English Premier
2025-12-30 - Chelsea vs Bournemouth
A Sports Betting Pick by Auls
Football: English Premier League
Tuesday 30th December 2025 - Kick Off 7:30pm
This game is live on TV
Chelsea
Enzo Maresca will be back prowling the sidelines at Stamford Bridge after serving a suspension and watching his Chelsea team blow a lead in a 1-2 loss to Aston Villa here on Saturday. He found it tough to explain the result away considering how well Chelsea had played right up until Aston Villa equalised in the second half and the manager will be looking for a positive reaction from a squad that have been struggling for form in December for a second year in a row.
They are still 5th in the Premier League table, but Chelsea are suddenly 10 points behind Aston Villa in 3rd place and that will put some pressure on the team in their bid to earn a return to the Champions League. Home form has been a big disappointment in the first half of the season and Chelsea need to improve the 4-2-3 record here in the top flight.
Chelsea had been unbeaten in 3 games in all competitions before the loss to Aston Villa, while that result also means The Blues have won 1 of the last 6 Premier League games played. The manner of the defeat on Saturday was all the more surprising when noting Chelsea had won 3 of 4 games at Stamford Bridge in all competitions prior to kick off.
The squad looks pretty healthy ahead of this last game of the calendar year, although the manager may choose to make some changes.
Bournemouth
Early season results have given Bournemouth a buffer to the bottom three in the Premier League table, but Andoni Iraola has to be a little concerned with what has become extended poor form. The likelihood is that the club are about to lose influential Antoine Semenyo in the January transfer window too and there are some dark clouds gathering above the Vitality Stadium.
A heavy loss in West London on Saturday has left Bournemouth in 15th place in the Premier League table, although they are 9 points clear of the relegation places. The Cherries have a 1-3-5 away record in the Premier League where they have scored 16 goals, but conceded a Division high of 27 goals.
Bournemouth have not won any of the last 9 Premier League games played and they have suffered defeat in 5 of those fixtures, including this past weekend. The 4-1 loss at Brentford on Saturday means Bournemouth have been beaten in 4 of the last 5 away League games played.
The squad that travelled to West London on Saturday will be available to head back to the same part of the country in the last club game of 2025. Antoine Semenyo has reportedly asked Bournemouth to allow him to leave as soon as the January transfer window opens, which means this could be his last game for The Cherries.
Head to Head
These two teams played out a goalless draw at the Vitality Stadium earlier this month.
Chelsea had won 2 in a row at Stamford Bridge against Bournemouth, but were held to a 2-2 draw here in January.
Prediction
Both of these teams had very disappointing results in West London on Saturday afternoon and that means Chelsea and Bournemouth will be keen to bounce back in the last fixture of the calendar year.
Chelsea were beaten at Stamford Bridge and Bournemouth had been crushed around eight miles down the road, while both managers may be wondering what the future will hold for them in 2026.
For now the focus has to be on helping the players bounce back and the expectation has to be that Chelsea are more likely to do that.
They had Aston Villa under the cosh on Saturday, but conceding in the second half deflated the Chelsea confidence, which was a surprise and a disappointment. Better finishing may have put Chelsea out of sight before Ollie Watkins came on to turn the fixture around, and Enzo Maresca and the supporters will be expecting better.
Prior to that loss, Chelsea had been in fine form at Stamford Bridge and they will certainly feel they can create chances against this Bournemouth team.
Andoni Iraola likes his team to play with real attacking intent and there has not been much wrong with what Bournemouth have been able to produce in the final third in recent away games. However, they have been allowing teams to create some huge chances against them and Bournemouth have conceded four goals in consecutive away Premier League fixtures at Manchester United and Brentford.
The underlying numbers are a real concern, while Antoine Semenyo is set to depart and is pushing for a transfer to be completed before next weekend. It has not prevented the attacker to continue showcasing his talent in the final third, but Semenyo is not going to change the Bournemouth defensive form and Chelsea should have an advantage.
Enzo Maresca may choose to freshen things up a little bit for the home team after the defeat, but there is enough talent in the Chelsea team to believe they can get back on the horse after the loss to Aston Villa and win a relatively high-scoring fixture.
The Statistics :
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The Pick :
Chelsea 3-1 Bournemouth
