Bournemouth vs. Chelsea | EPL | Pre Match

The international break came at an ideal time for Chelsea, who seek to put an end to a two-game winless run in Saturday's Premier League showdown with Bournemouth.

The Blues could only muster a point from a 1-1 draw with Crystal Palace two weekends ago, while the Cherries pulled off one of the greatest comebacks the competition has ever seen against Everton.

Chelsea's off-field activity has generated far more debate and furore than the on-field exploits of Enzo Maresca's men so far this season, but with the transfer window now closed for business until January, the newly-appointed manager can focus purely on footballing matters for the next few months.

The Blues' season had seemingly kicked into gear with back-to-back victories over Servette and Wolverhampton Wanderers, hitting the latter for six at Molineux, only for Maresca's men to suffer an embarrassing - albeit inconsequential - second-leg loss to the Swiss side in their Europa Conference League qualifier second leg.

Despite Maresca's wealth of alterations for the visit of Crystal Palace, who have failed to replicate their stellar end-of-season form from 2023-24, the Chelsea faithful left with a familiar sense of disappointment, as Eberechi Eze's stunner cancelled out a Nicolas Jackson effort.

With one win, one draw and one loss on their mixed report card for 2024-25, the Blues are in familiar territory as far as the Premier League rankings are concerned, sitting in 11th place but just one point and three spots worse off than their upcoming opponents.

A three-match winning run away from home in the Premier League does stand Chelsea in good stead for Saturday, but their abysmal defensive record does not; the visitors have failed to keep a clean sheet in 17 straight top-flight matches on the road since shutting out Fulham in October 2023.

After being provided with an escape route by Maresca, Manchester United loanee Jadon Sancho could make his first appearance for Chelsea this weekend, having not been eligible to feature against Palace on account of his last-minute deadline-day arrival.

Another one-time Mancunian - Cole Palmer - pulled out of the England squad with a thigh injury but has since been pictured in training, suggesting that he will be fine to feature this weekend, while goalkeeper Filip Jorgensen has trained too.

However, Reece James (thigh), Malo Gusto (thigh), Omari Kellyman (thigh) and Romeo Lavia (thigh) could all miss the trip south, where Axel Disasi may have to fill in as a makeshift right-back.

As for Bournemouth, Kepa Arrizabalaga will lose his place in goal just after gaining it, as the Blues loanee cannot face his parent club on Saturday. With Neto now donning the red of Arsenal, Mark Travers is set to guard the posts.

The Cherries have also lost Dango Ouattara to an ankle issue sustained on international duty; he joins Tyler Adams (back) on the sidelines, but Enes Unal (foot) and Philip Billing (back) might return.

Following a performance which has put him in contention for the Game Changer of the Season award, Sinisterra should certainly be rewarded with promotion to the first XI, as either Evanilson or Marcus Tavernier make way.