Chelsea vs Wolverhampton Wanderers

Stamford Bridge sets the stage for a high-stakes Premier League showdown between top-four hopefuls Chelsea and relegation-battling Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Chelsea’s Premier League title push and a tag as one of the most in-form teams are long gone as the Blues head into proceedings outside the top four after failing to win their last five league outings (D3, L2). Yet, they’re only a point shy of fourth-placed Manchester City ahead of the kickoff and can finish this round among the Champions League qualifying spots with a win against a Wolverhampton side they humbled 6-2 in August’s reverse fixture at Molineux. That victory saw Chelsea halt an underwhelming three-game losing streak against this opposition, marking a third consecutive H2H to produce over 2.5 goals and both teams on the scoresheet. That’s also been the case in the Pensioners’ last three league outings at the Bridge, highlighting the potential for a high-scoring fixture.

On the other hand, Wolverhampton’s sharp decline in form after back-to-back victories over Leicester City and Manchester United by 2+ goals ‘to nil’ keeps them firmly embroiled in a relegation scrap. New manager Vitor Pereira has overseen a three-game winless league run (D1, L2) after winning his first two matches in charge as Wolves commenced this round fractionally off the bottom three. Leaving Molineux usually spells trouble for the Midlands outfit, as witnessed by their dismal away league record this term (W2, D3, L6) as well as the fact only Leicester (27) conceded more goals on the road than Wolves’ 25. The visitors are at risk of equaling an unwanted piece of history, staring down the barrel of a third successive league loss by at least a three-goal margin at the beginning of a calendar year for the first time since Nottingham Forest in 1910!