Premier League: Chelsea and Wolves Eager to Get Into the Top Half Mix

Chelsea vs Wolverhampton Wanderers

Two teams that are on the outside looking in are planning to make their inroads into the top half of the Premier League standings as Chelsea host the Wolves at Stamford Bridge on Sunday night.

As it stands, the hosts are currently in 10^th place with 31 points, while their visitors are right behind them with 29 points.

Both sides were on the wrong end of the latest Premier League 2024 results. Liverpool easily defeated Chelsea, while on Thursday, the Wolves fell short against Manchester United.

But both of these teams were on a roll prior to their recent losses, highlighted by their respective three-game winning streaks, and one of them can get back on the winning track this weekend.

Read on below for a preview of this contest.

Talking points

Nkunku gives Chelsea reason to hope

High-profile summer signing Christopher Nkunku has been in and out of the rotation for Chelsea in his debut season because of the injuries he has dealt with.

After being sidelined for a few weeks, the French striker made his return in their loss against Liverpool, and he scored his second goal of the campaign after coming off the bench.

Although Nkunku expressed his disappointment for their tough defeat, Chelsea fans have to be encouraged by his individual performance, and the hope is that he stays healthy throughout the rest of the 2023-24 campaign.

Starting player Armando Broja is going on loan to Fulham, so Nkunku will have more chances to establish his value at Chelsea. Cole Palmer and Nkunku will split the striker responsibilities, with Raheem Sterling, Enzo Fernandez, Conor Gallagher, and Noni Madueke providing assistance in the final third.

Because Chelsea are going to play their second league game this week just like the others, there’s a huge chance that Christopher Nkunku might get the starting nod as Mauricio Pochettino rotates his squad.

Wolves miss Hwang Hee-Chan

With South Korea already in the AFC Asian Cup quarter-finals, the Wolves will have to continue to cope without their star forward, Hwang Hee-Chan. And so far, they’re doing okay.

Hwang Hee-Chan is the team’s top scorer with 11 goals and three assists, but right behind him is Matheus Cunha, who is also having a solid campaign with eight goals and seven assists.

Pedro Neto and Pablo Sarabia have been valuable as well for Gary O’Neil, as they’ve combined for five goals and 16 assists thus far.

With three goals and one assist, Sasa Kalajdzic was supposed to take over for Hwang, but he was loaned to Eintracht Frankfurt early in the January transfer window.

As a result, Jean-Ricner Bellegarde has been the Wolves starting No. 9 lately, and he may very well be their x-factor moving forward. The Frenchman has recorded two goals and one assist this season, but he has yet to find the back of the net since their 4-1 victory against Brentford on December 28, 2023.

History

Chelsea and Wolves already met a few weeks ago, where the latter came away with a 2-1 victory at Molineux. Mario Lemina and Matt Doherty put the Wolves up 2-0, but Christopher Nkunku made sure that there wasn’t a clean sheet by scoring the last goal in the sixth minute of added time.

If the Wolves defeat Chelsea on Sunday, it’ll be the first time that they complete a league double over them since 1974-75.

However, the Blues are undefeated in their last 10 Premier League games against Wolves at Stamford Bridge (W6, D4), and their last league home loss in this particular fixture was a 2-1 result in March 1979.

And Mauricio Pochettino’s men have won each of their last four Premier League home matches, which is as many as they had in their previous 22 (D9, L9).

Betting Tip

The Premier League 2024 odds are partial towards Chelsea because they’re installed at 1.62 to win, while the Wolves are 4.64 underdogs, and a draw is at 3.73 odds in the 1X2 market.

And the same is the case in the Asian Handicap market, as Chelsea were priced at -1.00 at 2.09.

Based on their recent performances and meetings together, there’s a big chance that SBOTOP football fans might get to see a shootout between these two sides, hence our recommended bet above of Over 2.75 at 1.92. Furthermore, if you fancy the result of their reverse fixture in December, a Correct Score of 2-1 in favour of the Wolves, check it out since it is being offered at 16.50.

 

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