Cole Palmer and Reece James will return to the Chelsea starting lineup when they take on Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium on Saturday.

Chelsea will be eager to return to winning ways when they lock horns with Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium on Saturday afternoon. Enzo Maresca has no new issues to worry about ahead of his side’s latest fixture.

Moises Caicedo continues his suspension after being sent off against Arsenal last weekend. The Ecuadorian international will miss one more game after this weekend’s clash. Meanwhile, Levi Colwill (knee), Romeo Lavia (hamstring), and Dario Essugo (thigh) remain in the treatment room.

Additionally, Mykhailo Mudryk continues his ban after failing a doping test several months ago. Meanwhile, during his pre-match press conference, Maresca did not provide fitness updates on any player. However, the Italian tactician discussed the effects of a packed festive schedule.

The Chelsea manager said, “Moi is suspended, but we don’t have any new injuries. Most of the rotation we do is because we have some players who, in this moment, are not able to play every three days. So the rotation we have done in the past, this is the reason why.”

“It’s [the schedule] the most difficult thing for me personally this season because, for many reasons, we have to make changes. We played two days ago, and we came back from Leeds yesterday afternoon and have a session this morning. Most of them cannot take part in the session because they need to recover, so we will try to prepare in the best way possible for tomorrow’s game.”

Robert Sanchez will retain his usual spot between the sticks, with Chelsea lining up in a 4-2-3-1 formation in front of him against Bournemouth on Saturday. The backline will feature Malo Gusto, Wesley Fofana, Trevoh Chalobah, and Marc Cucurella.

As for the midfield unit, Reece James should line up alongside Enzo Fernandez in the double pivot, with Andrey Santos dropping to the bench. Cole Palmer will reprise the no. 10 role, with Pedro Neto and Alejandro Garnacho being the two wide attackers. Finally, Joao Pedro will lead the line for the away side against Bournemouth on Saturday. So, Estevao Willian and Liam Delap will be backup options on the bench.

Predicted Chelsea XI: Sanchez; Gusto, Fofana, Chalobah, Cucurella; James, Fernandez; Neto, Palmer, Garnacho; Pedro