Chelsea vs Wolverhampton Wanderers predictions: Blues backed to return to winning ways
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- Chelsea have lost just twice at home in all competitions in 2024-25
- Wolves have won only two of 11 away matches this season
- Recommended bet: Chelsea to win and both teams to score
Chelsea's Premier League title push has waned with a run of five games without a victory but they can return to form against Wolverhampton Wanderers on Monday.
Blues boss Enzo Maresca always played down talk about the possibility of his team being able to top the standings but they have slipped out of the Champions League places and need to rekindle their form.
Wolves could be the perfect opponents. The general signs are good under new boss Vitor Pereira but they have lost their last two league games 3-0, albeit against in-form Nottingham Forest and Newcastle United.
Their defending was woeful at times at St James' Park and the weight of chances Chelsea create means they should come through an entertaining game.
Team news
Cole Palmer, Levi Colwill, Enzo Fernandez and Romeo Lavia are all doubts for Chelsea after missing training on Friday.
Defenders Benoit Badiashile and Wesley Fofana remain on the sidelines.
Wolves will hope Matheus Cunha recovers in time after a bout of flu while Toti Gomes faces another week out.
Sasa Kalajdzic and Yerson Mosquera are both long-term absentees and Mario Lemina is expected to leave this month so is unlikely to feature.
The stats
Chelsea have lost only two of 16 home games in all competitions this season.
The Blues have recorded 341 shots at goals – the second most in the Premier League. They have also had the second-highest tally of efforts on target with 129, although that works out at 38% of their strikes landing within the goalframe.
Wolves have won only two of their 11 away league matches this season, most recently losing 3-0 at Newcastle on Wednesday, although that was preceded by a 2-1 FA Cup victory at Bristol City.
Chelsea's 2-2 home draw with Bournemouth on Tuesday extended their winless run in the league to five, and they have conceded in their last four games.
Prediction
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Chelsea won 6-2 at Molineux in August, avenging last February's 4-2 home defeat.
However, that was Wolves' first win at Stamford Bridge since 1979 and the Blues can get their top-four push back on track with a win on Monday.
Despite fears over Palmer, Colwill, Fernandez and Lavia's participation, Maresca's utilisation of his squad in the league, cup competitions and Europe means match sharpness should not be an issue for his fringe stars.
The board's stockpiling of players was previously derided but some gradual chiselling of the playing party has left Chelsea with arguably the deepest squad in the league and they can come through an awkward test against Wolves.
Pereira has made a difference but part of his criteria for taking over at Molineux might have been a promise from the board that they will sign some players, with his squad looking thin, especially with their additional injury woes.
With key defenders missing, the Blues could be vulnerable, especially if Cunha is fit, but there is enough in the home side's ranks to suggest that they can end their run without a victory.
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