Chelsea vs Wolves predictions: Blues can respond to Anfield mauling
- Chelsea have won their last four home league games
- Wolves have won only one of their last six away league matches
- Recommended Bet: Chelsea to win & under 3.5 goals
Chelsea were given a sharp reminder of how far they remain behind the Premier League’s elite in Wednesday’s 4-1 humbling against Liverpool at Anfield and manager Mauricio Pochettino will be demanding a positive response at home to Wolves.
The Blues will be buoyed by the fact that they have built on a thrilling 4-4 draw at home to Manchester City in November with four straight victories at Stamford Bridge.
The list of victims include Brighton, Sheffield United, Crystal Palace and Fulham and their supporters will be expecting another three points against Wolves, who saw their four-game unbeaten run ended in dramatic circumstances on Thursday.
Having fought back from 3-1 down, Gary O'Neil’s side suffered a last-gasp defeat at home to Manchester United.
However, they remain only one place and two points behind 10th-placed Chelsea in the Premier League table and did prevail 2-1 in the reverse fixture at Molineux on Christmas Eve.
Team news
Nicolas Jackson is expected to be involved after Senegal were knocked out of the Africa Cup of Nations, which should bolster Chelsea’s attacking options.
However, Pochettino has a number of injury concerns to contend with as Levi Colwill, Lesley Ugochukwu, Wesley Fofana, Marc Cucurella, Reece James, Romeo Lavia, Robert Sanchez and Trevoh Chabolah are all still sidelined.
For Wolves, Boubacar Traore and Hee Chan Hwang are still away on international duty but Rayan Ait-Nouri is expected to be fit, despite being substituted in the second half in the 4-3 defeat to Manchester United on Thursday.
The stats
Chelsea are unbeaten in five home league matches, winning each of their last four at Stamford Bridge.
The Blues have kept only two clean sheets in their last 15 league games, with both teams scoring in 11 of those matches.
Both teams have scored in only two of the last six league meetings between this pair, however.
Wolves may have lost only two of their last eight league matches but they have lost four of their last six on the road.
Three of the last six league meetings between this pair have ended in draws.
Prediction
Chelsea looked as if they may have turned a corner prior to Wednesday’s trip to Anfield, where they were blown away in a 4-1 defeat that could have been even worse had it not been for some slack finishing.
But the Blues have an excellent opportunity to put things right and they are fancied to make the most of home advantage against Wolves, who face a tough task only three days on from their dramatic 4-3 loss at home to Manchester United.
The visitors must be feeling pretty drained both physically and mentally from that gut-wrenching loss given Kobbie Mainoo’s stoppage-time winner came only two minutes after Pedro Neto had equalised.
Wolves have picked up only four points from their last six away league games and they may struggle to build on that against Chelsea, who have won their last four top-flight fixtures on home soil.
Two of those four wins against Sheffield United and Fulham featured a clean sheet while Chelsea also defended pretty resolutely in a 2-1 win over Crystal Palace.
Seven of the last eight meetings between this pair have featured three goals or fewer and this may follow suit.
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