This third league fixture in a week also comes days before the Blues’ vital UEFA Champions League trip to Italy to take on Atalanta.

Both of Saturday’s combatants have midweek setbacks to shake off. The Dorset club were handed one day extra to rest and prepare, but are winless in five after Everton’s 1-0 win on Tuesday, the Cherries’ first home loss this term.

Defeat for the world champions at bogey ground Elland Road the following night ended a run of seven without loss across all competitions and meant a drop from second in the table to fourth.

However, Enzo Maresca’s side still have have the third-best away record in the top flight with 13 points gained and the best goal difference of +7.

The Blues are also unbeaten in the past seven Premier League meetings with Bournemouth, winning four.

Team news

We will travel to the Vitality Stadium without Moises Caicedo, who will serve the second game of his three-match domestic suspension after being sent off against Arsenal, and without Levi Colwill, Dario Essugo and Romeo Lavia due to injury.

Cole Palmer returned after two months on the sidelines at Leeds United and could feature again, as Maresca confirmed there are no new injury concerns, although the busy schedule may require rotation to his team again.

'Moi is suspended, but we don’t have any new injuries,' said the Blues head coach in his pre-match press conference.

‘Most of the rotation we do is because we have some players who, in this moment, are not able to play every three days. It’s the most difficult thing for me personally this season because, for many reasons, we have to make changes.'

The history

Across all competitions, Chelsea have won 15 of the 23 meetings with Bournemouth, losing five.

Most recently, the Blues’ 1-0 victory at the Vitality Stadium in September 2024 was our fifth success in eight Premier League visits to Dorset, while the 14 yellow cards shown set a new record for the competition. Christopher Nkunku struck late to clinch the points and Evanilson saw his penalty saved by Robert Sanchez.

Although the two teams had met in Division Two and various cups, the first top-flight meeting in Dorset was as recent as April 2016, when Pedro, Willian and Eden Hazard (twice) delivered the Chelsea goals in a 4-1 win.

The meeting on King Charles III’s coronation day in May 2023 went 3-1 in our favour, Conor Gallagher, Benoit Badiashile and Joao Felix doing the honours for Frank Lampard’s team in Dorset.

Know this..

The team scoring first in this fixture has won 13 of the past 15 games in which the deadlock has been broken.

Maresca and Andoni Iraola will lock horns again in just three-and-a-half weeks’ time at the Bridge, to conclude Premier League business with each other for this season.

Chelsea have found the net in each of the past 20 matches on all fronts.

Pedro Neto’s fifth top-flight goal makes him the Blues’ leading scorer and matches his best-ever Premier League return.

Until Jaka Bijol’s header for Leeds United on Wednesday, Chelsea had opened the scoring in eight consecutive league games. It was also the Blues’ earliest concession from a corner since Wolverhampton Wanderers' goal in January 2011.

Bournemouth, Brentford, Brighton & Hove Albion and Fulham are the only current top-flight clubs never to have won a major trophy.

Last season, the Cherries’ Premier League substitutes made the second-highest contribution towards goals. This campaign they rank joint-fourth on that metric.