Chelsea FC visit Wolverhampton Wanderers on Sunday in a match-up of two sides that lost 2-0 in week one. That’s not the only similarity here. Wolves are like Chelsea in that they have spent a lot of money in the recent summer transfer windows, but done it very in effectively.
Neither club is getting good return on investment, when in it comes to their splashing the cash in recent windows.
Chelsea FC at Wolverhampton Wanderers FYIs
Kick: Sun. Aug 25, 2pm, Molineux Stadium
Chelsea Preview Material: Starting XI Prediction Team News
Transatlantic Passage: How the Premier League Redefined Soccer in America: LINK
Google Result Probability: Chelsea 55% Wolves 22% Draw 23%
PL Form, Standing: Chelsea L 17th, 0 pts, -2GD Wolves L 19th, 0 pts, -2GD
Of course, Wolves are quite different in that they’re also a proverbial “selling club,” so they have sold some key players to offset those costs. Plus Chelsea, under Todd Boehly and the Clearlake Capital regime, have no true parallel in the transfer market. They have outspent everyone in three consecutive windows.
Now new manager Enzo Maresca has a really over-bloated squad size to work with. Let’s take a look at what lineup he could go with from his 30-man team.
Chelsea FC Starting XI Prediction at Wolverhampton Wanderers
Robert Sanchez; Malo Gusto, Wesley Fofana, Levi Colwill, Marc Cucurella; Enzo Fernandez, Moises Caicedo; Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, Christopher Nkunku, Cole Palmer; Nicolas Jackson
Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He currently contributes to USA Today’s NFL Wires Network. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. His work has been featured in numerous outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, the Washington Post and ESPN. You can follow him on Linked In and Twitter.