Chelsea vs Wolves: 27/01/2021 – match preview and predicted starting XIs

The Blues will welcome Nuno Esperito Santo’s side to Stamford Bridge on Wednesday, for what promises to be a interesting encounter.

Chelsea are in a transitional state after the recent sacking of club legend and boss, Frank Lampard with German manager Thomas Tuchel taking over the reins at the London club. Ninth in the table and with one win in their last five matches, the Blues have been struggling to get results. The most recent defeat came at the hands of Leicester City which turned out to be the last nail in Lampard’s metaphorical coffin. Their only win in the last five in the league came against a 10-man Fulham side where they barely managed to get the three points.

Wolves have problems of their own with two draws and three defeats in their last five, most recently a 3-2 defeat against relegation candidates West Brom. Currently 14th in the table, Santo will be hoping his team can bounce back against an out of sorts Chelsea side. With star striker Raul Jimenez still sidelined due to a head injury, the Portuguese boss has bought Real Sociedad striker Willian Jose on loan to bolster his attack. With young club-record signing Fabio Silva unable to lead the line like his senior Mexican colleague Jimenez, this new signing should help the away side upfront in this crucial part of the season where they are struggling to dominate games.

Both sides are going through their own respective low phases, which could make this encounter more interesting and hard to predict than the other fixtures. Santo will know this could be the best time to face a Chelsea side who will be playing in front of their new manager for the first time, while the home side will be looking to give their supporters a renewed sense of vigour and excitement by bouncing back against all odds.

N’golo Kante is the only injury concern for the home side. Other than that, Tuchel will have to take a call on who to start against Wolves.

Jose could be put into the mix straight away given Fabio Silva’s lack of experience and confidence up front. Marcal, Podence, Jonny and Jimenez are the usual players on the injury list and are all unavailable for Wednesday’s match-up.

Chelsea (4-3-3): Mendy; James, Thiago Silva, Zouma, Chilwell; Mount, Kovacic, Havertz; Ziyech, Abraham, Werner

Wolves (4-3-3): Patricio; Semedo, Coady, Boly, Saiss; Dendoncker, Neves, Moutinho; Traore, Jose, Neto

While both teams are going through a bad run of form, I feel the home side will have enough firepower to power through this Wolves side.