Bournemouth
could again be without striker Josh King when they face Premier League
champions Chelsea on Saturday.
The Norway international has been sent for a scan to determine the extent of
a back problem, which has come straight after he recovered from a virus.
King has missed Bournemouth's last two games against Stoke in the league and
Middlesbrough in the Carabao Cup, both of which the Cherries have won.
"There's been a boost in the squad, we've been really pleased with the last
two results," said manager Eddie Howe. "We now move onto another big game
here, the mood here's very good.
"It's a long season and we didn't want to become detached, so the Stoke win
was important. More importantly, it was about building confidence and
getting the good feeling back in the squad, that's been carried through this
week as well."
Chelsea, who are nine points behind Premier League leaders Manchester City,
have also won their last two games after failing to win any of the three
before them.
This match marks the start of a tricky run for Chelsea, with five of their
next six fixtures away from home, and their only game at Stamford Bridge
coming against Manchester United.
Team news
Jermain Defoe has shaken off a hamstring issue for Bournemouth, but Ryan
Fraser is battling a knock.
Danny Drinkwater (calf), N'Golo Kante (hamstring) and Victor Moses
(hamstring) will miss out again for Chelsea but Antonio Conte hopes to have
the latter back for the Champions League trip to Roma on Tuesday.
Opta stats
Chelsea have won four of their five previous away games against Bournemouth
in all competitions, losing the other in September 1988.
This is Bournemouth's lowest points total (7) after nine games of a Premier
League season. Last season they had collected 12 points and in 2015-16 they
had eight.
Jermain Defoe is the only player to score in the Premier League against
Chelsea for four different clubs (Tottenham, West Ham, Sunderland and
Portsmouth) and could extend that to five clubs in this game. There have
been seven previous occasions of a player scoring against an opponent for
five different teams in Premier League history.
Eden Hazard has scored four goals in four Premier League appearances against
Bournemouth, with three of those strikes arriving on the south coast.
Michy Batshuayi has scored six goals as a substitute in the Premier League
since the start of last season; only Olivier Giroud has more (7) while Oumar
Niasse also has six.
Merson's prediction
Chelsea weren't too convincing against Watford but they still scored four
goals. That's the quality they possess.
Their problem this season seems to be they have lost that solidity at the
back. Last season their defensive three was so strong and it was hard to
score against them, you had to work really hard. Now that doesn't seem the
case.
Bournemouth might score in front of their home fans but I still think
Chelsea will have miles too much for them to get a result.
Paul predicts: 1-3 (Sky Bet odds 11/1)
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