Game Week 11 Predictions: Chelsea to beat Wolves

Chelsea vs Wolves: Blues host managerless side at 9pm. Must-win for inconsistent hosts; Wolves seek upset. Verdict: Chelsea win.

Wolves can hurt Chelsea if they meet the weird version of the Blues however, is there any fight left in Wolves? (Photo credit: Opta)

 Chelsea vs Wolves

Stamford Bridge Stadium

9:00pm

Chelsea isn’t a serious team; they found ways to draw against Qarabag in the Champions League in midweek, but Wolves should not be a hard side for them to sweep aside.

Despite how much Chelsea has spent in the recent windows, you still can’t bank on them to impress you, even on days like this. How they have become uninspiring is beyond comprehension; however, they must get a grip. They cannot afford to drop points here.

Wolves are in a bad place, and that explains the dismissal of their manager, Vitor Pereira. The club backed him with words. You can argue that the board above him weren’t fair to him in terms of investments, but handing him a new deal earlier in the season was their way of showing trust; it proved not enough.

Ten games, eight losses and an academy manager facing Chelsea at Stamford Bridge – where would the confidence come from? Maybe from a position of comfort, knowing it can’t get worse, without pressure and with no handbrakes, can they earn a result?

Wolves can look at what Sunderland did at Stamford Bridge and hope, but can they be disciplined in defence like Sunderland? Can they attack intelligently like the Black Cats? All these would be answered when Wolves line up at the Stamford Bridge Stadium on Saturday.

Let’s talk about Chelsea, shall we? They have lots of talents, but not a lot of them are elite yet. Estevao is proving to be a great one, but he needs time and management. Moises Caicedo is the only one in that Chelsea side that remains consistent; they need to up the ante.

In the context of this game, you expect a one-sided affair; however, which version of Chelsea would come to the party on Saturday? The one that blitzed past Tottenham last weekend or the one that couldn’t break down a club from Azerbaijan in the Champions League?

Enzo Maresca has lots of his talents available for this one. Liam Delap is fit and ready, so Joao Pedro should enjoy playing off him. Enzo Fernandes and Caicedo should be ready to go in midfield, while the trio of Garnacho, Gittens and Estevao will fight for a spot on the left, with Neto set to lock the right.

It’s a game Chelsea should win; however, if Wolves can manage to cut out mistakes and defend like actual professionals, they can render the Blues clueless. Chelsea, however, knows any dropped points here send them further down the log; that would be a risky plot.

Verdict: Straight win for Chelsea.