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Chelsea vs Wolves match preview
Two teams seeking their first Premier League wins of 2025 meet at Stamford Bridge on Monday, when Wolves manager Vitor Pereira wants the visitors to improve their decision-making in attack after successive 3-0 defeats in the top flight at Newcastle and at home to Nottingham Forest.
“It’s the last run, pass, shot,” explained Pereira, having analysed a thrashing at St James’ Park last Wednesday in which Wolves had more attempts on target than the Magpies.
“[It’s] the angle to shoot, the positions we need to appear in. When [players] have the ball and go to the line, [they] must know that in all these positions, there will be someone there to score. And this is something that we need to improve together.”
The Portuguese, who oversaw seven goals and seven points in his first three games after succeeding Gary O’Neil on December 19, observed that Chelsea were “a team to win the league” before their current five-game winless run, which continued with a 2-2 draw at home to Bournemouth six days ago.
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Blues top scorer Cole Palmer scored within the opening 17 minutes for the third time in four league matches, but only an exquisite 95th-minute Reece James free-kick spared Chelsea defeat.
“He can be even more important,” manager Enzo Maresca said of the former England wideman, adding that James “can be ready” for Wolves as the captain continues his comeback from a hamstring injury.
“We know how good he is. It’s not about if he scores goals or how many minutes, it’s about managing his situation. What we don’t want is that we go again and he has an injury again.”
Victory would put Chelsea fourth, a point above Manchester City and Newcastle. Wolves start above third-bottom Ipswich Town on goal difference and four points behind fifth-bottom Everton.
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Chelsea vs Wolves team news
Palmer is the fourth-top scorer in the Premier League after bagging 14 times this season, so Maresca will be hoping the England international recovers from an issue that prevented him from training on Friday.
Defender Levi Colwill and midfielders Romeo Lavia and Enzo Fernandez are also doubts after missing the session. Wesley Fofana could miss the rest of the season with a hamstring injury, and fellow centre-back Benoit Badiashile will not return from a thigh issue until next month.
Midfielder Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall remains out through injury, and Mykhailo Mudryk’s failed drugs test remains under investigation by The Football Association, precluding the winger from appearing.
Central defender Trevoh Chalobah could feature after being recalled from his loan at Crystal Palace, and winger Pedro Neto – signed from Wolves for an initial £51.3 million in August – could replace Noni Madueke after recovering from illness.
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“They compete with each other and help us,” Maresca said of the pair, calling Neto’s impact “fantastic” since arriving. “If one plays from the start and one plays 10 minutes, we want to have the same intensity from both.
“I try to explain to them that from one game to the next, the decision is different… what we need from them is to win games, score and assist.”
Wolves forward Matheus Cunha has 10 league goals and four assists, making the Brazilian’s absence from training with flu-like symptoms a major concern for Pereira.
“He is a bit sick, but I hope he will be on the pitch,” said Pereira, giving an insight into the chats he has shared with the 25-year-old about his work defensively and out of possession.
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“He can create magic in the moment and create something special… but he must be committed in all of the moments, every moment in the game.
“If we lose the ball, he must give the first example to the others that he is running to get the ball again… this is the behaviour and the personality of the top-level players. This is what I’m demanding from him.”
Among Pereira’s defenders, Yerson Mosquera will miss the rest of the season and the game will come too soon for Toti Gomes.
Midfielder Boubacar Traore and striker Sasa Kalajdzic are working on their recoveries from serious injuries, as is winger Enso Gonzalez.
Chelsea vs Wolves expected line-ups
Chelsea: Sanchez; James, Chalobah, Colwill, Cucurella; Caicedo, Fernandez; Neto, Palmer, Sancho; Jackson
Wolves: Sa; Doherty, Bueno, Agbadou; Semedo, Andre, Gomes, Ait-Nouri; Guedes, Cunha; Strand Larsen
How to watch Chelsea vs Wolves: TV, live stream
Kick-off is at 20:00 UK time, with live coverage on Sky Sports Premier League, Main Event and Ultra starting at 18:30.
Fans wanting to tune in online can use the Sky GO app on a huge variety of devices.
The stats
- In 11 of the last 13 Chelsea home matches the sum of goals was over 2.5
- In 9 of the last 11 Chelsea home matches in the Premier League, the sum of goals was under 3.5
- In the last 4 Chelsea home matches in the Premier League, the sum of goals was over 2.5
- In 5 of the last 6 Chelsea matches in the Premier League, the sum of goals was under 3.5
- In 3 of the last 4 Chelsea home matches the sum of goals was over 3.5
- In the last 10 Wolverhampton away matches the sum of goals was over 2.5
- In 17 of the last 19 Wolverhampton matches the sum of goals was over 2.5
- In 15 of the last 17 Wolverhampton matches in the Premier League, the sum of goals was over 2.5
- In the last 8 Wolverhampton away matches in the Premier League, the sum of goals was over 2.5
- In 6 of the last 8 Wolverhampton away matches in the Premier League, the sum of goals was over 3.5
Prediction
PredictionThere have been at least three goals in five of the last six editions of this fixture, including a 4-2 win on the road for Wolves on February 4 and a 6-2 Chelsea away victory on August 25 that was their first under Maresca.
The level of involvement of either top scorer has particular potential to decide this contest: unsurprisingly, Palmer scored one and set up three of the goals in that game, with Cunha, who had scored a hat-trick after Palmer’s opener in the previous encounter, briefly drawing Wolves level at Molineux.
Cunha scored one and set up another in a 2-0 home win over Manchester United when he last completed more than 45 minutes, and Palmer has started all of Chelsea’s league games, including six assists.
Talismen aside, goals have not been a problem for these teams. Only Tottenham have outscored Wolves among the bottom nine, while Chelsea have netted more times than anyone apart from Spurs, Liverpool, Arsenal and Manchester City.
The trouble, then, is at the other end: Chelsea’s only clean sheet in their last seven league games was against an Everton side noted for their lack of threat, and Wolves have shipped nine goals in their last four matches in all competitions.
With a tricky game at City coming up on Saturday (5.30pm GMT), the imperative is on Chelsea to win in the league for the first time since December 15 – perhaps with a 3-1 victory.
