Bournemouth vs Chelsea: Betting tips and analysis

Bournemouth produced a stunning comeback victory at Goodison Park before the international break, but can they add the cherry on top against Chelsea on Saturday evening?

Odds Now's Brad Walker gives you the lowdown ahead of kick-off on the south coast.

Tale of the tape

Bournemouth

The Cherries are looking to go unbeaten in their first four matches for the first time since achieving promotion to the Premier League in 2015. Two draws in their first two outings was followed by an incredible win at Everton before the international break. Despite trailing the Toffees 2-0 heading into the 87th-minute, Bournemouth somehow rallied to take all three points on Merseyside. 

The victory leaves them with five points from a possible nine heading into the Chelsea match this weekend. While the hosts' record isn't the best against their London counterparts - they've not won any of the sides' last five meetings - the ongoing uncertainty surrounding Chelsea both on and off the pitch will leave the Cherries confident of taking something from the encounter. 

The form of winger Antoine Semenyo has been particularly positive - the Ghanaian already has two goals to his name, including the Cherries' first strike at Goodison Park last time out. 

Luis Sinisterra completes Bournemouth's phenomenal comeback at Everton before the international break. (Photo credit: Alamy Images)

Chelsea

I think we're all still trying to get a feel for this Chelsea side, as we were for large portions of last season. The weekend will be Enzo Maresca's fourth Premier League match in charge of the Blues in what has been an okay start to the new season. 

Chelsea have four points to their name after three games but could only manage a 1-1 draw at home to Crystal Palace last time out. The result followed an enthralling 6-2 victory away at Wolves on matchday two, though the hosts remarkably finished with a higher xG tally than Maresca's men. 

The ongoing chaos off the pitch - including a potential rift between club chairman and the owners Clearlake - makes it hard to predict what to expect from the Londoners each week. Maresca's squad no doubt has quality but the sheer number of players leaves him with a near-impossible task, particularly given his lack of experience managing at the top level.

Bournemouth vs Chelsea: Betting tips and predictions

As noted above, I don't see how Maresca can deliver any form of consistency in results given the situation he's walked into at Stamford Bridge. It's impossible to predict the Blues' matchday squad, never mind their starting eleven, and the acquisition of Jadon Sancho late in the summer window leaves them with just the EIGHT wide players to choose from - all of whom will feel they deserve a space in the starting eleven. 

Add to the mix Bournemouth's positive start to the new season and the more convinced I am of the home victory this weekend. The Cherries' only other league outing at the Vitality this season came in a 1-1 draw against Newcastle. Iraola's men were impressive for large spells that day and could have easily took the full three points - in fact, they might've done if VAR had done their job properly. But that's a discussion for another day. 

All in all, I'm expecting some strange results in Chelsea matches this season, as we saw for much of Mauricio Pochettino's short reign at the club.

I hinted that Crystal Palace could take something from Stamford Bridge last week but didn't back it up in my predictions. I won't be making the same mistake this weekend - I'm going for the Bournemouth win at a very fair odds-against price of 5/2.  

Odds Now’s best bets for Bournemouth vs Chelsea

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