AFC Bournemouth vs Chelsea preview: Team news, head-to-head, predicted lineups—Tosin OUT, Enzo Maresca admits mistake with Josh Acheampong

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Chelsea return to Premier League action this weekend with an away trip to AFC Bournemouth.

The Blues head into the fixture looking to respond after their 3–1 defeat to Leeds United in their previous outing. It was a disappointing afternoon at Elland Road, and Enzo Maresca’s side will be eager to bounce back quickly. Pedro Neto scored Chelsea’s only goal in West Yorkshire.

Maresca’s men currently sit 4th in the Premier League table after 14 matches, joining Arsenal, Manchester City, and Aston Villa in the top four. Below is the latest injury and availability update ahead of their clash with the Cherries.

TEAM NEWS: 

AFC Bournemouth

The hosts will be without winger Ben Gannon-Doak, who suffered a serious hamstring injury while on international duty for Scotland against Denmark at Hampden Park. Manager Andoni Iraola confirmed the blow, saying:

 “Ben has a hamstring injury, it's a bad one, and he will be out for some time. Today, we had a consult with a surgeon to see if it’s something that has to go through surgery, or we could go more conservative. Ben will be out for some months, which is really bad news.”

Ryan Christie has also been ruled out after picking up an injury for Scotland last month.

In addition, midfielders Lewis Cook and Tyler Adams will both miss the match through suspension—far from ideal for Iraola’s side.

Defender Matai Akinmboni remains out as his difficult start since joining from DC United continues.

On a positive note, Marcos Senesi and David Brooks are available again after serving suspensions against Everton.

Chelsea Team News 

Midfielder Moises Caicedo still has two games left to serve on his suspension following his red card against Arsenal.

Cole Palmer made his return from the bench against Leeds and is now fully fit, which is a major boost for Maresca.

Defender Levi Colwill is sidelined for the remainder of the season after undergoing successful ACL surgery. Maresca said:

“Levi has today undergone successful surgery [for] an ACL injury. Medical assessments confirmed surgery would be the required course of action. Levi will now begin his recovery and be supported by the medical department at Cobham during his rehab phase.”

Dario Essugo and Romeo Lavia are still unavailable, while Mykhailo Mudryk is suspended.

Maresca confirmed in his pre-match press conference that there are no new injury concerns.

Reece James, who was left on the bench against Leeds, will be assessed over the next 24 hours to determine his availability.

In midfield, Andrey Santos started alongside Enzo Fernández last time out. However, Chelsea visibly missed Caicedo’s presence, and his continued absence is a setback. Even so, the Blues will back themselves to secure a positive result against Iraola’s men..

Unavailable Players:

Out: Gannon-Doak, Christie, Cook, Adams, Akinmboni, Caicedo, Colwill, Essugo, Lavia, Mudryk

Form Guide — Bournemouth

Bournemouth come into the match on a difficult run, having failed to win any of their last five Premier League games:

Bournemouth 0–1 Everton (L) – 2 Dec 2025

Sunderland 3–2 Bournemouth (L) – 29 Nov 2025

Bournemouth 2–2 West Ham (D) – 22 Nov 2025

Aston Villa 4–0 Bournemouth (L) – 9 Nov 2025

Manchester City 3–1 Bournemouth (L) – 2 Nov 2025

The Cherries have taken just one point from their last five matches, highlighting their struggle for consistency heading into the clash with Chelsea. 

Form Guide — Chelsea

Chelsea have shown mixed form in recent weeks, picking up two wins, a draw, and two defeats from their last five matches:

Leeds 3–1 Chelsea (L) – 3 Dec 2025

Chelsea 1–1 Arsenal (D) – 30 Nov 2025

Chelsea 3–0 Barcelona (W) – 25 Nov 2025

Burnley 0–2 Chelsea (W) – 22 Nov 2025

Chelsea 3–0 Wolves (W) – 8 Nov 2025

Despite the loss to Leeds, the Blues have shown strong performances recently, including a standout win over Barcelona and two convincing Premier League wins.  

Head-to-Head Record

Both teams have scored in 2 of the last 5 meetings.

Across their previous five encounters, Chelsea have the clear advantage:

Chelsea wins: 3

Draws: 2

Bournemouth wins: 0

Last 5 Meetings

14 Jan 2025 — Chelsea 2–2 Bournemouth

14 Sept 2024 — Bournemouth 0–1 Chelsea

19 May 2024 — Chelsea 2–1 Bournemouth

17 Sept 2023 — Bournemouth 0–0 Chelsea

6 May 2023 — Bournemouth 1–3 Chelsea

Chelsea are unbeaten in all five, winning three of them, while Bournemouth have failed to record a victory during this run.

Predicted Lineup (Bournemouth): Petrovic; Jimenez, Diakite, Senesi, Truffert; Tavernier, Scott; Brooks, Kluivert, Semenyo; Evanilson. 

Predicted Lineup (Chelsea)

After being unused midweek, James will slot into the lineup too. Given Tosin's horror showing, Maresca will be glad to welcome one of Wesley Fofana or Josh Acheampong into the playing XI. The Chelsea boss himself admitted to the mistake of using Tosin:

"One of the regrets I have after the [Leeds] game is that I didn't play with Josh. The reason why we played with Trevoh, Benoit and Tosin was because we saw long balls to their strikers, but even that, we lost most of them.”(Bobby Vincent)

To that end, here's how Chelsea could line up:

Sanchez; James, Fofana, Chalobah, Cucurella; Santos, Fernandez; Neto, Palmer, Garnacho; Pedro.

KICK OFF: 16:00 UK/WAT

What's your prediction for the game, Blues? 

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