Wolverhampton Wanderers faced their second defeat in a row as they lost to Cardiff City by 2-1 away from home in their last match in the Premier League. Nuno Espirito Santo’s men fought hard to scrape out a result from the fixture, but it was not their day away from home. Wolves await another difficult encounter in the midweek as they get ready to take on the might of Chelsea in their next match.
Chelsea are coming off a win against Fulham in the West London derby and would look to dish out another clinical performance in the next match as well. However, it will not be an easy outing for them as Wolves will surely look to bag maximum points from the fixture and bounce back to winning when they take on the Blues at the Molineux.
Team News
It should come as a blow to Santo that he would not have the services of his star midfielder Ruben Neves at his disposal for the crucial match against Chelsea. The Portuguese ace picked up his fifth yellow card of the season in the game against Cardiff City, handing him a one-match suspension. The other player who will not be able to play any part in the next match is left back Jonny, who is currently nursing a knee injury.
Goalkeeper
Rui Patricio is not in great form and would hope to get a much-needed clean sheet from the next encounter.
Defence
The trio of Conor Coady, Willy Boly and Ryan Bennett will once again make up the backline for Santo’s side as they would look to restrict Chelsea from scoring against them.
Midfield
Matt Doherty will start in the right wingback position while accompanying Joao Moutinho in the midfield. In the absence of Neves, young Morgan Gibbs-White, who has impressed off the bench so far, should get his first start of the season. With Jonny unavailable, Ruben Vinagre could start in the left wingback role.
Attack
Raul Jimenez will look to add to his tally as he leads the line for Wolves against Chelsea. He will be accompanied by Ivan Cavaleiro as the wide attacker from the left and Helder Costa from the right to put the pressure on the Pensioners in the next crucial encounter.
Predicted Formation: 3-4-3
