After hunting down the Wolves and settling for just a point against Crystal Palace, Chelsea are ready for their 4th game in the Premier League, with a clash against Bournemouth. Last season, the Blues defeated the Cherries in their last Premier League match of the season. This victory helped Chelsea secure a European spot, in the Conference League. This will be an important match for the Blues.
Recently, Enzo Maresca opened up about the availability of a certain players. Chelsea fans might be devastated to hear that their star player, Cole Palmer, might not be available for this game. The injury list still lingers on with the addition of Romeo Lavia, Filip Jorgensen, Malo Gusto, and Recce James.
Chelsea’s Predicted XI
Chelsea have a lot of talented players up front, which includes former Atletico Madrid star, Joao Felix, Jadon Sancho, and many more. Everyone is excited to see the debut of Sancho. On the other hand, Cole Palmer might not be available for this game. Enzo Maresca had informed that the Englishman is suffering from fatigue and minor muscle issue, which might be the result of playing every single match so far in the season.
In the number nine position, we expect Nicolas Jackson to start. He has scored twice in his last two games for the Blues. So, everyone will be expecting that the Senegalese striker will be maintaining his recent form. Pedro Neto and Noni Madueke will most likely join him from the left and right flanks respectively.
In the midfield, Enzo Maresca can apply the duo of Enzo Fernandez and Moises Caicedo. The Belgian midfielder, Romeo Lavia, will be unavailable for this match, suffering from a hamstring issue.
In the absence of Cole Palmer, Joao Felix will perfectly fit in for the number ten position as he is capable of doing creative things with the ball. On top of that, he can quickly move the ball, helping in the transitions from the defence to the attack. If Enzo Maresca wants to bring stability in the midfield in the absence of Palmer, he should play Felix in the number 10 position.
Enzo Fernandez is not suitable for the number ten position because he is not decisive enough in front of the goal. His shooting accuracy has not been up to the mark. Felix will be a perfect replacement for Palmer. The Portuguese is an all-round attacking player, who brings a lot of goalscoring opportunities.
In the defence, we are expecting the partnership of Levi Colwill and Tosin Adarabioyo. Malo Gusto suffered a thigh injury in the Crystal Palace, so he will be unavailable for this game. So, we are expecting a back three of Colwill, Tosin, and Disasi. Recently, Wesley Fofana has become a controversial figure for the Chelsea fans. So, if he starts the match, the reception might not be very warm for the young defender.
Marc Cucurella will most likely start in the left-back position. Later on in the game, Renato Veiga can replace him. For the goalkeeping position, we expect to see Robert Sanchez guard the posts. According to The Sports Bank, new Chelsea goalkeeper, Filip Jorgensen, picked up an injury in a match against the Czech Republic, leaving Enzo Maresca with only one experienced goalkeeper in the squad right now.
Match Prediction
All the Chelsea fans are expecting to see a dominating performance from the Blues. However, their turbulent form indicates that they might even find the game to be challenging. So, we are predicting a 2-1 win for the Blues. There is no doubt that Maresca’s team will have the majority of the ball possession, but they have to be more clinical in front of the goal.
In the last game, we saw that the Blues were very slow in creating goalscoring opportunities. They were too predictable with their moves, leading to a draw against Crystal Palace at home. Enzo Maresca must look into these flaws to rectify them. The fans want to see fluent, possession-based football under Enzo Maresca. Iraola’s Bournemouth will be a tough side to beat because of their recent performances. Therefore, Chelsea need to be at their absolute best in order to grab all the 3 points from this game.
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