As it stands, we only have five Premier League fixtures still left on the docket this weekend, as the rest of the slate has been COVIDed out. It seems like the fixtures involving a London team are getting kiboshed earlier/quicker, so Chelsea’s visit to Wolverhampton Wanderers is very much in jeopardy.
There are already some rumblings of the Premier League going on hiatus until the after the New Year, so…enjoy any match you can before they all disappear for awhile.
Chelsea at Wolves FYIs
Kickoff: Sunday, December 19, 745pm, Molineux Stadium
Chelsea Team News: go here
Premier League Preview Podcast: go here
Premier League Form Guide: Chelsea DWLWD Everton WLLDD
Premier League Position: Chelsea 3rd, 37 pts Wolves 8th, 24 pts
Google Result Probability: Chelsea win 62% Draw 23% Wolves win 15%
Despite a new covid-19 outbreak in the squad, one that left Blues boss Thomas Tuchel very short-handed in the draw to Everton today, he said he did not make a request for the Thursday night fixture to be postponed.
“I don’t lose my concentration or energy with questions like this. I’m pretty sure (Technical and Performance Advisor) Petr (Cech) and (Club Director) Marina (Granovskaia) take care of this,” he said.
“We are in close contact with our doctors. At some point it’s getting difficult in terms of overuse of players, but I was not involved in these thoughts.”
That all said, here is the 3-4-2-1 that we think Tuchel will go with for this match; provided it actually goes forth as planned.
Chelsea FC Starting XI Prediction at Wolves
Edouard Mendy; Cesar Azpilicueta, Thiago Silva, Antonio Rudiger; Reece James; Jorginho, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Marcos Alonso; Hakim Ziyech, Mason Mount; Christian Pulisic
Prediction: Chelsea 2, Wolves 0
I will still take Chelsea’s depleted squad over Wolves, a side that has its own issues as well- albeit nowhere near as severe.
Paul M. Banks is the owner/manager of The Bank (TheSportsBank.Net) and author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” as well as “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He has regularly appeared in WGN, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune, and co-hosts the After Extra Time podcast. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram.