Defending Premier League champions Chelsea host Bournemouth at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday in the quarter-finals of the League Cup. The Blues have won 1-0 at the Cherries in October thanks to a goal from Eden Hazard, that was their fourth consecutive win over Bournemouth in the Premier League. However, Bournemouth did shock Chelsea in 2015 when the two sides met for the first time in the Premier League, the Cherries pulled off an unlikely 1-0 victory at Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea are on a two-game winning streak in the Premier League, they recovered from the 1-0 defeat at West Ham with victories over Huddersfield and Southampton last week. They will probably have to fight hard all season to secure a place in the top four as the Premier League title seems long gone since Manchester City have a 14-point advantage over the Blues. David Luiz remain injured, Alvaro Morata will surely be rested in order to recover from a minor knock, while manager Antonio Conte will most likely give some fringe players a chance to shine.
Bournemouth are going through a rough patch, they have not won any of their last six matches and lost the last two Premier League games. They are just one point above the relegation zone at the moment, so it's safe to say that they should care more about their survival in the top flight than a chance to reach the last four in the League Cup. Adam Federici, Brad Smith, Tyrone Mings and Joshua King are injured and manager Eddie Howe will most likely give some playing time to some of his less employed members of the squad.
Probable line-ups:
Chelsea: Caballero - Azpilicueta, Christensen, Rudiger - Zappacosta, Fabregas, Drinkwater, Kenedy - Musonda, Batshuayi, Willian
Bournemouth: Boruc - Francis, S. Cook, Ake, Smith - Fraser, Arter, Gosling, Stanislas - Mousset - Afobe
My prediction: Chelsea to win 2-0.
Here are the odds for the match at Bet365:
Chelsea win - 1.30
Draw - 6.00
Bournemouth win - 11.00
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Comments (1)
sharpe
12/21/17, 10:12:40 AM
Dramatic finish in the end of that one but Chelsea maybe logically took the victory in it to join Man City and Arsenal on the semis, so we will have at least one...
Dramatic finish in the end of that one but Chelsea maybe logically took the victory in it to join Man City and Arsenal on the semis, so we will have at least one big clash there. The way season going for Chelsea this could be a good chance of winning a cup this season and I don't expect they to underestimate by any means this competition.
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