Chelsea take on Bournemouth at Stamford Bridge in what promises to be an exciting Boxing Day match for one reason as Antonio Conte has to decide who will take the place of the suspended Diego Costa up front.
Michy Batshuayi is the most ideal replacement at the moment, but the Belgium who signed for Chelsea over the summer has not been convincing enough this season. But Conte feels the youngster has a lot to learn and with Costa's experience, he can certainly learn a lot.
"Every player, every forward, is different in their characteristics. Michy is different to Diego. Above all, he's a younger player. He can improve a lot. If you stay close to Diego, you can learn a lot to improve your experience and improve your skills. Training with great players improves you. We are working a lot with him on tactical aspects. He's showing great commitment, great work-rate during training, great passion," the Express quoted the Chelsea boss as saying.
"For sure, he wants to play and it's not easy when you have Costa in front of you. And this is a Costa, who is playing fantastic football and scoring a lot of goals. If I decide to put Michy in the starting XI, it's because he is ready to play. He must do what he knows, what we are doing in the training sessions. If Michy is here, it's because he deserves to stay here," he added.
Chelsea will be looking for their 12th successive win in the Premier League, but it won't be easy for them as the last time these two sides met, Bournemouth managed to pull off a surprise 1-0 victory. Chelsea will be without Diego Costa and N'golo Kante who are both suspended for this match. Club Captain John Terry is likely to return in the New Year.
Bournemouth have won two of their last three matches in the Premier League and will be hoping to put in a similar performance as they did last season to end Chelsea's winning streak.
"Results like that reaffirm belief we can beat anybody. We proved that last year by defeating Chelsea and Manchester United in a short period of time. We need players to play to their maximum levels, the opposition not to be quite at their best and a bit of luck as well," the Express quoted the Bournemouth manager as saying.
"Last season was a great day for a football club, a marker of how far and how quickly we have come. The challenge for us is to create more memories like that. A lot of the players will be there again and sometimes a good result can inspire those memories to come back. I have the mind-set of going into every game looking to win. We will go there with a positive attitude," he added.
Bournemouth will be without their key player and loanee in Nathan Ake who is ineligible to play because his parent club is Chelsea. The Dutch defender has been in good form for the Cherries scoring goals in the last few matches as well as helping in defensively. Bournemouth midfielder Andrew Surman will miss the match through a hamstring injury and defender Lewis Cook and winger Stanislas are both doubtful for the match.
Where to Watch Live
Chelsea vs Bournemouth is set to begin at 8.30 pm IST (3 pm GMT, 10 am ET). Live Streaming and TV information is below.
UK: TV: No coverage. Live Streaming: No Coverage. Radio: talksport
India: TV: Star Sports HD4. Live Streaming: Hotstar.
USA: TV: NBC Sports Live. Live Streaming: NBC Sports Live.
Canada: TV: Sportsnet. Live Streaming: Watch Sportsnet.
Australia: TV: Optus Sport. Live Streaming: Optus Online.
Middle East: TV: Bein Sports Arabia. Live Streaming: Bein Sports Connect.
