Preview: Wolverhampton Wanderers vs. Chelsea - prediction, team news, lineups

Chelsea square off against Wolverhampton Wanderers on Sunday afternoon looking for the victory which may be required to keep pace with the Premier League's top two.

While the Blues head into the contest at Molineux in third position, Wolves retained a place in the top 10 earlier this week with a narrow win at Brighton & Hove Albion.

Match preview

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Having struggled to get regular points on the board of late, Thomas Tuchel's job of instigating a turnaround has been made considerably tougher with several of his attackers testing positive for coronavirus.

Their absence was felt on Thursday as the Blues were held to a 1-1 draw by a decimated Everton side, leaving Tuchel's side four points adrift of leaders Manchester City.

With the Premier League yet to reach the halfway stage, Tuchel will not panic just yet, but the German is aware that failure to beat Wolves could leave them as clear outsiders in the title race.

Chelsea have gone six matches in all competitions without keeping a clean sheet, conceding 11 goals in the process, while only Mason Mount is showing any consistency in the final third.

The England playmaker has contributed four goals and two assists during his last four outings in the top flight, and the West Londoners will require more magic from the academy graduate against a well-oiled Wolves team.

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Bruno Lage's side will continue to come in for criticism while they average less than a goal per game this season, their return of 13 strikes the second lowest in the division.

Nevertheless, a 1-0 victory was enough to get the better of Brighton on Wednesday, Wolves keeping their sixth clean sheet of the campaign and extending a run of conceding just twice in six outings.

Seven wins have come from their last 14 in the top flight, the fifth-best return since September 11, and Wolves will relish the opportunity to heap further misery on the European champions.

While Raul Jimenez will likely get the nod in attack after suspension, Wolves showed enough at the Amex Stadium that the extra movement from three rotating attackers could be an effective tactic over the coming weeks and months.

Team News

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Wolves are expected to be without Rayan Ait-Nouri and Hwang Hee-chan after the duo sustained injuries at Brighton.

Jimenez is likely to replace Hwang, with Francisco Trincao dropping to the substitutes' bench, while Marcal should remain at left wing-back after coming through unscathed on his first start since October 16.

The reminder of the team should stay the same with Joao Moutinho getting the nod over Leander Dendoncker.

Callum Hudson-Odoi, Timo Werner, Romelu Lukaku will all miss this fixture due to coronavirus, while Tuchel said that Kai Havertz was feeling ill on Thursday.

However, Tuchel can freshen up his side by handing recalls to Trevoh Chalobah and N'Golo Kante, who could replace Cesar Azpilicueta and Ruben Loftus-Cheek respectively.

Andreas Christensen may also get the nod over Thiago Silva, depending on whether Tuchel wishes to manage the Brazilian's minutes over Christmas.

Wolverhampton Wanderers possible starting lineup:

Sa; Kilman, Coady, Saiss; Semedo, Neves, Moutinho, Marcal; Traore, Jimenez, Podence

Chelsea possible starting lineup:

Mendy; Chalobah, Silva, Rudiger; James, Kante, Jorginho, Alonso; Mount, Ziyech; Pulisic

We say: Wolverhampton Wanderers 0-0 Chelsea

With Chelsea missing many of their frontline and Wolves having performed so impressively in defence this season, there is only one result that we can predict here. While both clubs have the potentially to win 1-0, it would come as no surprise if this contest ends goalless.