Chelsea v Wolves: Line-ups, stats and preview

Preview for Chelsea v Wolves

Enzo Maresca says tomorrow night’s game with winless Wolves will be made more difficult because they don’t have a full-time manager.

Wolves sacked Vitor Pereira following last weekend’s dismal defeat at Fulham and despite reports linking Gary O’Neil and Erik ten Hag with the post, they will head to Stamford Bridge with Under-21 coach James Collins and Under-18 boss Richard Walker in charge.

Maresca will have little knowledge of the way Collins and Walker like to play, thus making it difficult to prepare.

“It’s difficult for this reason,” said the Italian, whose side are still recovering from the long trip back from Azerbaijan where they played Qarabag on Wednesday night.

“It is also difficult because we play Wednesday night – the players were off yesterday, we have a small session today and a game tomorrow,” he added.

“So the game plan is also different, but we need to adapt.”

Maresca made seven changes for the Champions League clash in midweek – the fifth successive game he has made at least seven alterations – and is likely to do the same again tomorrow.

Willian Estevao played a starring role in Baku but he is likely to be benched against Wolves, despite being physically fit.

Maresca added: “He is ready to start. But when Estevao starts, the other one is on the bench, and the other one also probably wants to start. We are trying to do the best for Estevao, helping him adapt to England.

“Last week he was complaining about it being too cold; last week was still October, so imagine December and January. He has to adapt, he is happy, doing fantastic and for sure he’s a talented player for this club.”

Last Saturday’s 1-0 win at Spurs moved Chelsea up to seventh in the Premier League table but Maresca insisted it was much too early to consider talk of a title challenge.

“I have said many times, I don’t like to think where we are in April, May,” he said. “I only try to think about how we can win tomorrow; this is the only target I have in my mind at the moment.

“If you want to try to compete, we have to think about the next one.”

Wolves goalkeeper Sam Johnstone was outspoken in his criticism of the club’s predicament after the game at Craven Cottage but says training this week has been good.

He told the club’s official website: “We’ve worked hard this week with James and his staff. James just tells the lads exactly what he wants from them. We’ve not had as many meetings, but when we’ve had them, they’ve been detailed. We’ve done some defending sessions. The lads have got to work, you’ve got to defend, you’ve got to put your body on the line and then attacking as well.

“He’s had four days before the weekend and it’s difficult to get a lot of information to lads – what to do and how to do it, in the space of four training sessions. Hopefully the lads picked it up and have enjoyed it and we can take it into the game. Fresh voices, fresh ideas and different sessions for the lads to liven up.”

Team News for Chelsea v Wolves

Romeo Lavia lasted just eight minutes against Qarabag before having to go off with another injury. He won’t be considered against Wolves while his replacement Moises Caicedo may also be rested.

The likes of Enzo Fernandez, Marc Cucurella and Liam Delap could come in.

Cole Palmer remains sidelined while Pedro Neto’s availability against his former club will be determined after training today.

Rodrigo Gomes and Matt Doherty are both injured for Wolves while Emmanuel Agbadou is suspended.

Predicted line-ups for Chelsea v Wolves

Chelsea: Sanchez; Gusto, Chalobah, Adarabioyo, Cucurella; Fernandez, Santos, Buonanotte, Gittens, Garnacho; Delap

Wolves: Johnstone; Toti, Krejci, S. Bueno; Tchatchoua, Andre, J Gomes, H. Bueno; Munetsi, Bellegarde; Strand Larsen

How to watch Chelsea v Wolves: TV and online stream

Chelsea versus Wolves kicks off tomorrow night at 8pm UK time. You can watch it on Sky Sports Main Event and stream it on the Sky Go app.

Stats for Chelsea v Wolves

• 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

Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: 101greatgoals.com