Both Bournemouth and Chelsea have been disappointing under their new managers and will be looking to correct some of their recent mistakes in the league on Sunday. Bournemouth drew 2-2 with Brentford before International Day, while Chelsea lost 1-0 at home to Nottingham Forest in an unfortunate continuation of their bad luck.
At Bournemouth's home ground, Brooks' 77th-minute goal helped the visitors take a slender advantage before Brentford's Brian Mbemo stormed forward to equalize in the third minute of added time. Despite winning plaudits for Iraola's attacking style of soccer, Bournemouth have amassed just two points from their four Premier League games, which has left them in 16th place in the table at the start of the campaign.
Although Bournemouth went eight games without a win, with their only clean sheet coming against struggling Southampton, they did manage a draw at home to Brentford, an achievement not to be underestimated. However, they failed to pick up any points at Tottenham and Liverpool despite initially putting their opponents** under a lot of pressure.
On the other hand, Chelsea have only failed to get points from Luton Town in the Premier League, and they are currently 12th in the table. In their last 16 Premier League matches, Chelsea have only managed two wins, which is an extremely poor record for a club with a strong capitalization.
Both Bournemouth and Chelsea are aiming to change their recent poor form in this game. Statistically, Chelsea seem to have the bigger advantage, having beaten Bournemouth in their last three games.
However, this match will not be won or lost on historical records alone, as both Bournemouth and Chelsea's performances will have a direct impact on the outcome of the match. Bournemouth need to improve their defense while Chelsea need to improve their offense. This is a very important game for both teams, and they will both be hoping for a good performance in the game to change their recent struggles.
Our prediction is that Chelsea will beat Bournemouth 2-1. While Bournemouth's home ground has not always been a happy place for Chelsea, who were ruthlessly beaten 4-0 there by Bournemouth in 2019, such a humiliation should not happen again given Bournemouth's ongoing defensive problems. Iraola's men can be confident of breaking through Chelsea's not-so-ironclad defense, but with Raheem Sterling in fine form, Chelsea should be able to come out on top, regardless of whether or not the process was spectacular.
