Chelsea return to Premier League action this evening as they take on AFC Bournemouth, with the Blues looking to win their first league match since October.

Graham Potter enjoyed a solid start to life as the Chelsea boss, however, the club lost their last three games before the World Cup hiatus and he will be aiming to rectify this by guiding his team to all three points tonight.

Potter will be without a whole host of players for the tie, with Mateo Kovacic or Hakim Ziyech unavailable due to their World Cup exertions, while Wesley Fofana will also miss the game due to limping off against Brentford B last week.

Chelsea will welcome back Reece James, however, and he should get some minutes with what is a boost for the club.

Another player the manager simply must unleash against the Cherries is Mason Mount, as the playmaker could give the newly-promoted side nightmares at the back.

On the chalkboard

Mount should be fit and raring to go following England’s World Cup exit at the quarter-final stage to France, and truth be told, the midfielder didn’t exactly shine in Qatar.

He featured in four matches for England, starting just two of them, while failing to score or assist and making just 0.3 key passes on average.

It wasn’t the impact he had hoped to make, especially considering his league form before the tournament began. The 23-year-old held an average rating of 7.24 via Sofascore and this ranks him as Chelsea’s fourth best performer of the season.

The Englishman also ranks second for assists (two), third for goals (two), and second for total shots per game (1.6), proving just how influential he is for the side going forward.

Compared to positional peers across Europe’s big five leagues, Mount ranks in the top 30% for passes attempted, progressive passes, progressive passes recovery, tackles, and assists, suggesting that his all-round game is amongst the finest in the continent.

The £80k-per-week talent was lauded as an “incredible player” by reporter Joe Krishan earlier this campaign and if Chelsea are looking to secure what could be an important three points in order to kickstart their season, then Potter should be utilising the attacking capabilities of Mount this evening.

He may just have a point to prove following his underwhelming World Cup performances.