Chelsea vs Wolves. Prediction and Preview. Probable Lineups, Team News, Stats and more
Chelsea will host Wolverhampton Wanderers at the Stamford Bridge in the 36th round of the English Premier League. The match will take place on May 7, beginning at 19:30 IST.
The first-round match between Chelsea and Wolverhampton was played under very surprising circumstances. Due to the coronavirus and injuries, Tuchel was unable to count on a huge number of players. On the day of the game, plus amid another positive test, the Chelsea management requested a postponement, but the EPL bosses responded by denying the Pensioners, for some reason not including the injured Ben Chilwell on the covid list. An odd decision, given that the league had previously shifted matches for Man Utd and Tottenham, who faced the same problems.
The consequence of the officials’ abnormal attitude was the teams’ 90-plus minute long torment at Molineux in December. The players weren’t playing football, they were just cooling heels. This time in May it should be more upbeat.
Parimatchnews will tell you everything you need to know ahead of the upcoming match.
Chelsea News & Current Form:
It seemed that a draw at Old Trafford had all but secured Chelsea’s place in the Champions League. But it was not to be. In the previous round, Thomas Tuchel’s side sensationally lost away to struggling Everton. A 0-1 defeat at Goodison Park saw the Blues’ pursuers, Arsenal and Tottenham, narrow the gap to three and five points respectively. Consequently, the battle for England’s two vacant UCL slots continues. That said, Chelsea remain the favourites in this race. It’s not just the fact that Thomas Tuchel’s side have a significant advantage over their rivals. The Blues’ favouritism is also due to a much simpler calendar. Chelsea play three of their four remaining games at Stamford Bridge. Tottenham, for example, have a trip to Anfield and a home derby with Arsenal.
Wolverhampton Wanderers News & Current Form:
A strong winter stretch and a relatively easy calendar had led to speculation that the Wolves would be in contention for fourth place in April. But Bruno Lagè’s side, to put it mildly, did not live up to expectations. April turned into a month of loud disappointments for Wolverhampton. In the previous round, Wolves suffered a devastating 0-3 defeat at home to Brighton – their fourth defeat in the last five games.
Naturally, Wolverhampton have already said goodbye to their Champions League ambitions. However, the road to the other European competitions is still open for them, as they are now just three points behind seventh-placed West Ham, and Bruno Lage’s side still have a game in hand. For teams of Manchester United and Tottenham’s calibre, a Conference League appearance is more of a burden than they would like to relinquish in order to perform better next season. But for Wolverhampton, it is a necessity, a component without which the club cannot continue to progress. After all, it will determine the transfer strategy as it corresponds to final place that Wolves take in the table. The participation in European competitions will give Wolverhampton an advantage over other clubs of a similar rank (e.g. West Ham, Leicester) in the campaign for the signing quality players.
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Chelsea season form guide (all competitions): W-W-L-W-D-L
Wolverhampton Wanderers season form guide (all competitions): W-L-W-L-L-L
Chelsea vs Wolverhampton Wanderers Head-To-Head Record:
| Chelsea | Draw | Wolverhampton Wanderers |
| 43 | 29 | 40 |
Last matches: The last two meetings between these clubs were drawn 0-0, before that Chelsea were twice stronger and once it was a win for the Wolves.
Chelsea vs Wolverhampton Wanderers Predicted XI:
Probable Lineup (3-4-2-1): Mendy; Azpilicueta, Silva, Rudiger; James, Kovacic, Loftus-Cheek, Alonso; Mount, Pulisic; Havertz.
Probable Lineup (3-4-3): Sa; Boly, Coady, Saiss; Jonny, Neves, Moutinho, Ait-Nouri; Hwang, Jimenez, Neto.
Statistical preview of the match Chelsea vs Wolverhampton Wanderers:
- Chelsea have won three of their last five fixtures at home in the current EPL competition, while failing to win the other two;
- In 19 of Wolves’ last 22 away games in the EPL, the match total of less than 2.5 has been recorded;
- Wolves have lost their last 3 games in the EPL, in none of which Lage’s team have scored;
- Chelsea have not lost in their last 8 home games against Wolverhampton in all competitions;
- In the last 3 games of the Blues in the Premier League, there was scored less than 2.5 goals.
What has been said before the match:
“There are many reasons why it is normal to drop intensity or effort but we are an elite sports team and there is not much room for normal behaviour. We need to step up and show another reaction and can play better. Start from there tomorrow.”
“What we want to install anyway in the mentality on a daily basis, every three days, whatever it takes, no matter if it is a cup game or normal league game – this is where we need to close the gap. There’s no reason this should continue and the next moment to stop it is tomorrow. I am confident we have enough reasons to trust us and have no doubts. Once we drop, not in significant matters but a little bit here and there, we are a team that can drop points.”
Afterwards, he speculated about the upcoming opponent:
“They had problems in the beginning and then they were very, very strong. They’ve struggled with results in the last weeks, everybody sees that. If you go into the statistics you see that is still difficult to create chances and bypass their defenders. For me, it is not possible to hurt them just by ball possession. We saw that in our first match. We need to be very aware of the moments where it is possible to accelerate the game. They are very well protected when they attack. We need a good mix between patiences and we need to try to play a high rhythm.”
Wolves’ goalkeeping coach Tony Roberts and the other members of Bruno Lage’s coaching staff are set to lead the team at Chelsea this weekend after the head coach tested positive for Covid. Tony gave an interview:
“The boys will have no fear of going to Chelsea and playing. We’ve been to Man United and won, we’ve been to Tottenham and got the result there, and we can step up any time. So tomorrow, when the boys step onto the pitch, then hopefully they’ll be at that level where we can put on a performance.”
“It’s all about the performance, if we’ve got a good performance, we’ve got a chance. We’ve worked hard this week, and to go there and put on a performance, that’ll give us a great chance of getting three points, and that’s what we’ll be looking for. They’re a good team and we’ve got to be on it.”
“We played well [against Chelsea at Molineux]. We’ve been through it all week, looking at what they were trying to do, how we nullified them, and our attacking chances, for us to go there tomorrow and create a few more. They’re a world class team, so we’ve been doing everything during the week to try get in certain situations to break them down.”
Chelsea vs Wolverhampton Wanderers Prediction:
Chelsea risk missing out on the Champions League if they continue to lose points, especially where this could have been avoided. Now, however, the Londoners need to mobilize and beat a side that has been extremely poor in the final stretch of the season. In general, we expect Tuchel’s side to beat the Wolves with confidence to bounce back and cement their 3rd spot.
Parimatch News staff prediction:
We say: Chelsea to win with a handicap of -1.5 – Yes.