The Blues made it 11 victories in a row last time out, beating Crystal Palace by a goal to nil thanks to Diego Costa's terrific towering header shortly before the half-time break. Antonio Conte looks to have found the perfect balance within his side since switching to a 3-4-2-1 formation in September, and it is difficult to envisage them being overtaken at the top of the table at this particular moment in time. Success over Bournemouth in front of their own supporters on Boxing Day would increase their lead at the summit of the standings to nine points, at least until Manchester City do battle with Hull City a few hours later.
Eddie Howe's charges suffered a disappointing defeat last weekend, when Southampton came out on top at the Vitality Stadium by a scoreline of 3-1; on balance, though, Bournemouth have had an excellent first half of the campaign and look to be firmly on the path towards Premier League survival - indeed, they are currently seven points clear of the drop zone after 17 matches. Howe has established himself as one of the most promising young managers in European football in the last few years, and his reputation has continued to grow with the Cherries' performances, results and attractive style of play in 2016/17.
Chelsea will have to make do without the suspended duo Costa and N'Golo Kante, who both collected their fifth yellow card of the season against Alan Pardew's Palace. Michy Batshuayi and Cesc Fabregas will come into the team in their absence, and it will be interesting to see the extent to which Chelsea's approach changes without the Premier League's top scorer and foremost ball-winner. Elsewhere, club captain John Terry could return to the substitutes' bench after being sidelined with a gluteal strain, while Pedro will be hoping for a recall in place of Willian.
Bournemouth, meanwhile, will once again be unable to call upon the services of Lewis Cook, Junior Stanislas and Andrew Surman, while Nathan Ake is ineligible to face his parent club. Arsenal loanee Jack Wilshere was deployed in the centre of midfield rather than as a No.10 against Southampton and could continue in a deeper role, while each of Benik Afobe, Ryan Fraser and Jordon Ibe - all three players appeared as substitutes on Sunday - will be pushing for a start.
Taking everything into account, it is difficult to look past yet another Chelsea triumph on Monday afternoon. The Blues may take a while to find their feet without the banned Costa and Kante but should ultimately prove too strong for Bournemouth, and are therefore worth backing to collect all three points. Another 1-0 win is an interesting proposition and could be the way to go in the correct scoreline market, while Eden Hazard would represent an astute choice to find the back of the net anytime.
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