It’s the first Saturday evening kick-off of this season’s Premier League and it’s off to the south coast the Sky Sports cameras head as Bournemouth host Chelsea in fascinating encounter. Unbeaten in their first three games and having notched up five points the Cherries will hope that they can down a visiting Blues side that have won one, drawn one and lost one this season.
Enzo Maresca’s side will start off as match favourites and are 21/20 shots with bet365 and William Hill, whilst Bournemouth are available at 5/2 with Unibet to pick up all three points, with the draw available at 29/10. We preview the contest here and pick out our best bets for the clash.
Bournemouth v Chelsea Tips
Tip #1 – Chelsea to win and both teams to score @ 23/10 with Betfair
Chelsea have a real embarrassment of riches and it’s a huge task for boss Enzo Maresca to work out his best starting XI, as they have a really bloated squad. However, they showed with their 6-2 annihilation of a woeful Wolves a couple of weeks ago that when it clicks they can demolish teams. With huge talent in attacking areas, the Blues are likely to score plenty of goals this season, but defensive frailties often see them falter in the big games.
Bournemouth have scored five goals in the Premier League in their opening three matches, so could unlock the Chelsea defence easily, but it’s the Blues firepower that can ultimately squash the Cherries on Saturday evening. Betfair are offering an eye-catching 23/10 for Chelsea to win and both teams to score, which looks a really solid proposition here.
Tip #2 – Nicolas Jackson to score first and Chelsea win 2-1 @ 48/1 with Paddy Power
A sparkling Noni Madueke hat-trick was the catalyst for Chelsea’s romp over Wolves, but an underrated star for the Blues this season has been Nicolas Jackson, who has opened the scoring in the last couple of games for Chelsea. He’s 6/1 to break the deadlock on Saturday, but rather than opting for that why not take a chance on an eye-catching 48/1 scorecast with Paddy Power.
If Jackson can continue his good scoring form early on and get Chelsea the lead then they can go on and land a 2-1 victory over Bournemouth and that scorecast is available at 48/1, at the time of writing, as Chelsea can leapfrog their hosts up the Premier League table.
Bournemouth Performances So Far
A stunning comeback at Everton handed Bournemouth their first win of the season having kicked off the league campaign with two draws against Nottingham Forest and Newcastle United. Three late goals saw the Cherries beat the Toffees, so they will head into the game with Chelsea in high spirits and hoping to build on that win at the end of August.
Bournemouth Results So Far
Saturday 31st August – Everton 2-3 Bournemouth
Wednesday 28th August – West Ham United 1-0 Bournemouth (League Cup)
Sunday 25th August – Bournemouth 1-1 Newcastle United
Saturday 17th August – Nottingham Forest 1-1 Bournemouth
Chelsea Performances So Far
It’s already been a busy start to the campaign for Chelsea, who have had a UEFA Conference League play-off match to contend win, but in the Premier League they suffered an opening weekend 2-0 loss to champions Manchester City. Bouncing back with a fine 6-2 win over Wolves they then stuttered to a 1-1 draw at home to Crystal Palace. It sums Chelsea up at the moment in terms of you don’t know what they are going to produce, but Maresca is sure to improve his players as the season goes on, so they are ones to watch.
Chelsea Results So Far
Sunday 1st September – Chelsea 1-1 Crystal Palace
Thursday 29th August – Servette 2-1 Chelsea (UEFA Conference League)
Sunday 25th August – Wolves 2-6 Chelsea
Thursday 22nd August – Chelsea 2-0 Servette (UEFA Conference League)
Sunday 18th August – Chelsea 0-2 Manchester City