December is the month where things either make or break for Premier League teams. This year, we might as well ask if Chelsea have been broken beyond repair.
A single league win in five matches burned out
all the “fat” that made us dream of seeing the gap finally closing between ourselves and the top of the pack. Turns out we’re very well within that very pack with Manchester United and Sunderland ready to overtake.
We can put a stop to this by beating a Bournemouth side whose form has been much worse and somewhat longer. That much needed repair is right there.
Date / Time: Tuesday, December 30, 2025, 19:30 GMT; 2:30pm EST; 1am IST (next day)
Venue: Stamford Bridge, SW6
Referee: Sam Barrott (on pitch); Craig Pawson (VAR)
Forecast: Clear sky and light winds
On TV: Sky Sports (UK); USA Network, Telemundo (USA); none (India); SuperSport MáXimo 1 (NGA); elsewhere
Streaming: Sky GO (UK); NBC Sports App (USA); JioHotstar (India); DStv Now (NGA)
Chelsea team news: A defensive line that sorely misses Levi Colwill will remain without him in this upcoming match. Same goes for Dário Essugo, Roméo Lavia and Jorrel Hato, the latter not a long-term absentee like the others but still some ways out from full recovery.
Cole Palmer, who is clearly not at 100% capacity just yet, will be on a day by day basis on terms of whether he’s fit to feature against Bournemouth. Same goes for Reece James, with Enzo Maresca having to manage the match load for the captain after a very busy schedule for us and for him.
Speaking of Reece, his injury management is a model for Wesley Fofana to follow. He was a bench option in our 2-1 loss to Aston Villa last Saturday, and he might feature at the Bridge versus the Cherries.
Bournemouth team news: The grass is always greener on the other side. But not on the Cherries’ field who don’t know what a win is since November, with four draws and five losses in nive matches since.
So the question is: can we avoid our Robin Hood syndrome?
Their main absentee is midfielder Tyler Adams, who suffered an MCL injury in a 4-4 draw to Manchester United two weeks ago. Fellow midfielder Alex Scott, who left the pitch in the final minutes of Bournemouth’s 4-1 defeat against Brentford last weekend due to a knock, is doubtful.
Previously: Remember Raheem Sterling?
