WATCH OUR PREVIEW CHELSEA V WOLVES
We preview Chelsea v Wolves, our score predictions and opinions from Dazzling Dave and Magic Moss.
TEAM NEWS
Chelsea defender Wesley Fofana suffered a knee strain against AC Milan in midweek and will be out for at least a fortnight. Marc Cucurella is available after illness but N’Golo Kante is not yet ready to play after a hamstring issue.
Wolves interim head coach Steve Davis is without Pedro Neto, who will miss the World Cup with an ankle injury. Hwang Hee-chan has returned to training after a muscle strain but Ruben Neves and Nathan Collins are suspended.
HEAD TO HEAD
MATCH FORM
PREDICTED LINE UP
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STEVE DAVIS
Here are the key lines from his news conference:
He said “I can’t describe how it feels” when asked what it means to take interim charge of his boyhood club.
On how long he expects to lead the team, he added: “All we’ve been told is that we look after this week and the Chelsea game and beyond that is out of our control.”
On Pedro Neto’s injury, he said: “He’s had so much bad luck already with previous injuries. We’re all devastated for him as a group.”
He added that he hasn’t yet had a chance to have a conversation about when Neto is likely to return.
He gave nothing away on team selection, but said Yerson Mosquera or Toti Gomes could both feature this weekend.
When asked if he is scared to start Diego Costa, Davis said: “No. Hopefully we will be brave in our selections.”
He said the forward wants more minutes than he has been given and added: “We’ve missed that type of player and that focal point of the team.”
On Chelsea, Davis said Graham Potter “has had to graft and has done fantastically well”. He added: “It’s nice to see coaches get rewarded for fantastic work.”
MATCH FACTS
Head-to-head
- Chelsea have gone 11 competitive home games without defeat against Wolves since a 2-1 top-flight loss in March 1979 (W7, D4).
- However, Wolves are on a four-match unbeaten league run against Chelsea, with each of the last three finishing level.
- Since Wolves were promoted in 2018, Chelsea have dropped eight points from winning positions against them, more than they have versus any other side in that time.
Chelsea
- Chelsea have won back-to-back Premier League games after conceding the opening goal for the first time since December 2016. They’ve never won three in a row in that manner.
- They can earn three consecutive home league wins in the same season for the first time since ending 2019-20 with a run of six victories at Stamford Bridge.
- The two previous Chelsea managers, Frank Lampard and Thomas Tuchel, both drew their first Premier League home match in charge, against Leicester and Wolves respectively.
- The most recent permanent Chelsea manager to lose his first home league fixture in charge of the club was Gianluca Vialli against Manchester United in February 1998.
- Raheem Sterling has four goals and two assists across his past five Premier League appearances against Wolves.
- Kai Havertz is one short of 50 career league goals.
Wolverhampton Wanderers
- Their only victory in 15 Premier League matches came at home to Southampton on 3 September (D5, L9).
- Wolves haven’t scored more than once in 11 league games since a 2-2 draw at Stamford Bridge in May.
- They have a meagre total of three goals after eight league fixtures, their joint-worst return at this stage of a top-flight campaign since 2003-04, when they were relegated.
- Wolves can equal the Premier League record of nine consecutive matches from the beginning of a season without scoring a second-half goal, set by Crystal Palace in 2017 and matched by Norwich last year.
- They have failed score in 21 Premier League matches since the beginning of last season. Only relegated Norwich City, with 22, have a worse record over the same period.
- Diego Costa scored 52 goals in 89 league appearances for Chelsea between 2014-17. His most recent Premier League goal came at Stamford Bridge in a 3-0 victory against Middlesbrough in May 2017.
MATCH OFFICIALS
Referee: Simon Hooper. Assistants: Adrian Holmes, Mark Scholes. Fourth official: Tom Bramall. VAR: David Coote. Assistant VAR: Harry Lennard.
MATCH INFO
Wolves head to Stamford Bridge for a 3pm kick off on Saturday 8th October.