Chelsea face Wolves at Stamford Bridge in the Premier League this evening, with the hosts looking for their first league win since mid-December.
Enzo Maresca’s side last won against Brentford on 15 December, and have since lost to Ipswich and Fulham while drawing with Everton, Palace and Bournemouth. Those results have seen them slip into sixth ahead of kick-off, though they can immediately move back into the top four with a win tonight.
At the other end of the table, Wolves sit precariously in 17th, out of the relegation zone on goal difference alone. New manager Vitor Pereira has managed to steady the ship somewhat, but he knows his side need to pick up points quickly if they are to stay out of reach of the bottom three.
The midlands side have not won in the league since Boxing Day and have a terrible run of fixtures on the horizon with Arsenal, Aston Villa and Liverpool to come.
Follow all the latest Premier League action from Stamford Bridge with our live blog below:
Chelsea vs Wolves LIVE
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Chelsea hosts Wolves in the Premier League, with kick-off at 8pm | Live on Sky Sports
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Enzo Maresca’s side sit sixth, but last won a league match in mid-December
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Wolves are only outside of the relegation zone on goal difference
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Chelsea XI: Sanchez; James, Tosin, Chalobah, Cucurella; Caicedo, Dewsbury-Hall; Madueke, Palmer, Neto; Jackson
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Wolves XI: Sa; Semedo, Doherty, Bueno, Agbadou, Ait-Nouri; Joao Gomes, Andre, Sarabia; Strand Larsen, Cunha
Chelsea FC – Wolverhampton Wanderers FC
Chelsea line-up to face Wolves
18:46 , Mike Jones
Chelsea XI: Sanchez; James, Tosin, Chalobah, Cucurella; Caicedo, Dewsbury-Hall; Madueke, Palmer, Neto; Jackson
‘They are a team with identity’
18:40 , Mike Jones
Vitor Pereira spoke about what he is expecting when Wolves take on Chelsea this evening.
He said: “They are a team that maybe five games away was a team to win the league. Now, because they are not getting the results, they have the same players, the same manager, top players a top manager.
“They are a team that has identity as a team, they play in the style where they have a model game, and we must go there with our identity and the things that we try to work every day, trying to increase every day.
“I’m not a coach that if I lose a game, I would change my mind. I’m a coach to create an identity, to increase the level, to increase the level to play in the same style, in the way to have intentions. We go to face Chelsea, trying to play our game.
“Of course, in the other side, we’ll face a team with quality, with top players, and against top players, you cannot consider the spaces and the time to play in the way that they like.”
Pereira’s team news update
18:35 , Mike Jones
The officials line-ups will be dropping shorting but here’s the Wolves manager speaking about potential absentees last Friday.
Vitor Pereira said: “Today he [Cunha] was out of the training because he’s got a flu. He is a bit sick, but I hope tomorrow he will be on the pitch, and maybe if he’s on the pitch training, it is a possibility to play the next game.
“Semedo is training and Toti is recovering. He’s recovering well and I believe [he will return] in one week – maybe, I’m not a doctor. But Toti is recovering well, Bouba [Traore] is working with us now after the injury in the knee and Sasa [Kalajdzic] is working with the medical department.”
Semedo on Wolves’ defensive issues
18:30 , Mike Jones
Wolves defender Nelson Semedo says the team have already improved under new boss Vitor Pereira but they know they have to stop conceding goals.
Semedo said: “We have to try to concede less goals or try not to concede goals at all.
“We know that it’s tough when you concede a goal, especially away against these teams it’s really hard, but we’re working hard with Vitor and the staff to make the things better.
“We’re already seeing improvements from everybody, so that’s what we have to keep doing.”
18:25 , Mike Jones
Speaking after Wolves’ defeat to Newcastle, Nelson Semedo said his team have no time to feel sorry for themselves.
“Tough evening for us. Losing is always bad, but we played against a good team. We had our chances as well,” the defender explained.
“We created a couple of chances that we didn’t score. Afterwards, we have to correct some errors that we had, but we have no time to waste. We have a big game on Monday, and we have to recover and get game ready.
“The team from the last month that you’ve been seeing is a completely different team.
“We did good games, good wins, away and home games. This is us.
“Today was not our day, but we have no time to waste, a big game to prepare for on Monday, so we go forward. I have to focus on my team and prepare the guys. Keep the positive energy and move on and move on. That’s the only way.”
We’re not embarrassed – Enzo Maresca defends Chelsea players over ref exchanges
18:20 , Mike Jones
Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca rejected suggestions his team should be embarrassed by attempts to influence referees and called out key decisions that have gone against his side.
Defender Marc Cucurella was involved in an incident with Bournemouth’s David Brooks during last Tuesday’s 2-2 draw at Stamford Bridge in which the Cherries player narrowly avoided being dismissed.
Brooks appeared to pull Cucurella’s hair and sent the Spain international falling to the ground, albeit theatrically, the same offence for which Southampton’s Jack Stephens was sent off against the Blues earlier in the season.
We’re not embarrassed – Enzo Maresca defends Chelsea players over ref exchanges
Maresca’s injury updates
18:15 , Mike Jones
Will Cole Palmer play for Chelsea? That remains to be seen after the midfielder failed to train with the team on Friday.
Enzo Maresca gave a update for some of the players who are doubtful for tonight’s match saying:
“We were without Cole [for training], he was not in the session. Levi [Colwill] was also not in the session, Enzo [Fernandez] wasn’t in the session, and Romeo [Lavia] wasn’t in the session. So we have three or four players who are doubts for Monday’s game.
“Cole had a kick in the ankle in the first half [against Bournemouth]. He didn’t train and we don’t know if we’ll train tomorrow or in two days. It’s the same situation with Enzo, Levi and Romeo.”
Reece James’ minutes will be managed
18:10 , Mike Jones
Reece James made his first league appearance since November in the draw with Bournemouth after recovering from injury and Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca says the captain will be managed to ensure he does not get injured again.
“For sure he’s important, but also in this moment he can be even more important,” Maresca said during his pre-match press conference.
“Reece is an important player for us and one of the most important because he’s our captain and because we know how good he is. Since we started he hasn’t always been fit, but he is better now and with him back we are happy.
“For Reece, it’s not about if he scores goals or how many minutes. It’s about managing his situation. So we will see.
“For sure, if he has played 45 minutes it means he can be ready [for Wolves], but what we don’t want with Reece is that we go again and he has an injury again. We don’t want that.
“Since we started, we are trying to help him and we are doing exactly the same at this moment.”
Maresca on his side dealing with a dip in form
18:05 , Mike Jones
Chelsea have not won in five league games but manager Enzo Marseca says this moment is a learning curve for his young side.
“They’re not kids,” the manager told the media before tonight’s match.
“They’re 20-year-old players most of them. They have to deal with that. If some moment like this happens, it’s not just us, it’s all the clubs. They’ve all had some moments like this, except Liverpool.
“It’s just how you embrace that moment and you try to react and try to start again to win games.
“It’s a new situation for them, they live now and probably the next time it happens they can live it in a better way.”
Enzo Maresca says his young Chelsea players ‘are not kids’
18:00 , Mike Jones
Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca said his young side “are not kids” as he called on them to embrace the challenge of ending a five-game winless run.
The Blues have sunk to fifth in the Premier League since they last won a game on December 15 as their brief challenge to leaders Liverpool crumbled.
Maresca has always maintained his team – who have the youngest average age in the league at just under 24 – are not ready to compete for the title, even after they went on a winning spree before Christmas that took them to within two points of the summit.
Enzo Maresca says his young Chelsea players ‘are not kids’
Chelsea vs Wolves prediction
17:55 , Mike Jones
Despite a winless run in the Premier League now spanning five matches, Enzo Maresca’s side will take confidence from recent performances and should have enough firepower to get past the Wolves defence.
Whether the visitors can steal a goal or two at the other end remains to be seen but if they can it’ll be a close contest. If not, Chelsea should run out comfortable winners.
Chelsea 2-0 Wolves.
Early team news for Wolves
17:50 , Mike Jones
Mario Lemina has apologised to Vitor Pereira and said he is willing to play having asked not to be considered last week as speculation grows over his future. He may miss out anyway.
Predicted Wolves XI: Sa; Doherty, Bueno, Agbadou; R Gomes, Andre, J Gomes, Ait-Nouri; Hwang, Cunha; Larsen.
Early Chelsea team news
17:45 , Chris Wilson
Levi Colwill is a doubt for Chelsea, who are also without defenders Benoit Badiashile and Wesley Fofana.
Trevoh Chalobah has been recalled from his loan at Crystal Palace to bolster Enzo Maresca’s options in the back four.
Enzo Fernandez and Cole Palmer should overcome issues to start.
Predicted Chelsea XI: Sanchez; Caicedo, Tosin, Colwill, Cucurella; Fernandez, Lavia; Madueke, Palmer, Sancho; Jackson.
How can I watch it?
17:40 , Mike Jones
Viewers in the United Kingdom can watch the match live on Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Premier League, with coverage on the channels from 6.30pm.
A live stream will be available via Sky Go.
When is Chelsea vs Wolves
17:35 , Chris Wilson
Chelsea vs Wolves is due to kick off at 8pm GMT on Monday 20 January at Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea vs Wolves
17:30 , Mike Jones
Chelsea will hope to get their stuttering campaign going again as they welcome struggling Wolves to Stamford Bridge.
Hopes of a title push have faded in recent weeks with Enzo Maresca’s side desperately short of form in a run of five Premier League games without a win.
They will climb back into the top four with a home victory over a visiting team looking to get back on track themselves.
The immediate upturn in fortunes brought about by Vitor Pereira’s arrival has been brought to an end by back-to-back 3-0 defeats, leaving Wolves level on points with 18th-placed Ipswich.
Chelsea vs Wolves LIVE
14:11 , Chris Wilson
Good evening and welcome to The Independent’s coverage of tonight’s match between Chelsea and Wolves in the Premier League.
Chelsea are hunting their first win since the middle of December, while Wolves need any points they can get as they try to stave off relegation.
We’ll have all the latest updates right here.
Read the full article here
