Chelsea vs Wolves Match Preview

The two teams looking for their first Premier League win of 2025 meet at Stamford Bridge on Monday, with Wolves manager Vitor Pereira wanting the visitors to improve their decisiveness in attack after back-to-back 3-0 defeats in the top flight at Newcastle and at home to Nottingham. Forest.

“It’s the last run, pass, shot,” Pereira explained, analyzing the 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 position we need to be in. When (players) have the ball and go to the line, (they) have to know that in all these positions, there will be somebody who will score. And this is something we need to improve together.”

The Portuguese, who oversaw seven goals and seven points in his first three games since succeeding Gary O’Neill on 19 December, observed that Chelsea were “a team to win the league” ahead of their current five-game winless run, which continued. was A 2-2 draw at home to Bournemouth six days earlier.

Monday night football in the capital. ⏳ pic.twitter.com/urcKvWx7Mn

— Wolves (@wolves) January 18, 2025

Blues top scorer Cole Palmer scored in the opening 17 minutes for the third time in four league matches, but only a superb 95th-minute Reece James free-kick saved Chelsea defeat.

“It could be more important,” manager Enzo Maresca said of the former England wideman, adding that James “could be ready” for Wolves as the captain continues his comeback from a hamstring injury.

“We know how good he is. It’s not about how many goals he scores or how many minutes he plays, it’s about managing his situation. We don’t want us to go back and get injured again.

Victory would keep Chelsea in fourth place, one point above Manchester City and Newcastle. Wolves start above third-bottom Ipswich Town on goal difference and four points behind fifth-bottom Everton.

Setting up for the Wolves. 👊 pic.twitter.com/uL7KvkdoO6

— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) January 18, 2025

Chelsea vs Wolves Team News

Palmer Having won 14 times this season, he is the fourth top scorer in the Premier League, so Maresca will be hoping the England international recovers from the problem that prevented him from training on Friday.

Defender Levi Colville and midfielders Romeo Lavia and Enzo Fernandez are also doubtful after missing the session. Wesley Fofana could miss the rest of the season with a hamstring injury, and fellow centre-back Benoit Badiashil will not return from a thigh problem until next month.

Midfielder Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall remains out through injury, and of Mykhailo Mudryk The failed drug test remains under investigation by the Football Association, ruling the winger out of action.

Central defender Trevoh Chalobah could feature after being recalled from his loan spell at Crystal Palace, and winger Pedro Neto – signed from Wolves in August for an initial £51.3million – could replace Nonny Maduke after recovering from illness.

Busy week at Cobham Training Centre! 📍 pic.twitter.com/b2zcpHzUfW

— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) January 18, 2025

“They compete with each other and help us,” Maresca said of the pair, calling the impact since Nato’s arrival “fantastic”. “If one plays from the start and one plays 10 minutes, we want to get the same intensity from both.

“I try to explain to them that from one game to another, the decisions are different… We need them to win games, score and assist.”

Wolves forward Matthews 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,” Pereira saidHe gave an insight into the chats he shared with the 25-year-old about his defensive and out-of-possession work.

Last version of #Chevol 🎞️ pic.twitter.com/Lkj0qrCVLR

— Wolves (@wolves) January 19, 2025

“He can create magic in the moment and create something special… but he has to commit to every moment of the game, every moment.

“If we lose the ball, he should be the first example to the others that he is running to get the ball again… This is the behavior and personality of top level players. This is what I want from him.”

Among Pereira’s defenders, Yerson Mosquera will miss the rest of the season and the game for Totti Gomes will come too soon.

Midfielder Boubacar Traore and striker Sasa Kalajdzic are working on their recoveries from serious injuries, as are winger Enso Gonzalez.

Cunha hat trick on our last visit to Stamford Bridge ✨

⏪ #Chevol | @MNEGlobal pic.twitter.com/RJuRfkSKM7

— Wolves (@wolves) January 19, 2025

Chelsea vs Wolves expected line-ups

Chelsea: Sanchez; James, Chalobah, Colville, Cucurella; Caicedo, Fernandez; Neto, Palmer, Sancho; Jackson

wolf: at; Doherty, Bueno, Agbadou; Semedo, Andre, Gomes, Ait-Nouri; Guedes, Cunha; Larsen Beach

How to watch Chelsea vs Wolves: TV, Live Stream

Sky Sports Premier League kicks off at 18:30 with live coverage on Main Event and Ultra.

Fans looking to tune in online can use the Sky Go app on a variety of devices.

Noni completed his hat-trick against Wolves. 🙌 pic.twitter.com/DVyoxlaRK9

— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) January 19, 2025

statistics

• in 11 of last 13 Chelsea home matches had a goal total of over 2.5
• in 9 of last 11 Chelsea’s home matches in the Premier League averaged less than 3.5 goals
• in Last 4 Chelsea’s home matches in the Premier League averaged over 2.5 goals
• in 5 of the last 6 In the Premier League, Chelsea averaged less than 3.5 goals in their matches
• in 3 of the last 4 The total number of goals in Chelsea home matches was over 3.5

• in Last 10 Total goals in Wolverhampton away matches was over 2.5
• in 17 of the last 19 The total number of goals in Wolverhampton matches was over 2.5
• in 15 of the last 17 In Wolverhampton matches in the Premier League, the total number of goals was over 2.5
• in Last 8 Wolverhampton away matches in the Premier League, total goals were over 2.5
• in 6 from last 8 Wolverhampton away matches in the Premier League, the total number of goals was over 3.5

guess

There have been at least three goals in five of the last six editions of this fixture, including a 4-2 road win for Wolves on 4 February and Chelsea’s 6–2 away win on 25 August It was his first under Maresca.

The level of involvement of any top scorer has the particular ability to decide this contest: unsurprisingly, Palmer scored one goal and made three in that game, with Cunha, who had scored a hat-trick in the previous encounter after Palmer’s opener, briefly drew Wolves level on Molineux.

Palmer against Wolves. 🐺 pic.twitter.com/RowlRecQsm

— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) January 19, 2025

Cunha scored a goal in a 2–0 home win against Manchester United when he last played more than 45 minutes, and Palmer started all of Chelsea’s league games, including six assists.

Talismans aside, goals are not a problem for these teams. Only Tottenham have outscored Wolves in the bottom nine, while Chelsea have found the net more times than anyone other than Spurs, Liverpool, Arsenal and Manchester City.

The trouble, then, is at the other end: Chelsea’s last seven league games against Everton were the only team noted for a lack of danger, and Wolves have conceded nine goals in their last four matches in all competitions.

With a tough game at City 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.