Wolves Host Chelsea in Crucial Clash: Team News, Bold Predictions and Expected Starting XIs

Chelsea make the journey to face Wolverhampton Wanderers in Wednesday night's Carabao Cup fourth round fixture as they look to bounce back from their surprising weekend loss.

The Blues had been enjoying an excellent run of form, but received a harsh wake-up call from newly-promoted Sunderland on Saturday afternoon. Chelsea failed to impress at Stamford Bridge against the Black Cats, ultimately falling to defeat through Chemsdine Talbi's injury-time goal.

This outcome ended Chelsea's four-game winning run and dropped them to ninth place in the Premier League standings, though they have the opportunity to return to form in cup competition when they face struggling Wolves in the first of two encounters between these sides before the November international window.

The Carabao Cup has provided Wolves' only victories this campaign as pressure intensifies on Vítor Pereira, who angrily engaged with supporters at Molineux over the weekend. Their heartbreaking home loss to Burnley on Sunday represented another disappointing moment in the Portuguese coach's tenure, having collected merely two points from nine league fixtures this season.

Pereira has been defeated in his sole previous encounter with Chelsea, though Wolves maintain a reasonably solid recent history against the Blues. Despite shipping nine goals across two losses last campaign, they have claimed victory in three of their past five matches against the west London club. They urgently require another encouraging performance on Wednesday evening.

Here is Sports Illustrated's preview of the encounter.

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Wolves Team News

Luckily for the embattled Pereira, injury concerns are minimal within the Wolves roster. Young talent Leon Chiwome remains their sole unavailable player currently and a competitive starting eleven will take the field against the Blues.

Key forward Jørgen Strand Larsen will be charged with troubling the Chelsea backline and will spearhead the attack having netted twice in this season's Carabao Cup campaign. He requires additional assistance from players like Jhon Arias and Hwang Hee-chan in the attacking third.

Brazilian duo André and João Gomes are expected to feature in the middle of the park, though Pereira may consider deploying a five-man defense midweek to help shore up their vulnerable defensive unit.

Wolves Predicted Lineup vs. Chelsea

Wolves predicted lineup vs. Chelsea (3-4-3): Johnstone; S. Bueno, Krejčí, Agbadou; Tchatchoua, André, J. Gomes, Møller Wolfe; Arias, Strand Larsen, Hwang.

Chelsea Team News

Enzo Maresca will make changes to his lineup for the fourth round and welcomes Liam Delap back to the squad following several months on the sidelines. The Chelsea manager confirmed his summer signing could feature against Wolves, though will be unable to complete the full ninety minutes.

Chelsea must continue without the sidelined Cole Palmer, Benoît Badiashile, Dário Essugo and Levi Colwill, while Mykhailo Mudryk remains unavailable after testing positive for banned substances. More positively, Malo Gusto returns to availability following his one-game suspension.

Maresca has suggested he may rest João Pedro, Enzo Fernández and Moisés Caicedo for the Wolves fixture, indicating he will utilize his squad depth for the encounter.

Andrey Santos, Jorrel Hato, Roméo Lavia, Jamie Gittens and Filip Jörgensen are among those expected to receive opportunities.

Chelsea Predicted Lineup vs. Wolves

Chelsea predicted lineup vs. Wolves (4-2-3-1): Jörgensen; Gusto, Fofana, Adarabioyo, Hato; Santos, Lavia; Estêvão, Buonanotte Gittens; Delap.

Wolves vs. Chelsea Score Prediction

Chelsea experienced disappointment at the weekend and have shown inconsistency throughout this campaign, but they should possess sufficient quality to defeat Wolves. Maresca has abundant choices throughout his roster, despite current fitness issues, and the team he selects on Wednesday will be energized and eager to make an impression against the Old Gold.

Wolves have been finding the net despite their poor run and will believe they can breach a significantly altered Chelsea defensive setup. Nevertheless, their own defensive frailties will probably prove costly once more at Molineux.

Prediction: Wolves 1–2 Chelsea