Hello and welcome to Sports Mole's live text coverage of the Premier League meeting between Chelsea and Bournemouth at Stamford Bridge. While this contest may seem like a complete mismatch on the face of it, just five points separate the two sides as we approach the midway stage of the campaign.

That says more about the Blues' poor start to the season than anything else, but they can close in on the top half with a second home win on the bounce this evening. Jose Mourinho's side are still a far cry from the title-winning machine of last season, yet the signs of improvement are there to be seen.

We have already seen Manchester City slip-up at the Britannia Stadium this afternoon, providing us with yet another twist to this brilliant title race from a neutral's perspective. Reclaiming their title may be out of the question for Chelsea at this stage but, if they can can put some wins together - much like Juventus over in Italy - all of a sudden they may be right back in it.

So one game down in the Premier League so far today and six more currently underway. Results from all of those games to come in the next 20 minutes or so, but for now let's keep our attention on events at Stamford Bridge. The team news has just reached us - let's see how these two sides line up for this evening kickoff.

TEAM NEWS!

CHELSEA XI: Courtois, Ivanovic, Zouma, Cahill, Baba, Fabregas, Matic, Willian, Oscar, Pedro, Hazard

BOURNEMOUTH XI: Boruc, Daniels, Cook, Francis, Smith, Arter, Gosling, Surman, Ritchie, Stanislas, King

The big news in terms of the home side's selection is the inclusion of Thibaut Courtois in goals. For the first time in three months the Belgian international, arguably the finest goalkeeper on the planet, takes his place in Chelsea's starting lineup. Asmir Begovic makes way, following what has been an extended run in the side since September.

The second change made by Jose Mourinho sees Baba Rahman selected over Cesar Azpilicueta in the left-back position, with the Spaniard dropping down to the bench. That suggests that switch is tactical more than anything else, while further forward Diego Costa is once more omitted from the starting XI. Yet again Mourinho has made a big call by deciding to go without a recognised striker from the off.

A lot of the talk following last weekend's bland goalless affair with Tottenham Hotspur surrounded the absence of Costa, or more specifically his attitude to being dropped, but it does not come as any real surprise to see him left out again. Hazard may not have scored at White Hart Lane six days ago, yet his movement in behind certainly offered some promise which we will no doubt see more of this evening.

On the subject of Hazard, the Blues' Player of the Year for 2014-15 has been stuck on 49 goals for the club for what seems a lifetime now, having failed to score in any of his last 24 outings. Fielded as the most advanced of Chelsea's forward players tonight, the pressure will be on the Belgian to return to his best form - he has certainly shown glimmers of that in recent weeks.

Bournemouth have been left sweating on the fitness of goalkeepers Artur Boruc and Adam Federici over the past week - so much so that Jordan Holmes was recalled from his spell in non-league football to potentially provide some cover from the bench at Stamford Bridge. The youngster will not be needed, however, as Boruc is indeed fit to start and Ryan Allsop therefore takes up a spot among the back-ups.

Experienced centre-back Sylvain Distin misses out for the visitors this evening, meaning a place in defence for Adam Smith. The youngster proved to be the hero at one stage in last weekend's incredible 3-3 draw with Everton, and he will no doubt be hoping to make a similar sort of impact from his full-back role here tonight.

BENCH WATCH!

CHELSEA SUBS: Begovic, Azpilicueta, Mikel, Loftus-Cheek, Traore, Remy, Costa

BOURNEMOUTH SUBS: Allsop, Cargill, Butcher, O'Kane, Kermorgant, Murray, Rantie

So Begovic and Azpilicueta both drop down to the bench, while attacking options are provided by Loic Remy and Diego Costa for the Blues. In terms of the struggling visitors, they have Glenn Murray among their subs. The return of Boruc ensures that Ryan Allsop remains on the bench, having been in line for a start here this evening.

Thibaut Courtois is back in the Chelsea starting lineup for the first time in three months this evening following his injury layoff. John Terry is still absent at the back, meanwhile, so Gary Cahill and Kurt Zouma resume their centre-back partnership at Stamford Bridge.

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Before taking a look at these two sides in a little more depth, let's first check out the confirmed full-time scores from across the Premier League to add so further context to tonight's Stamford Bridge clash. Arsenal and Leicester City picked up victories over Sunderland and Swansea City respectively, while Manchester United dropped points at home to West Ham United. Aston Villa are moments away from taking a point off Southampton, but there was no such luck for fellow strugglers Norwich City who fell to defeat at Watford.

That means Bournemouth will be out of the drop zone with a win here tonight, but a point will not be enough to keep them afloat of danger. Chelsea, on the other hand, will now stay in 14th place regardless of the outcome of this match. Not the greatest of incentives, maybe, but with Man United, Man City and Spurs all dropping points, the onus is there to close the gap a little further on the top four.

There has certainly been signs of improvement as far as Chelsea are concerned over the past couple of weeks. Victory over Norwich City here in their last outing was far from perfect, needing a lapse of concentration from the visitors to seal the win, but it was a three-point haul that they managed to dig deep to carve out. Then came the goalless draw with Spurs, which Mourinho described as his side's "best performance" of the season to date.

Throw two wins from two in the Champions League in the mix, including a 4-0 thrashing over Maccabi Tel Aviv, and this has been Chelsea's best spell of the season to date. They are still very much playing catch up, though, on the back of their worst ever start to a campaign. Seven defeat from their first 12 outings really piled the pressure on Mourinho, yet the board - and particularly Roman Abramovich - opted to keep the faith.

The nadir came at the Britannia Stadium prior to the international break, as Chelsea slipped to yet another defeat. Chelsea, who look to be getting back to their best at the moment, desperately need to build some momentum over the Christmas period if this campaign is not going to be a complete write-off. Champions League football in the new year has nearly been secured, now the West London outfit must focus on clawing their way into the top half before January arrives.

DID YOU KNOW? Stamford Bridge was a fortress under Jose Mourinho for so long, but the Blues have already tasted defeat to Southampton and Crystal Palace here in the opening months of the campaign, while also losing heavily against rivals Liverpool. There is one good omen heading into this latest home outing, however, as the Blues have gone 43 games without defeat against a newly-promoted side in West London.

Chelsea also received some positive news in the week when seeing plans for a new-look 60,000-seater stadium submitted, while Gary Cahill also penned a new deal on the brink of his 30th birthday. The fallen champions are very much still the crisis club of choice in the Premier League, though, which will not change for as long as they slumber in the lower reaches of the table. It will also ensure that transfer talk over the future of key names such as Costa and Hazard continues to rumble on.

Eddie Howe's side head into tonight's game sitting two points from safety with a game in hand over the teams around them in the Premier League table.

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It has now been eight Premier League games since Bournemouth last picked up a Premier League win, but last weekend's 3-3 draw with Everton would have felt like a victory in its own right. All the character required to earn top-flight survival was on show, though Howe knows better than anyone that brave showings only get you so far in this division.

The Cherries, who recovered from two down last time out in that dramatic draw, let slip a two-goal advantage in their last away outing at the Liberty Stadium. That maybe comes down to inexperience, but Bournemouth certainly have an adequate platform to build from if they are to pull themselves out of the bottom three. Wins at grounds like this are bonus points in every sense of the term, though.

Bournemouth have scored 10 of their 17 goals so far this season in the opening 30 minutes of games - a league-high tally. That they have only collected a total of 10 points so far suggests that they are not doing enough to keep themselves in games for long enough, as the 2-2 draw at Swansea City went a long way to showing a fortnight ago.

Not since mid-September have the South Coast side tasted victory, with that rare triumph coming against an improving Sunderland side. At the other end of the field, 30 goals have been shipped in all - a tally that only Newcastle United can 'better'. With Manchester United and Arsenal to play this month, on top of today's game at the Champions, you do wonder if Bournemouth have enough to keep themselves in touch with the sides directly above them.

PREVIOUS MEETINGS! Chelsea have won the last three encounters between these two sides, keeping a clean sheet in each of those games. One stat Bournemouth will take into today's game is that they have won on three of their last four visits to the capital, which includes a memorable triumph up the road at Upton Park earlier this season.

It's worth mentioning that these two teams have not actually met since 1994, when Chelsea came out on top 1-0 in both legs of a League Cup double-header. Never did Bournemouth supporters think they would see the day that they would take on the reigning top-flight champions in a league meeting, but here they are as a Premier League team thanks to the superb work of Eddie Howe.

With kickoff now a little under five minutes away, let's check out the pre-match thoughts from both managers heading into this evening's clash:

Jose Mourinho: "Eden Hazard and Oscar always appeared in dangerous positions against Spurs. If Costa watched the game with some attention from the bench he will know what is needed from him. I was looking to find a winner with the players on the pitch. I was tempted not to change one player, and go for the 90 minutes with the same team."

Eddie Howe: "From our perspective, we are meeting Chelsea at a good time. We are in a good place at the moment. We're building momentum in terms of performances. Of course, ideally, you'd like to rubber stamp those with wins. The next two games are going to be a big showing of how far we have come in recent times."

Both sets of players are now out on the pitch, with kickoff at Stamford Bridge just a couple of minutes away. There is still time to check out the views of the Sports Mole Sofa team, which can be heard below.

KICKOFF! The latest step on Chelsea's salvation operation gets underway at Stamford Bridge. The champions are sporting their famous blue strip this afternoon, while Bournemouth are in their red and black kit.

SAVE! An early save for Boruc to make - the first of many, you feel - as Hazard gets behind inside two minutes but fails to lift the ball over the Bournemouth stopper. It was a nice height for the returning keeper, with a low and hard shot perhaps the best option there.

Bournemouth just giving a Chelsea a reminder that this will not be all one-sides, as King almost races on to a through-ball. A lively start to the contest, with that early Hazard shot the closest we have come to a breakthrough thus far.

Willian takes Hazard's inch-perfect pass in his stride, before swinging in a perfect cross for a teammate to tap home. No Chelsea player could get a telling touch to the ball, though, and Boruc gratefully collected.

Bournemouth appear a little star-struck when Chelsea come at them, but up the other end they look lively as well. Some good harrying forces a mistake out of Ivanovic, which the returning Smith capitalises on to pick out Stanislas. The resulting shot was heading for goal, but Cahill got a fine block in to stop the strike on its way through.

On the basis of these opening 11 minutes or so it has been very balanced so far. The Cherries need to keep their composure a little more at the back, but the frenetic nature of this one is working in their favour at the moment as they look to harry their opponents high up the field.

SAVE! The best chance of the match so far falls Bournemouth's way. I mentioned how they're making the most of this end-to-end feel to the game, and that was the case once more as a Chelsea attack broke down on the edge of the Cherries box. Two passes later Stanislas had a clean strike on goal, which Courtois did well to keep out down low.

SAVE! It's another big save from Courtois, this time to keep out King's effort which was creeping into the near post. Bournemouth looked a little nervous in the opening couple of minutes, but they really should be ahead with 15 minutes of this match played.

Cahill has picked up an injury which causes a little concern. Azpilicueta is warming up which could mean a reshuffle, but the centre-back is back on the field for the time being - should be okay.

Rahman swings in a couple of delightful crosses, which neither Willian or Hazard can reach. Good response from Chelsea over the past few minutes after being left a little stunned by Bournemouth's succession of chances.

King is the latest to go to ground and stay down. Play has been disrupted a fair bit over the past five minutes, which is not too surprising following the energetic start to the contest.

YELLOW CARD! Pedro is shown a yellow card for cynically ending a Bournemouth attack. That's the second time the Barcelona man has had a talking to from the ref, so he will have to be careful for the remainder.

YELLOW CARD! Surman dives in on Pedro in an attempt to win the ball, but he only takes the man and therefore picks up the game's second yellow in the same number of minutes. The opening 15 minutes of this contest were very entertaining, yet it has been incredibly scrappy since then.

A promising opening 15 minutes to the match has made way for a more sombre spell. Still goalless at Stamford Bridge.

Great start to the game by Bournemouth, having 4 shots vs. Chelsea in the opening 15 minutes. pic.twitter.com/MlbXrZrEmi — Squawka Football (@Squawka) December 5, 2015

A sweeping Chelsea moves ends with Ivanovic swinging a cross in for Pedro to help over the bar on the volley. A little better from the Blues, who have yet to truly find their rhythm so far against the league strugglers.

SHOT! Brilliant play from Bournemouth - the best attacking move of the match so far - culminates in Gosling taking the shot on from range. It took a massive deflection on its way over, with Courtois left rooted to his spot and hoping for the best.

Costa is sent to warm-up on the touchline, as Mourinho perhaps thinks about an early change here. A very similar performance to the one witnessed against Norwich a fortnight ago, although on that occasion the Blues didn't have much defending to do.

Still just the one shot on target for Chelsea, which came inside the opening couple of minutes. Bournemouth have been comfortable enough so far and have looked the more likely to make the breakthrough.

SAVES! The game has found its rhythm once more, as Hazard cuts in on his left and forces Boruc into just a second save of the evening. Straight up the other end King's pullback actually looked to be on target, forcing Courtois into making a stop with his feet.

That Hazard shot certainly offers some hope for Chelsea, who have showed a couple of signs that they have more in them before the half-time whistle sounds. Bournemouth are still looking promising in attack, however, so this could go either way.

SAVE! Some quick passing allows King to get away a shot on the edge of the box, but his effort dipped well over the crossbar. Pedro made better use of the ball up the other end, curling the ball towards the bottom corner only for Boruc to get across and push the ball aside.

SHOT! Hazard does well to get a cross into the box, but Oscar's shot lacked any real power and Boruc was able to easily collect. Chelsea ending this half very strong, with the chances coming thick and fast at the moment.

Just 60 seconds of normal left to play of this first half, plus presumably a couple of minutes added on at the end. Chelsea have looked far brighter over the past 10 minutes, yet they have not been able to find a way through.

One minute of three added on at Stamford Bridge has now been played, and that opening goal does not look likely to arrive before the break.

What looked to be a promising Chelsea attack breaks down when Fabregas fails to return a pass to Hazard. Bournemouth will be more than happy to hear the half-time whistle after being on the back foot for the last 10 minutes.

So a goalless opening 45 minutes in West London, but certainly not a half without incident. The most surprising aspect of what we have witnessed so far is the balanced nature of the game, with Bournemouth certainly matching their opponents when it came to clear-cut chances.

The first real chance of the evening fell the way of Stanislas, who was given a clean strike on goal at the end of a swift Bournemouth counter. Courtois was equal to the shot, though, much like he was just moments later when denying King's effort which was creeping into the bottom corner.

Hazard also had an earlier shot kept out, coming just a couple of minutes into the game, but Chelsea had to wait until shortly before the interval before they finally found their groove once more. Hazard cut inside and fired away a real stinger for Boruc to push away, before Pedro's curler was more comfortably kept out.

Oscar was the next Chelsea player to get a shot on target with a rather tame effort, which proved to be the last meaningful action of the first half. Plenty for both sides to build on, then, but ultimately a goalless opening 45 minutes which lacked that added quality needed to make a breakthrough.

Both managers are likely to keep things the same for the second half, with that strong end to the opening 45 minutes probably enough to tempt Mourinho into holding any changes. The Blues have both Diego Costa and Loic Remy among their subs, while Glenn Murray provides Bournemouth with their best attacking option.

CHELSEA SUBS: Begovic, Azpilicueta, Mikel, Loftus-Cheek, Traore, Remy, Costa

BOURNEMOUTH SUBS: Allsop, Cargill, Butcher, O'Kane, Kermorgant, Murray, Rantie

Chelsea and Bournemouth both had chances to make a breakthrough in the first half, but we remain goalless as the sides emerge for the second half.

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RESTART! We are back underway at Stamford Bridge, and Jose Mourinho has indeed decided to make a change. Diego Costa is on in place of Oscar, with Hazard moving out to his more favoured left-hand side. Ritchie fires in a decent effort for the visitors to get this half up and running.

Decent enough start to the half for Chelsea, who now have a different threat altogether in the shape of half-time sub Costa. Yet the longer this one remains goalless the more frustrated home supporters will grow.

Bournemouth doing well defensively at the moment, restricting Chelsea in an attacking sense. Willian opts to take on a shot from range which is dragged well wide of goal.

We have yet to see Bournemouth in an attacking sense so far this half, so maybe that is a deliberate ploy by Howe. They looked incredibly strong in the break in the first half, which maybe we will see a little more of in the Cherries as this half wares on.

CHANCE! Pedro gets to the the byline and stabs a cross into a central position. It was a promising cross but Cook was there to head behind. From the resulting corner the ball eventually made its way back to Willian, who swung in another fine cross which deflected to Matic, but the Serbian could only head over the bar. Certainly not an easy chance!

CLOSE! Chelsea are certainly not afraid to get crosses into the box, the latest of which is headed on by Costa. The ball was heading for the back of the net, before being hooked away on the line. Boruc then forced into action to keep out a deflected near-post shot from Ivanovic. All Chelsea at the moment.

Much better from Chelsea this half, with the Blues looking dominant at the moment. Hazard's cross goes right across the face of goal without a telling touch being applied. That breakthrough goal is surely moments away from arriving.

Smith is bundled into by Costa to see Bournemouth given a little breather. Howe must surely be thinking about making a change or two, with his side desperately defending at the moment.

Costa gets a low cross into the box which is blocked by Francis. Home supporters want a penalty after the ball clearly hit the defender's arm, but it would have been the harshest decision of the season had Mike Jones pointed to the spot.

The Cherries' reprieve comes to an end, as Chelsea step up the tempo once again. For all of Chelsea's dominant play this half, Boruc has still had little to do over the past 10 minutes and, more importantly, it remains 0-0 with 25 minutes to go.

Yet another Willian cross is just crying out for a blue shirt to get on the end of, only for it to run right through. Mourinho maybe thinking of throwing on Remy for another option in the middle? Changes at a premium for both sides at the moment.

A draw will extend Chelsea's unbeaten run to four games, but that will simply not be enough for them this evening. Still time to claim all three points.

43 - Chelsea are unbeaten in their last 43 home league games against newly-promoted teams (W37 D6). Powerhouse. — OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) December 5, 2015

Into the final 20 minutes at Stamford Bridge but still just the one change made so far. We are going through another of those quiet spells, which suits the Cherries far more than their opponents.

Bournemouth offered next to no attacking threat so far in this half, yet a point will feel like a victory for them. Confidence will be high as far as the visitors are concerned, as we now enter the final quarter of this match.

Ivanovic gets into a promising position on the right, but his cross is rather poor and evades his waiting teammates. Stanislas is now down inside the Chelsea box, which appears to be rather staged. Each visiting player ran straight for the touchline to receive some instruction from their manager, as well as a much needed water break.

CHANCE! One of Chelsea's better chances of the evening, as Ivanovic feeds a superb pass into the back-post area for one of Costa or Pedro to meet. Neither of the Spaniards could get any connection on the ball, though, and a relieved Bournemouth backline can breath again.

SHOT! A really difficult one for Costa, this. A ball over the top looked to be out of the striker's reach, but he got a boot to the ball and forced Boruc into action. Simple enough stop, but a save to make nonetheless.

Bournemouth really tiring now, particularly in the middle of the park. Eddie Howe is reluctant to make any changes still, as King goes down with cramp. Chelsea supporters not happy with this time-wasting ploy.

BOURNEMOUTH SUB! Howe finally makes a change. It's a like-for-like alteration, with Murray replacing an exhausted King up top. Eight minutes left for one of these sides to find a winner.

WOW! What a story we have developing at Stamford Bridge. Chelsea have already lost to Crystal Palace, Southampton and Liverpool here, but this will surely top the lot. Bournemouth - a side with only two Premier League wins in their entire history - lead at the home of the champions. It was a terrible goal to concede, too, as some hesitancy from a corner ended with the ball being turned towards the back post for Murray to bundle it home.

CLOSE! Bournemouth almost, to use a pun, add a cherry to the cake as Ritchie rifles one just an inch or so wide when being allowed to carry the ball. Stamford Bridge has been left stunned, with just five minutes left to play.

I don't mean to tempt fate her, but as things stand Bournemouth find themselves out of the bottom three. Chelsea's season goes from bad to worse as they sit in 14th place, just two points above their opponents. Meanwhile, Boruc smothers the danger to end another Blues attack.

Since that breakthrough goal, Bournemouth have actually looked the better side. Smith bursts down the right and pulls a cross right across the face of goal, which sends more than a few groans around Stamford Bridge. Eleven points dropped here now in recent times.

SAVE! Cahill does brilliantly to win the ball off Stanislas in the box, then stupidly tries a flick which Arter races on to. The midfielder's shot is turned behind for a corner. Four minutes of added time to play.

Gosling wants to add his name to the scoresheet, but can't quite wiggle free. Chelsea attacked straight up the other end but Gosling used his energy to get back an deny Willian. Chelsea throwing all they have at this now.

Bournemouth living so, so dangerously. Costa wiggles through a couple of challenges and lays it off to Hazard. The cross comes in and Boruc fails to collect, but the Cherries somehow clear their lines. One minute to go.

Incredible scenes at Stamford Bridge, as the full-time whistle sounds to bring a conclusion to one of the biggest upsets the English top flight has ever seen. Chelsea may have struggled for form this season, but they are still the champions and they have just suffered a fourth league defeat here already this term.

Glenn Murray was the hero, coming off the bench to bundle the ball home eight minutes from time. Bournemouth were brilliant in the first half, but after the restart it was all Chelsea. The Blues could not find a way through, though, and they were made to pay through the Cherries' only chance of note.

That concludes Sports Mole's live text coverage of today's Premier League action, but be sure to stick around for reaction, analysis and player ratings on the back of a truly memorable occasion at Stamford Bridge.