVE! Bournemouth have their first shot on target after some lovely interchange between Surman and Cook. The ball eventually arrives to Cook, whose powerful strike is straight at Courtois.
FULL TIME: Bournemouth 0-1 Chelsea
The referee brings an end to the match at the Vitality Stadium, and it is Chelsea who emerge with all three points to climb back into the top four and reduce the gap to leaders Chelsea back to nine points.
Eden Hazard scored the only goal of the game to hand the champions a deserved victory, with Bournemouth not producing their first shot on target until the 93rd minute of the game.
Right, that is all we have time for this evening!
Thanks you very much for joining Sports Mole for today's late Premier League kickoff as Eden Hazard fires Chelsea back into the top four with the only goal of the game in victory over Bournemouth. I will leave you with our match report, and be sure to stick around for reaction too.
From me, though, it is goodbye for now!
