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Pre-match postbag. “This is an incredibly odd starting 11 and bench for Chelsea (bless Trev for not telling them all to do one after the way he’s been treated); evidence of the wildly misprofiled and inconsistent squad-building despite the insanity of the spend. Could see this being another nervy and unpleasant one, particularly if it’s not comfortable by the 60th minute” – Matt Muir
“Wonder if Wolves will get revenge for what Madueke did to them in the reverse fixture. Surely Chelsea isn’t THAT much nicer than Wolverhampton for his statement, and then scoring a hat-trick against them, to go unpunished” – Kieran McKintosh
Wolves boss Vítor Pereira talks to Sky. “We conceded goals we cannot concede [in the 3-0 losses against Forest and Newcastle] … but we must look what we did in the game … we did things well … we need to correct defensively … the players believe in what they are doing … the last two results were not what we expect but we try to play with our qualities … this is very important … I am expecting Chelsea to be strong … I am looking for my team to improve … try to increase the level … [Matheus Cunha] can bring us different approaches in attack … different skills … experience … one against one … goals … to create identity you cannot change each game … we must have our model … try to play our game … we know what we need to do.”
Chelsea coach Enzo Maresca speaks to Sky Sports. “We had some problems … we tried to find different solutions and adapt … in this moment of the season many teams have problems with injury … [Trevoh Chalobah] can help us get the three points … I know [Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall] quite well and how he can help us … for sure he is going to play well … we have many important players … [Wesley Fofana] is a big loss … hopefully he can come back soon … the reason I said we were not in the title race is because I work every day with the players and can see we are not ready for many reasons … you cannot compete when you finish 12th then suddenly first or second … hopefully we can start again to win games and see where we are.”
The big news for Chelsea: Cole Palmer, who had been an injury doubt, is good to start. They make five changes to the XI that started the 2-2 draw with Bournemouth. Reece James, Trevoh Chalobah, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, Tosin Adarabioyo and Pedro Neto are in. Jadon Sancho and Josh Acheampong drop to the bench, while Enzo Fernández, Ben Chilwell and Roméo Lavia miss out altogether.
Wolves make three changes in the wake of their 3-0 defeat at Newcastle United. Pablo Sarabia, Matheus Cunha and captain Nélson Semedo come in for Gonçalo Guedes, Rodrigo Gomes and Hwang Hee-chan, who all drop to the bench.
The teams
Chelsea: Sanchez, James, Tosin, Chalobah, Cucurella, Caicedo, Dewsbury-Hall, Madueke, Palmer, Neto, Jackson.
Subs: Jorgensen, Disasi, Joao Felix, Nkunku, Sancho, Gusto, George, Acheampong, Guiu.
Wolverhampton Wanderers: Sa, Doherty, Bueno, Agbadou, Semedo, Andre, Joao Gomes, Ait-Nouri, Sarabia, Cunha, Larsen.
Subs: Johnstone, Hwang, Dawson, Rodrigo Gomes, Doyle, Forbs, Bellegarde, Goncalo Guedes, Pedro Lima.
Referee: Simon Hooper
VAR: Matt Donohue
Preamble
Chelsea are still in the title race, kinda, arguably; Wolves are definitely involved the relegation battle. This one has implications at both ends of the table, so it could be a whole lot of fun. It begins at 8pm GMT. It’s on!
