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

Chelsea will endeavour to strengthen their top-five hopes when they travel to Molineux to face basement club Wolverhampton Wanderers in the Premier League on Saturday afternoon.

The two teams meet for the first time since November when the Blues claimed a 3-0 top-flight victory at Stamford Bridge.

Match preview

Three weeks after losing 3-2 at Stamford Bridge in the first leg of their EFL Cup semi-final tie, Chelsea came up short against London rivals Arsenal once again as they fell to a slender 1-0 second-leg defeat at the Emirates Stadium on Wednesday night.

Head coach Liam Rosenior offered the first real glimpse of his tactical credentials since his appointment as Chelsea boss a month ago, but his side ultimately lacked that “quality moment” against the Gunners and a familiar face in Kai Havertz broke the Blues’ hearts by netting a stoppage-time winner with the last kick of the game.

Nevertheless, Rosenior has won six of his first eight matches in charge of Chelsea across all competitions, including his opening three Premier League games that has helped the Champions League-chasing Blues rise to fifth in the table and just one point behind Manchester United in fourth spot with 14 games still to play.

Victories over Brentford (2-0) and Crystal Palace (3-1) were followed by an impressive 3-2 comeback triumph over West Ham United last weekend, with the Blues coming from two goals down at half time to claim maximum points. Enzo Fernandez scored a 92nd-minute winner for Chelsea, and Rosenior is now looking to become just the second English manager in PL history to win his first four matches in charge – Craig Shakespeare won his first five with Leicester City between February and April 2017.

Chelsea have already beaten Saturday’s opponents Wolves 4-3 (EFL Cup) and 3-0 (Premier League) this season, and they last scored 3+ goals against the same opponent in three different games in a single season in 2016-17 versus Leicester. The Blues claimed a 6-2 victory at Molineux last season, but they have never won consecutive PL away trips to Wolves since their first two visits in September 2003 (5-0) and February 2010 (2-0).

After making a four-game unbeaten start to 2026 in all competitions (W1 D3), Wolves have since suffered back-to-back 2-0 defeats to Manchester City and Bournemouth in the Premier League, leaving them 18 points adrift of safety and staring down the barrel of relegation.

The groundwork for life in the second tier has already begun, with Wolves raising funds through the £48m sale of last season’s top scorer Jorgen Strand Larsen on deadline day and ‘freshening up’ Rob Edwards’s squad by bringing in striker Adam Armstrong and midfielder Angel Gomes.

Goals have been at a premium for Wolves, who have failed to score in each of their last three Premier League games and have drawn a blank in 13 of their 24 matches this season (54%) - the highest ratio of games a side has failed to score in a single campaign since Norwich City in 2021-22 (22/38, 58%).

At Molineux, Wolves have scored just four goals across their last seven Premier League home matches (W1 D1 L5), netting three of those from five shots in the first half of a 3-0 win against West Ham last month (60% conversion rate). Across their other 13 halves of football in that period, the Old Gold have found the net only once from 59 shots (2% conversion).

Another tricky test is on the horizon for Wolves, as they have lost their last three Premier League encounters with this weekend’s opponents Chelsea by an aggregate score of 12-3, having won three in a row against the Blues before this run.

Wolverhampton Wanderers Premier League form:

Wolverhampton Wanderers form (all competitions):

Chelsea Premier League form:

Chelsea form (all competitions):

Team News

Wolves defender Toti Gomes remains sidelined with a hamstring injury and Ladislav Krejci (illness) will be assessed ahead of kickoff, while summer signing Jhon Aris is reportedly close to joining Palmeiras on a permanent deal.

New signing Armstrong, who scored 11 goals in the Championship for Southampton this season, is set to battle for a start up front with Hwang Hee-chan and Tolu Arokodare, who have scored just three Premier League goals between them this term.

Gomes, meanwhile, will likely begin as a substitute as Edwards is expected to stick with a three-man midfield of Joao Gomes, Andre and Mateus Mane, the latter of whom ranks first at Wolves for shots (20), shots on target (nine) and expected assists (0.94) since the 18-year-old’s debut in December.

As for Chelsea, Jamie Gittens (hamstring), Levi Colwill (knee), Tosin Adarabioyo, Romeo Lavia (both thigh), Dario Essugo (other) and Mykhaylo Mudryk (suspended) are all unavailable for selection.

Reece James and Pedro Neto both missed the midweek defeat to Arsenal with knocks and Rosenior is unsure whether the Blues duo will be fit to return. Filip Jorgensen (unspecified) will also be assessed ahead of kickoff.

After beginning as substitutes against Arsenal, Cole Palmer and Estevao Willian are both ready for 90 minutes this weekend and the Blues pair are in contention to link up in attack with in-form Joao Pedro, who has scored five goals in his last eight Premier League games.

Wolverhampton Wanderers possible starting lineup:

Sa; Mosquera, S. Bueno, Krejci; Tchatchoua, Andre, Mane, J. Gomes, H. Bueno; Hwang, Armstrong

Chelsea possible starting lineup:

Sanchez; James, Chalobah, Fofana, Cucurella; Caicedo, Fernandez; Estevao, Palmer, Garnacho; Pedro

We say: Wolverhampton Wanderers 1-3 Chelsea

Bearing in mind that Wolves have failed to score a second-half goal in any of their last 10 Premier League games at Molineux, a strong first-half performance could be crucial if Edwards’s side wish to claim three valuable points and pull off an upset against Chelsea.

Although the Old Gold have produced a few spirited performances of late, we are backing the Blues to bounce back from their EFL Cup defeat to Arsenal and secure maximum points on their travels.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.