Chelsea vs Wolverhampton Wanderers preview: Struggling Wolves seeking to upset inconsistent Blues

Chelsea welcomes Wolverhampton Wanderers to Stamford Bridge on Saturday night as Wolves will be looking to snatch their first victory of the Premier League campaign.

Enzo Maresca’s side managed a draw away to Qarabag in the Champions League on Wednesday night and were victorious in their last Premier League outing against local rivals Tottenham Hotspur last weekend.

The visitors suffered a 3-0 defeat to Fulham in their last outing, which ended Vitor Pereira’s reign at the club, with James Collins taking over as the interim coach.

Match preview

After losing three consecutive Premier League games against Wolves between April 2023 and February 2024, Chelsea won both meetings last season by an aggregate score of 9-3.

Wolves have won just one of their 11 Premier League away games against Chelsea (D3 L7), picking up a 4-2 victory in February 2024.

The Blues have scored five or more goals in four different Premier League games against Wolves, including a 6-2 win at Molineux last season.

Wolves have picked up just two points in 10 Premier League games this season (D2 L8). Every single Premier League side with two or fewer points at this stage has then been relegated.

Joao Pedro’s next game will be his 100th in the competition, making him the 31st Brazilian to hit that total; the only non-British nations with more are France (59), the Republic of Ireland (56), and Spain (40).

He has been involved in six goals in his last nine Premier League appearances (3 goals, 3 assists) for Chelsea.

Team news

Chelsea

The host will be without long-term absentees Cole Palmer, Levi Colwill, Dario Essugo, and Benoit Badiashile.

Pedro Neto has recovered from a minor knock that prevented him from travelling to Azerbaijan, and he’s in contention to face his former employers.

Romeo Lavia has joined the injury list after he was forced off with an injury to his quad after just eight minutes against Qarabag.

Wolverhampton Wanderers

Emmanuel Agbadou was sent off against Fulham and is suspended for this fixture.

Matt Doherty, Rodrigo Gomes, and Leon Chiwome all miss the trip to the capital due to injuries.

Predicted line-ups

Chelsea: Robert Sánchez, Malo Gusto, Wesley Fofana, Trevoh Chalobah, Marc Cucurella, Reece James, Moisés Caicedo, Estêvão, Enzo Fernández, Alejandro Garnacho, and João Pedro.

Wolverhampton Wanderers: Sam Johnstone, Ki-Jana Hoever, Santiago Bueno, Yerson Mosquera, Toti Gomes, Hugo Bueno, Jean-Ricner Bellegarde, Ladislav Krejcí, Marshall Munetsi, Jørgen Strand Larsen, and Jhon Arias.