Wolves v Chelsea – Preview, Predictions, and Best Bets

Wolves host Chelsea in the English Premier League on Sunday. The hosts have lost three of their last five matches whilst the Blues have lost three away league matches in a row. Wolves have beaten Chelsea in three of the last five clashes at Molineux.

Wolves Form

Wolves have arguably performed better this season than results suggest. After losing four of their first five matches, they strung together a five-match unbeaten streak which included beating Man City 2-1 and winning 2-1 at Bournemouth. A disappointing and complacent 2-1 defeat at bottom dwellers Sheffield United followed.

Two injury-time goals led to a shock 2-1 home win over Tottenham, but things have gone awry since then. They conceded very late to lose 3-2 at Fulham and were then outclassed 2-1 at Arsenal despite the close scoreline. After grinding out a 1-0 home win over Burnley, they could only draw 1-1 at home with struggling Nottingham Forest. Last Sunday, they were beaten 3-0 at West Ham.

Wolves Team News

The big hope for Gary O’Neill is that Pedro Neto could be back in the squad after injury. The winger has missed the last seven league matches but still tops the division’s assist charts. Goalkeeper Jose Sa is a doubt with a shoulder problem having missed two of the last three matches.

Wingback Jonny Castro and midfielder Joseph Hodge are both ruled out. Rayan Ait Nouri will start after recovering from an injury. Pablo Sarabia could drop out in favour of a more solid midfield three.

Wolves Motivation

After their recent dip in results and performances, Wolves would probably take a draw in this one.

Expect them to defend in a back five and look to use fast counters through Hwang and Cunha.

Chelsea Form

Chelsea are not playing well right now. After the 4-1 win vs nine-man Tottenham and a 4-4 home draw vs Man City, they’ve eked out two home wins in the league but have lost all three away fixtures in that time. A 4-1 loss at Newcastle preceded a 3-2 home win with ten men against Brighton.

The Blues were dire in a 2-1 loss at Man Utd and in a 2-0 defeat at Everton. They eventually wore down Sheffield United to win 2-0 at home last weekend to make it successive home league wins for the first time in over 12 months. In midweek, they beat Newcastle on penalties after a 1-1 draw in the Carabao Cup. Their performance was very poor until a late defensive howler from the Magpies.

Chelsea Team News

Pochettino still has numerous injuries to deal with. Wesley Fofana, Trevoh Chalobah, Marc Cucurella, Reece James and Ben Chilwell are missing in defence. Robert Sanchez is absent in goal once again too.

In midfield, this match comes too soon for Romeo Lavia, Carney Chukwuemeka, and Lesley Ugochukwu but Enzo Fernandez should be available after illness. Mykhailo Mudryk is pushing for a start on the wing and Christopher Nkunku should be able to play another 30 minutes from the bench.

Chelsea Motivation

The Blues will go for the three points here. However, they played in midweek in a cup match, and they may not be fully focused on this one.

Expect Chelsea to have plenty of the ball in the match. The question is what they’re able to do with it against a Wolves back five.

Key Stats

Wolves have kept 1 clean sheet in the last 14 league matches

Wolves are 6 home matches unbeaten in the league (WDDWWD)

Chelsea have lost their last 3 away EPL matches

Chelsea have lost 3 of their last 5 away matches vs Wolves

Verdict

This match is a real banana skin for Chelsea. They are struggling on the road, had a big match in midweek, and tend to slip up at Molineux. There is great value here for a Wolves victory.

Best Bet: Wolves win/draw double chance at 1.86
Alternate Bet: Both Teams to Score + Over 2.5 goals at 2.15
Value Bet: Wolves win at 3.75

James O'Connor

James is a football analyst who writes about the tactics of the PSL and English Premier League. He holds the UEFA A coaching licence and has previously worked for several clubs in analysis roles.Twitter: https://twitter.com/footy_analysis