Charlie Nicholas is of the opinion that Chelsea won’t be able to beat Bournemouth when the two sides play at Dean Court tomorrow.
The Blues will be entering the match at the back of a 0-3 defeat to Bayern Munich at Stamford Bridge earlier this week. Bournemouth are currently 19th in the Premier League table and are in dire need of wins if they are to survive this season.
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The Cherries beat Chelsea at Stamford Bridge and while Nicholas doesn’t feel the same thing will result, he has predicted them to hold Frank Lampard’s side to a 2-2 draw.
In his column for Sky Sports, the pundit wrote: “This is another good test for Chelsea, who were shown up against Bayern Munich. Bournemouth know what it means, and what they need to do to survive. I thought they were treated harshly at Burnley. The footballing network does not have a sympathy button. They folded when decisions went against them, which in a way was understandable.
Chelsea are effective on the counter-attack, but their home form is terrible. There is an awkwardness with Chelsea only hanging three points above Manchester United, with the others honing in too. Bournemouth are going to go all out for this. I feel they will and have to get something from this, with Chelsea’s Champions League tie taking quite a bit out of them.”
The Blues are currently fourth in the Premier League table but have struggled for consistency this season. Bournemouth will be having the support of their home crowd and could well be in good spirits due to the fact they won at Stamford Bridge. Chelsea have more points from away games this season and seem the favorites on paper.
However, the players will need to be at their very best if they are to win tomorrow because given how close Manchester United and Spurs are, dropping points will be risky for them.
