England Premier League
Saturday 8th October 2022
Kick off at 3pm BST
Venue: Stamford Bridge
Match Preview:
On paper Chelsea had a very difficult European tie in midweek as they played AC Milan in their Champions League group stage match. Any dropped points at Stamford Bridge would have been a disaster for the Blues hopes of qualifying for the knock out rounds but it was a typical solid display by the home team who won 3-0 in the end. This is the win that you could feel really has opened Graham Potter’s managerial account with the side and they surely will go into this game in positive spirits and of course remain at home.
Of course Potter had already tasted victory with the Blues last weekend as they squeezed past Crystal Palace winning that game 2-1 but it could have easily had ended as a draw and Thiago Silva was very lucky to stay on the pitch for his controversial handball. However in all competitions Chelsea have now won 3 in a row and they come into this game in 5th place. Ironically they would go past Potter’s former side Brighton with victory today and could well finish the weekend in a top 4 place.
The big news at Wolves was the sacking of Bruno Lage and the board felt the final straw came last weekend with defeat at West Ham. It hasn’t been a great start for the club but perhaps Lage’s sacking was slightly harsh? So the managerial position is currently vacant, although former Spanish national side manager Julen Lopetegui is the huge odds on favourite to step into the job after he was recently sacked at Sevilla, but he won’t arrive in time for this game. Wolves are in 18th place with six points but only by goal difference and they have lost their last two games in a row which includes of course the defeat to the Hammers as previously mentioned and also a 3-0 loss to Manchester City.
Team News:
Chelsea: N’Golo Kante will be assessed for some fitness issues and could be selected. Wesley Fofana has a knee injury and is out there is no fixed date on his return.
Wolves: Nathan Collins is serving a 3 game ban and is out for his red card earlier this season. Hwang Hee-Chan will be assessed due to his recent muscle injury but is being tipped to be fine. Chiquinho and Sasa Kalajdzic look set to miss the rest of the season both due to knee injuries.
Chelsea vs Wolves Head to Head:
Last season this fixture finished 2-2.
The last 3 meetings have all ended in draws.
Wolves have not won at Chelsea in 43 years.
Chelsea vs Wolves Prediction:
Wolves are a good side on their day and have caused Chelsea all sort of problems when on paper they really shouldn’t have. But this seems a tough one for the away side to get anything here. Perhaps Potter is now gelling more with the players and getting the performances he is after and whilst it is true that the Blues have been starting games rather slowly under him this could simply be a question of the players having to understand a new managers set up plans.
Maybe if the Palace win had been a draw and Milan had won in midweek the mood here would not be good but it’s a stretch of the imagination to think that Wolves who were not showing the best of form anyway can come here with no permanent manager and walk away with the points. It would actually feel like a big blow for the Blues to be dropping points here and we don’t see that happening. Their price isn’t so good to win this one at around 1.36 but we can increase that at no extra risk with a "-1 asian handicap". Remember they are waiting for Potter’s first home league victory, and this should be it.
Chelsea vs Wolves Betting Tips:
Asian handicap (-1 Chelsea) at 1.60
Anytime goalscorer: Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang at 2.25
Correct Score: Chelsea to win 3-0 at 6.00
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