Chelsea v Wolves
Sunday 10th 1405hrs
Football – England – Premier League
Pick Both teams to score
Bookmaker Ladbrokes
Odds: Evens (odds taken 21.25 GMT, Friday 8th March)
Stamford Bridge plays host to sixth placed Chelsea versus seventh placed Wolves on Sunday, in reality there are 13 points between them, but it’s expected to be a game of high quality as the Blues look for three points in their race for the top four.
Premier League Betting at Ladbrokes
Chelsea Preview
It’s certainly not been a vintage season for Chelsea, and they have had plenty of drama surrounding the club but the last couple of weeks could well be a sign of things to come – at least that’s the hope of Maurizio Sarri. Since losing at Wembley in the EFL Cup final on penalties to Manchester City, the Blues have reeled off straight wins and have started to look more dangerous. A comfortable, but important, win at home to Tottenham then a well deserved 2-1 away to Fulham have put them right in contention for the Champions League places once again. They trail Manchester United by a couple of points but do have a game in hand. Chelsea have also put one foot in the quarter finals of the Europa League following their 3-0 victory at home to Dynamo Kiev in midweek and that in itself would bring qualification for the Champions League if they can go all the way. Sarri will just be delighted that his team are making some headlines for the right reason now and will hope to continue that with a very decent Wolves team visiting on Sunday.
Key-Facts – Chelsea v Wolves
- Chelsea are in touching distance of the top four but know they need to keep on winning
- Wolves were victorious in the first meeting of the season between these two, winning 2-1
- The visitors have scored in 12 of their 14 away games, including three of their four at top six teams
Wolves Preview
Having won the Championship last season to return to this level, you could have barely written a better campaign than the one Wolves have enjoyed so far. Nuno Espirito Santo has overseen a dramatic transformation since arriving at Molineux and the signs are all positive for the future. Wolves have been in the top eight for much of the season and look well placed to finish there. On top of that, they also have a quarter final in the FA Cup to look forward to next week when they will be at home to Manchester United – win that and they can start dreaming of a good season turning into an excellent one. Before that, it’s all about league points and Wolves have been typically consistent of late. It’s just one defeat in seven leagues games, and that was a surprising 1-0 reverse away to bottom of the table Huddersfield. They responded with a routine 2-0 success at home to Cardiff last week and their record against the top teams in the league will give them confidence of being able to trouble another of those again this weekend.
Chelsea v Wolves Betting Advice
One of the highlights of Wolves’ season so far was the 2-1 win at home to Chelsea at the start of December. It was around that time the doubts about Sarri’s reign began to increase and although things have been better this last fortnight, you sense that it’s still very much underlying. For Wolves, seventh is the best they can do in the league and it looks to be a battle with Watford, and perhaps a couple of others, to achieve that. Of course, the biggest game on the horizon for them is that FA Cup final clash with United next weekend.
Chelsea’s home record has been very strong in the league on the whole, with Leicester the only team to have won at the Bridge – Chelsea winning nine of their 14 so far. For Wolves, it’s been a mixed bag on the road with five wins and five defeats, but wins over Spurs and Everton and draws at Old Trafford and the Emirates show how capable they are on their travels. Chelsea will need to be wary of that. Chelsea might just have enough to edge this but the bet I’m keen on is both teams to score. Wolves have scored in 12 of their 14 away matches and they will enjoy the style of this game against a team who will let them play football.
