Preview: Chelsea head to Molineux for Wolves test
We’re getting towards the business end of the season. Bottom of the Premier League with just eight points, Wolves are playing for pride, while a place in next season’s Champions League is still in the balance for Chelsea. They meet at the Molineux on Saturday.
By Alex Roberts
Chelsea won’t forget their incredible 3-2 comeback win over West Ham in their previous fixture last time out. The first time in the club’s Premier League history they came back from 2-0 down at half-time to win a game.
Wolves weren’t quite so fortunate. Rob Edwards’ side were arguably better than Bournemouth last time out, but they didn’t take their chances, losing 2-0 thanks to goals from Eli Junior Kroupi and Alex Scott.
Wolves wonderkid
There hasn’t been much for Wolves fans to get excited about this season. On track to be the worst side in Premier League history, ownership that appear uninterested, and players looking to leave. One positive is the emergence of Mateus Mané, however.
The 18-year-old has added some much-needed enthusiasm into this Wolves side. Capable of playing as a midfielder, a number ten, or even a striker, Mané is an impressive ball carrier, completing 11 dribbles in his 13 Premier League games.
With two goals and one assist, he’s their joint highest in terms of goal contributions as well as their joint top goal scorer. Now, that’s a pretty damning indictment of how poor Wolves have been, but Mané looks like a player with a great future, we’ll just have to wait and see if it’s at Wolves.
In need of a good game
Chelsea’s second half performance against West Ham was incredible, but we can’t forget that the first 45 minutes from Liam Rosenior’s side were dreadful. Unfortunately for Alejandro Garnacho, a lot of it was down to him.
Former Man United teammate Aaron Wan Bissaka ran Garnacho all over the place. The winger lost the full-back for both of West Ham’s goals and didn’t trackback enough to give Jorrel Hato much of a chance to prevent them from happening.
Garnacho was hooked at half time and it’s no coincidence that Chelsea looked more comfortable on the ball and less susceptible to counter attacks. The Argentine is undoubtedly a supremely talented player; he just needs to make sure his work off the ball is as well rounded as his work on it.
Team news
Wolves managed to replace now Crystal Palace striker Jørgen Strand Larsen with Adam Armstrong. The former Southampton ace is a doubt but will be assessed by their medical team ahead of the game.
Summer signing Jhon Arias is reportedly close to joining Palmeiras on a permanent deal, so it’s unlikely he’ll feature, while Toti Gomes (hamstring) and Ladislav Krejčí (illness) are also doubts.
Loan signing Angel Gomes could be in line to make his Wolves debut.
Chelsea’s injury list is getting longer and longer by the day. Reece James and Pedro Neto both missed the midweek defeat to Arsenal with knocks, and Rosenior has kept his cards close to his chest regarding whether they’ll be back or not.
Jamie Gittens’ hamstring injury is looking worse than initially thought, so he won’t be playing any time soon. Neither will Levi Colwill (ACL), Roméo Lavia (thigh), Dário Essugo (thigh), or Tosin Adarabioyo (thigh). Filip Jörgensen is close to returning.
The good news for Chelsea fans is that Rosenior has cleared both Cole Palmer and Estêvão to play the full 90 minutes.
Prediction
Wolves have picked up some points over their past five games and have looked better than their league position would suggest. Having said that, anything other than a Chelsea win would be a huge shock, so we’re going with a 2-1 away win.
(Cover image from IMAGO)
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