Bournemouth vs Chelsea
The Premier League is finally back, with clubs raring to resume the season after a two-week pause due to the international break.
Some clubs will hope to pick up where they left off, whilst others are aiming to get out of a rut and make a run of their own.
The Cherries went down by two goals at Goodison Park after the Toffees scored two goals in the space of seven minutes, when Michael Keane and Dominic Calvert-Lewin struck past Kepa Arrizabalaga.
With the clock ticking down, it looked like Sean Dyche’s men have finally secured their first Premier League victory of the season. However, Bournemouth were relentless, playing hard-nosed football, which soon got them rewarded when Antoine Semenyo met Dango Ouattara’s cross from the left-hand side.
Bournemouth’s equaliser came in the second minute of added time when Lewis Cook was left unmarked and rose highest to head Luis Sinisterra’s cross past Jordan Pickford.
Four minutes later, and the Toffees—and their fans—were left dumbfounded when yet another headed goal was scored after Justin Kluivert’s picture-perfect ball found Sinisterra, who finally put the nail in Everton’s coffin.
Chelsea, meanwhile, were left disappointed to not come out with three points against Crystal Palace.
The Blues, whose fans were left with more questions than answers after a shocking defeat against Swiss side Servette in the Conference League, controlled the tempo and had more chances to bury the Eagles.
They scored first after a brilliant counterattack ended with Nicholas Jackson scoring from Cole Palmer’s pass. But those wishing for all three points to end with the Blues had been disappointed when Eberechi Eze levelled the match courtesy of a superb curling shot from outside the box.
Hungry for a win, Chelsea will look to get back on track, and what better way to do it than nip an unbeaten team in Bournemouth.
SBOTOP football fans have a good match on their hands.
Talking Points
The Cherries are late-goal specialists
Aside from an early League Cup exit to West Ham, Bournemouth have fared quite alright so far.
They’re undefeated in the league, but it’s not like they have taken all points from three games and are a scary side to deal with.
Instead, they’ve got a different twist, and it’s one that hits opposing fans the hardest.
Andoni Iraola’s side have been immense in late-game situations so far, with his squad rallying back and securing a point or two in matches played against Nottingham Forest and the aforementioned Everton tilt.
Four of their five league goals came in the second-half—all of which were scored from the 86th minute onwards.
Should Chelsea take their foot off the gas on Sunday, then they may feel the brunt from one of Bournemouth’s gut-wrenching finishes.
Jadon Sancho could make his debut
After a long-standing saga between Jadon Sancho and Manchester United, the 24-year-old winger has finally been set free, and will now be looking to revive his career with another English giant.
According to Premier League 2024 updates, Sancho may feature against Bournemouth, having trained with Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca for the past two weeks.
Only time will tell if his deadline-day move to London will be more fruitful than his dire spell in Manchester. He’ll have the likes of Pedro Neto, Joao Felix, Noni Madueke and Mykhailo Mudryk to compete with, so he’ll need to impress Maresca with something.
But seeing as Chelsea have been downright inconsistent so far, then they will be trying everything just to pick up some steam.
History
The Cherries were unable to pick up a win against the Blues in all of their last five Premier League matches (2D-3L), with their last win against Chelsea dating back to 2019 when Bournemouth smashed them at home (4-0) and edged them out at Stamford Bridge (0-1).
Overall, Bournemouth have 14 losses to Chelsea, with two draws in 2020 and 2023, respectively.
Betting Tip
The Premier League 2024 odds have Chelsea as the favourites for this one, given their dominance over Bournemouth (2.98) in the past and their three-match win streak away from home, whilst a draw is priced at 3.60.
However, expecting a clean sheet from Chelsea would not be wise, as they have failed to keep one for 17 away matches now.
With both teams tied at the top of the league for scoring the most second-half goals, an alternate bet of 2-3 goals scored (2.25) is also something that I can recommend.
A SHORT EXPLANATION ON HOW OUR (⭐) BETS ARE WORTH:
⭐⭐⭐= €20 (HIGHLY CONFIDENT)
⭐⭐= €10 (CONFIDENT))
⭐= €5 (SOMEWHAT CONFIDENT)
Disclaimer: Odds are correct at time of publish.
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