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Sunderland 2-2 Arsenal: They’re still playing at the Stadium of Light, where Sunderland substitute Brian Brobbey has just outmuscled Gabriel to score an acrobatic equaliser in the fourth minute of added time. Oof!
James Collins: “We were determined not to [approach the game like] it’s a week’s holiday and then a new manager comes in,” said the Wolves interim coach. “We had to make sure that we prepared properly for the game this weekend. It’s a Premier League game that can be won. That was the message to the players, and they’ve responded brilliantly. They’ve been unbelievably receptive to what we’ve done with them.”
On the departure of Vitor Pereira: “Vitor and his staff were brilliant with me, they welcomed us to watch training, they welcomed us to be around it and they welcomed us into meetings. They were enthusiastic about the U21s, and getting players through. I can’t speak highly enough of them; they were brilliant people and good coaches.
“Sometimes in football, it is dictated by results and in the end, if you keep losing you lose your job. They understand that, but they did their job diligently. Great people and they treated me with great respect. I wish them well.”
Enzo Maresca: Wayne Rooney can’t say anything right for saying something wrong at the moment and was set up for an ambush by Virgil van Dijk, whose leadership qualities he recently criticised, while working as a pundit on Amazon Prime on Tuesday. Following Chelsea’s draw at Qarabag in a game they could have lost at the death, Rooney questioned Enzo Maresca’s rotation policy. The subject of Rooney’s criticism was raised at the Chelsea manager’s press conference yesterday.
“We are in a moment, in an era, when anyone can say what they want,” he said. “I completely respect that. I also said after the Qarabag game that, since I joined the club, it’s also my view to rotate players, and no-one complained. And the moment that you don’t win games, I can understand no-one is agreeing.
“I think that when the rotation is Andrey Santos, Brazil international player; Jorrel Hato, Holland international player; Estevao, Brazil international player it’s not about rotation. They are good, talented and young. For sure, when they are young, you have to give them the chance to make some mistakes to be better.”
Tonight’s match officials
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Referee: Andrew Kitchen
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Referee’s assistants: Adrian Holmes and Wade Smith
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Fourth official: Anthony Taylor
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VAR: Darren England
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Assistant VAR: Craig Taylor
Those teams: James Collins makes four changes to the Wolves side that got thumped by Fulham last weekend. Joao Gomes and Andre come into midfield, with Marshall Munetsi and the suspended Emmanuel Agbadou dropping out. Hwang Hee-chan is in for Jhon Arias, who ius struggling to adapt to life in the Premier League, while Jackson Tchatchoua replaces KiJana Hoever.
Following Enzo Maresca’s midweek Champions League tinkering, the Chelsea head coach picks more or less the same team that saw off Spurs last weekend. Back from suspension, Liam Delap comes in for Reece James, but is highly unlikely to line up at right-back or in the midfield role James filled at Spurs. No, Delap will spearhead Chelsea’s attack with Joao Pedro behind him in the No10 role, while Enzo Fernandez drops further back. Having said that, I would like to see Delap playing at right-back as punishment for his daft sending-off in Chelsea League Cup win over Wolves the week before last.
Chelsea v Wolves line-ups
Chelsea: Sanchez, Gusto, Fofana, Chalobah, Cucurella, Caicedo, Fernandez, Neto, Joao Pedro, Garnacho, Delap.
Subs: Jorgensen, Tosin, Hato, Acheampong, James, Santos, Gittens, Estevao, Guiu.
Wolves: Johnstone, Tchatchoua, S. Bueno, Krejci, Toti, H. Bueno, Andre, J. Gomes, Bellegarde, Hwang, Strand Larsen.
Subs: Sa, Munetsi, Wolfe, Arias, Arokodare, Mosquera, Chirewa, Hoever, Mane.
Early team news
Wolves are without central defender Emmanuel Agbadou, who has to sit this match out through suspension after getting sent off in his side’s 3-0 defeat against Fulham last weekend. Yerson Mosquera, who came off the bench and scored an own goal in that game, could come in for the Ivorian. Matt Doherty and Rodrigo Gomes are both injured and will miss today’s game.
Chelsea have lost midfielder Romeo Lavia to another injury after the Belgian was forced off the pitch with a thigh issue shortly after kick-off in their match against Qarabag. Levi Colwill, Cole Palmer, Benoit Badiashile and Dario Essugo are also sidelined.
Pedro Neto is expected to be available for selection after missing the trip to Baku with a minor niggle, while one or both of Jorrel Hato and Tosin Adaraybiyo are almost certain to make way following their less than stellar showing in the heart of Chelsea’s defence in Azerbaijan. In Josh Acheampong, Trevoh Chalobah and Wesley Fofana, they have a trio of potential replacements .
Premier League: Chelsea v Wolves
Mutinous fans, no head coach, bottom of the table without a win to show for their opening 10 matches and already eight points from safety, Wolves arrive at Stamford Bridge in an extremely sorry state. Following the dismissal of Vitor Pereira last Sunday, their Under-21s coach James Collins will take interim charge of today’s game, assisted by his Under-18s counterpart James Walker.
Rob Edwards continues to be linked with the vacant position at Molineux. His current employers Middlesbrough rejected an approach for his services from Wolves on Thursday but have resigned themselves to losing him and granted him permission to speak to the Molineux hierarchy. A former Wolves player, Edwards was not present to take Boro training yesterday and was stood down by the club for this afternoon’s win over Birmingham City. Only time will tell whether his apprently inevitable arrival at Wolves is a step up, down or sideways for the 42-year-old who already has one relegation from the Premier League on his CV.
Today’s match could be a baptism of fire for Collins, who has previously worked as the club’s assistant coach under Julen Lopetegui. He takes a demoralised team to Stamford Bridge to go toe-to-toe with a Chelsea side who thrashed Tottenham in as emphatic a 1-0 win as you will ever see last weekend, before being held by Qarabag in their midweek Champions League assignment in Baku. Kick-off at Stamford Bridge is at 8pm (GMT) but stay tuned in the meantime for team news and build-up.
