Chelsea FC welcome in Wolverhampton Wanderers this weekend in a match-up of two teams with near full squad fitness. Wolves will be missing a key player in central defender Ryan Bennett however. The English picked up his tenth booking last weekend, and is this suspended for this match and the next.
That’s pretty much it regarding absentee concerns for Wolves in this match, and Chelsea likewise have a near full squad to be available for this Premier League fixture.
There are three exceptions though, and they’re all in midfield:
£35 million man Danny Drinkwater, who is back in training now, but has yet to feature this season, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, who Blues boss Maurizio Sarri said isn’t fit for selection right now because of a back issue and long term absentee Marco van Ginkel.
The two teams are separated by just one place in the table, but a whopping 13 points. Sixth place Chelsea do have a game in hand on Wolves though having played 28 fixtures to their opponent’s 29.
“We don’t think about beating them – we think about Chelsea and we know what we’re going to face; fantastic players, a fantastic manager, ideal football,” said Wolves manager Nuno Espirito Santo.
“It’s very difficult but we have to try and be focused on what we can do to prevent Chelsea to play. When you have the ball you have to play, of course. And we know how to play.”
Chelsea FC vs Wolverhampton Wanderers FYIs
Kickoff: Sunday, March 10, 2:05 pm, Stamford Bridge
Chelsea FC Starting XI Prediction: go to this link
Google Result Probability: Chelsea win 62%, Draw 24%, Fulham win 14%
Recent form: Chelsea WWLWL Wolves WLDWD
Odds via Bet Fair: Chelsea 11/20, Draw 10/3, Wolverhampton Wanderers 6/1
Prediction: Chelsea 1, Wolves 1
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, a former writer for NBC Chicago.com and Chicago Tribune.com, regularly appears as a guest pundit on WGN CLTV and co-hosts the “Let’s Get Weird, Sports” podcast on SB Nation.
He also contributes sociopolitical essays to Chicago Now. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram. The content of his cat’s Instagram account is unquestionably superior to his.