Chelsea suffer unwanted losing record in Premier League this year

Following a 2-1 defeat at Wolverhampton Wanderers on Christmas Eve in the Premier League, Chelsea have set an unwanted record during the calendar year.

No other side in the English top flight has lost more than the Blues' 19 in 2023, highlighting the struggles that the West Londoners have endured this year.

Mauricio Pochettino's men were condemned to their eighth loss of the 2023-24 campaign on Sunday afternoon at Molineux, where Gary O'Neil's Wolves ran out as 2-1 victors.

A Mario Lemina header early in the second period opened the scoring for the Black Country outfit, before former Tottenham Hotspur defender Matt Doherty doubled the hosts' advantage.

Coming on as a substitute, summer arrival Christopher Nkunku netted his maiden goal in the Premier League to give the Blues a chance late on, however the visitors were unable to find an equaliser.

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The contest saw some questionable performances from the likes of eight-goal striker Nicolas Jackson, and some debatable decision-making from Raheem Sterling, who passed up the opportunity to give either Jackson or Cole Palmer an open net in the first half.

Yellow cards collected by former Manchester City star Sterling and Palmer means that both will miss their side's crucial clash with Crystal Palace on Wednesday night.

Chelsea's 19th loss of 2023 in the Premier League means that no other side has tasted defeat on more occasions than the Blues in this calendar year.

Bournemouth and Marco Silva's Fulham are able to match the West Londoners' tally, however no outfit have fared worse than Pochettino's team in terms of finishing top-flight matches without a tangible reward.

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Only three sides across Europe's top-five leagues have been defeated more times than Chelsea in 2023: Almeria (24), Werder Bremen (20) and Empoli (20).

Out of the clubs who have spent the entire year in the Premier League, only Nottingham Forest (39) and Roy Hodgson's Eagles (41) have collected fewer points than the Blues' 42.

Pochettino may have both Enzo Fernandez and Moises Caicedo available for selection on December 27 as the hosts at Stamford Bridge look to avoid a 20th league loss of 2023.

Argentine Fernandez missed the match at Molineux due to a hernia, while Caicedo sat out of the contest because of illness, meaning that Lesley Ugochukwu earned a rare start.