Chelsea travel to Wolves on Sunday in the first Premier League Christmas Eve fixture since 1995.
These two sides have been dealt the shortest straws in terms of festive schedules, but they’ll have the chance to serve up a proper Christmas cracker at Molineux.
It’s been a rollercoaster start to life in west London for Mauricio Pochettino, but his Chelsea outfit have won their last two in all competitions having advanced into the Carabao Cup semi-finals on Tuesday. However, they sit tenth in the Premier League table and Wolves will draw level with the Blues should they taste victory on Sunday.
Gary O’Neil’s side have already scored huge victories over Tottenham and Manchester City this season on home soil. They’ve been dealt a tough hand by officials this term, and many would say they’re better than their 13th-place standing.
Here’s 90min’s preview of the Christmas Eve clash between Wolves and Chelsea.
Wolves vs Chelsea H2H record (last five games)
Current form (all competitions)
|
Country |
TV channel/live stream |
|---|---|
|
United Kingdom |
Sky Sports Premier League, Sky Ultra HD, Sky Sports Main Event |
|
United States |
Telemundo Deportes En Vivo, nbcsports.com, USA Network, NBC Sports App, Telemundo |
|
Canada |
fuboTV |
Jose Sa sustained a shoulder injury in the build-up to the West Ham defeat and is a doubt to feature on Sunday.
Pedro Neto has missed several weeks with a hamstring injury but is now closing in a return. The winger will return to action before the end of the year, and he could feature on the bench this weekend.
Rayan Ait-Nouri should come back into the starting XI.
Wolves predicted lineup vs Chelsea (3-5-2): Sa; Kilman, Dawson, Gomes; Semedo, Lemina, Gomes, Bellegarde, Ait-Nouri; Cunha, Hwang.
Christopher Nkunku finally made his first Chelsea appearance against Newcastle in the Carabao Cup, and he’ll almost certainly earn his maiden Premier League minutes at Molineux. The Frenchman could even start Sunday’s game.
Pochettino is still without a whole host of stars. Robert Sanchez and Marc Cucurella are new additions to an injury list that already contains the likes of Trevoh Chalobah, Romeo Lavia, Wesley Fofana, Reece James, and Noni Madueke.
Ben Chilwell could make the Christmas Eve squad, but Enzo Fernandez is unlikely to feature with a groin injury.
Chelsea predicted lineup vs Wolves (4-2-3-1): Petrovic; Disasi, Silva, Badiashile, Colwill; Caicedo, Gallagher; Palmer, Nkunku, Sterling; Jackson.
Inconsistency has plagued Chelsea at the start of Pochettino’s tenure. After scoring back-to-back wins, this current iteration of the Blues is certainly vulnerable on Christmas Eve.
Wolves have had a full week to prepare for Chelsea’s visit, and they’ve so far proven to be tough opposition for sides that want to monopolise possession. The potential return of Neto is huge, too.
Even if Neto isn’t quite ready to feature, Wolves possess the coach and astuteness out of possession to contain the visitors, while their threat in transition is distinct through Matheus Cunha, Jean Ricner Bellegarde, and Hwang Hee-chan.
It’s easy to envisage the hosts walking away with the points on Sunday.
