Premier League: Chelsea vs Wolves

Preview of the Chelsea vs Wolves game

Two teams seeking their first Premier League wins of 2025 meet at Stamford Bridge on Monday when Wolves coach Vitor Pereira wants the visitors to improve their attacking decision-making after successive 3-0 defeats in the highest League improvement in Newcastle and at home against Nottingham Forest.

“It’s about the last run, the last pass, the last shot,” explained Pereira after analyzing a brawl at St James’ Park last Wednesday in which the Wolves had more shots on target than the Magpies.

“(It’s) the angle of the shot, the positions we have to appear in. When (players) have the ball and go to the line, (they) need to know that there will be someone there to score in all of those positions. And that’s something we need to improve together.”

The Portuguese, who scored seven goals and seven points in his first three games after taking over from Gary O’Neil on December 19, noted that Chelsea were “a team that could win the league” before The current five-game winning streak ended with another win, a 2-2 draw at home to Bournemouth six days ago.

Monday evening football in the capital. ⏳ pic.twitter.com/urcKvWx7Mn

– Wolves (@Wolves) January 18, 2025

Blues top scorer Cole Palmer scored in the first 17 minutes for the third time in four league games, but only an exquisite free-kick from Reece James in the 95th minute saved Chelsea from defeat.

“He can be even more important,” coach Enzo Maresca said of the former England winger, adding that James “can be ready” for Wolves as the captain continues his comeback from a hamstring injury.

“We know how good he is. It’s not about whether he scores goals or how many minutes he has, it’s about managing his situation. What we don’t want is for us to go back and for him to get injured again.”

A win would see Chelsea finish fourth, one point ahead of Manchester City and Newcastle. Wolves start ahead of third-from-bottom Ipswich Town on goal difference and are four points behind fifth-to-last Everton.

We’re getting ready for the wolves. 👊 pic.twitter.com/uL7KvkdoO6

— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) January 18, 2025

Team news Chelsea vs Wolves

Palmer is the Premier League’s fourth top scorer, having scored 14 goals this season. Therefore, Maresca is hoping that the England international will recover from a problem that prevented him from training on Friday.

Defender Levi Colwill and midfielders Romeo Lavia and Enzo Fernandez are also doubtful after missing training. Wesley Fofana could miss the rest of the season with a hamstring injury and fellow centre-back Benoit Badiashile will not return until next month after a hamstring problem.

Midfielder Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall is out due to injury Mykhailo Mudryks The failed drug test remains under investigation by the Football Association, which is why the winger is not allowed to play.

Centre-back Trevoh Chalobah could feature after being recalled from his loan spell at Crystal Palace, and winger Pedro Neto – signed from Wolves for an initial £51.3m in August – could replace Noni Madueke after recovering from illness has recovered.

A busy week at Cobham Training Centre! 📍 pic.twitter.com/b2zcpHzUfW

— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) January 18, 2025

“They compete with each other and help us,” Maresca said of the pair, calling Neto’s impact since his arrival “fantastic.” “If one plays from the start and one plays 10 minutes, we want both of them to have the same intensity.

“I try to explain to them that the decision is different from game to game… what we need from them is to win games, score and provide assists.”

Wolves striker Matheus Cunha has 10 league goals and four assists, making the Brazilian’s absence from training with flu-like symptoms a major concern for Pereira.

“He’s a bit sick but I hope he’ll be on the pitch” Pereira saidand gives an insight into the chats he had with the 25-year-old about his work in defense and out of possession.

The last edition of #CHEWOL 🎞️ pic.twitter.com/Lkj0qrCVLR

– Wolves (@Wolves) January 19, 2025

“He can create magic in the moment and create something special… but he has to be committed in every moment, every moment of the game.”

“If we lose the ball, he has to be the first to show the others that he is running to get the ball back… that’s the behavior and personality of the top players. “That’s what I ask of him.”

Among Pereira’s defenders, Yerson Mosquera will miss the rest of the season and the game will come too soon for Toti Gomes.

Midfielder Boubacar Traore and striker Sasa Kalajdzic are working on their recovery from serious injuries, as is winger Enso Gonzalez.

A Cunha hat-trick on our last visit to Stamford Bridge ✨

⏪ #CHEWOL | @MNEGlobal pic.twitter.com/RJuRfkSKM7

– Wolves (@Wolves) January 19, 2025

Chelsea vs Wolves expected lineups

Chelsea: Sanchez; James, Chalobah, Colwill, Cucurella; Caicedo, Fernandez; Neto, Palmer, Sancho; Jackson

Wolves: At; Doherty, Bueno, Agbadou; Semedo, Andre, Gomes, Ait Nouri; Guedes, Cunha; Larsen Beach

How to watch Chelsea vs Wolves: TV, live stream

Kick-off is at 8pm UK time, with live coverage of Sky Sports Premier League, Main Event and Ultra starting at 6.30pm.

Fans who want to tune in online can use the Sky GO app on a variety of devices.

Noni completes hat-trick against Wolves. 🙌 pic.twitter.com/DVyoxlaRK9

— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) January 19, 2025

The statistics

• In 11 of the last 13 In Chelsea’s home games, the total number of goals was over 2.5
• In 9 of the last 11 Chelsea home games in the Premier League, the total goals were under 3.5
• In the last 4 Chelsea home games in the Premier League, the total number of goals was over 2.5
• In 5 of the last 6 Chelsea games in the Premier League, the total goals were under 3.5
• In 3 of the last 4 In Chelsea’s home games, the total number of goals was over 3.5

• In the last 10 In away games in Wolverhampton the total number of goals was over 2.5
• In 17 of the last 19 In Wolverhampton’s games the total number of goals was over 2.5
• In 15 of the last 17 Wolverhampton games in the Premier League, the total goals were over 2.5
• In the last 8 In Wolverhampton’s away games in the Premier League, the total number of goals scored was over 2.5
• In 6 of the last 8 In Wolverhampton’s away games in the Premier League, the total number of goals scored was over 3.5

forecast

At least three goals have been scored in five of the last six editions of this encounter, including a 4-2 away win for Wolves on February 4th and one 6-2 Chelsea away win on August 25th this was her first under Maresca.

The level of involvement of both top scorers has particular potential to decide this competition: unsurprisingly, Palmer scored one and assisted three of the goals in this game, with Cunha, who had scored a hat-trick following Palmer’s opener in the previous encounter, bringing the Wolves briefly at Molineux level.

Palmer vs Wolves. 🐺 pic.twitter.com/RowlRecQsm

— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) January 19, 2025

Cunha scored one goal in the 2-0 home win over Manchester United and assisted another in the last time he played more than 45 minutes. Palmer started all of Chelsea’s league games, including six assists.

Talisms aside, goals weren’t a problem for these teams. Only Tottenham have outscored Wolves in their last nine goals, while Chelsea have scored more than anyone other than Spurs, Liverpool, Arsenal and Manchester City.

So the problem lies at the other end: Chelsea have only played an Everton side known for their lack of threat in their last seven league games, and Wolves have scored nine goals in their last four games in all competitions.

With a difficult game at City on Saturday (5.30pm GMT), it is essential for Chelsea to win in the league for the first time since December 15 – perhaps with a 3-1 win.