With just four points from their first four games, underperforming Chelsea travel to Bournemouth on Sunday looking to kickstart their English Premier League campaign.
Despite an eye-watering reported outlay of $500 million this summer, the Blues have a full-blown personnel crisis coming into this clash, with Christopher Nkunku, Wesley Fofana, Reece James and Romeo Lavia among 12 first-team stars sidelined through injury.
The Londoners face a Bournemouth side that has yet to register a league win under new boss Andoni Iraola, following defeats to Tottenham and Liverpool and creditable draws against West Ham and Brentford.
Below, we’ll outline the best live TV streaming services to use to watch all of the action live wherever you are in the world.
Despite Chelsea spending vast sums on new recruits during the summer, coach Mauricio Pochettino only has 15 first-team players available for this trip to the south coast.
Bournemouth vs. Chelsea: When and where?
AFC Bournemouth host Chelsea at the Vitality Stadium on Sunday, Sept. 17. Kickoff is set for 2 p.m. BST (9 a.m. ET, 6 a.m PT, 11 p.m. AEST).
How to watch the Bournemouth vs. Chelsea game online from anywhere using a VPN
If you find yourself unable to view the game locally, you may need a different way to watch the game — that’s where using a VPN can come in handy. A VPN is also the best way to stop your ISP from throttling your speeds on game day by encrypting your traffic, and it’s also a great idea if you’re traveling and find yourself connected to a Wi-Fi network, and you want to add an extra layer of privacy for your devices and logins.
With a VPN, you’re able to virtually change your location on your phone, tablet or laptop to get access to the game. So if your internet provider or mobile carrier has stuck you with an IP address that incorrectly shows your location in a blackout zone, a VPN can correct that problem by giving you an IP address in your correct, non-blackout area. Most VPNs, like our Editors’ Choice, ExpressVPN, make it really easy to do this.
Using a VPN to watch or stream sports is legal in any country where VPNs are legal, including the US, UK and Canada, as long as you have a legitimate subscription to the service you’re streaming. You should be sure your VPN is set up correctly to prevent leaks: Even where VPNs are legal, the streaming service may terminate the account of anyone it deems to be circumventing correctly applied blackout restrictions.
Looking for other options? Be sure to check out some of the other great VPN deals taking place right now.
Livestream the Bournemouth vs. Chelsea game in the US
Sunday’s Bournemouth-Chelsea match is on USA Network, which you can access as part of your cable package or at the NBC Sports website with a valid login, and can be streamed via Sling TV and other more expensive streaming TV services.
Sling TV’s Blue plan includes USA Network, making it a great option for those wanting to watch Premier League action. It’s $40 per month and includes over 40 channels, including other sports channels like ESPN and FS1.
Livestream the Bournemouth vs. Chelsea game in the UK
Premier League rights in the UK are split between Sky Sports, Amazon Prime Video and TNT Sports (previously known as BT Sport). The Bournemouth-Chelsea game is exclusive to Sky Sports — showing on its Sky Sports Main Event, Premier League and Ultra channels. If you already have Sky Sports as part of your TV package, you can stream the game via its Sky Go app, but cord-cutters will want to get set up with a Now account and a Now Sports membership to stream the game.
Sky subsidiary Now (formerly Now TV) offers streaming access to Sky Sports channels with a Now Sports membership. You can get a day of access for £12, or sign up to a monthly plan from £25 per month right now.
Livestream the Bournemouth vs. Chelsea game in Canada
If you want to stream Bournemouth vs. Chelsea live in Canada, you’ll need to subscribe to Fubo Canada. The service has exclusive rights for this Premier League season.
Fubo is the go-to destination for Canadians looking to watch the Premier League this season with exclusive streaming rights to every game. It costs CA$25 per month, though you can save some cash by paying quarterly or annually.
Livestream the Bournemouth vs. Chelsea game in Australia
Football fans Down Under can watch this EPL fixture on streaming service Optus Sport, which is showing every single Premier League game live in Australia this season.
With exclusive rights to screen every EPL match live this season, as well as German Bundesliga and Spanish La Liga games, streaming service Optus Sport is a particularly big draw for Aussie soccer fans.
If you’re already an Optus network customer you can bag Optus Sport for a reduced price, with discounts bringing the price down to as low as AU$7 per month. If you’re not, a standalone monthly subscription to the service starts at AU$25.
Quick tips for streaming the Premier League using a VPN
- With four variables at play — your ISP, browser, video streaming provider and VPN — your experience and success when streaming EPL matches may vary.
- If you don’t see your desired location as a default option for ExpressVPN, try using the “search for city or country” option.
- If you’re having trouble getting the game after you’ve turned on your VPN and set it to the correct viewing area, there are two things you can try for a quick fix. First, log into your streaming service subscription account and make sure the address registered for the account is an address in the correct viewing area. If not, you may need to change the physical address on file with your account. Second, some smart TVs — like Roku — don’t have VPN apps you can install directly on the device itself. Instead, you’ll have to install the VPN on your router or the mobile hotspot you’re using (like your phone) so that any device on its Wi-Fi network now appears in the correct viewing location.
- All of the VPN providers we recommend have helpful instructions on their main site for quickly installing the VPN on your router. In some cases with smart TV services, after you install a cable network’s sports app, you’ll be asked to verify a numeric code or click a link sent to your email address on file for your smart TV. This is where having a VPN on your router will also help, since both devices will appear to be in the correct location.
- And remember, browsers can often give away a location despite using a VPN, so be sure you’re using a privacy-first browser to log into your services. We normally recommend Brave.
