ENGLISH PREMIER BETTING PREVIEW - WOLVES VS CHELSEA

English Premier

2024-08-25 - Wolves vs Chelsea

A Sports Betting Preview by Auls

Wolves v Chelsea
Football: English Premier League
Sunday 25th August 2024 - Kick Off 2pm

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Wolves

Gary O'Neil knew there were financial issues at Wolves which had led to his predecessor Julen Lopetegui leaving just days before the 2023/24 Premier League season kicked off. The manager overcame the issues, but has lost Pedro Neto this summer with Wolves continuing to keep a tight grip on the pursestrings having already sold Max Kilman, and O'Neil may be hoping something can be done to improve the depth of his squad.

The summer transfer window is fast coming to a close so there is little time for Wolves to get some work done, although loans may be the best approach as other clubs formalise their squad plans. For now the focus for Gary O'Neil and his players is to bounce back from the 2-0 defeat at Arsenal on the opening weekend, when Wolves were clearly second best. The side did put together a solid 8-3-8 record at home last season and something similar may be needed for Wolves to avoid the drop.

Wolves did not enjoy the end of last season and have won 1 of their last 11 Premier League games, while the defeat last weekend means they have been beaten in 4 League games in a row. You may think playing at home would have turned the form around, but Wolves have lost 4 of the 5 Premier League games played here since the March international break. The exception was a 2-1 win over Luton Town, although over the course of the season Wolves did beat three of the top eventual top six here.

Nelson Semedo should be available having served a suspension last week, but there are a couple of longer-term absentees within the squad. The club have been linked with moves for players, but nothing is set to be signed in time for those arrivals to be a part of the squad this Sunday.

Chelsea

The Todd Boehly era owning Chelsea Football Club has featured of plenty of drama and it the club is still moving through stormy weather. The latest headlines have been made by taking away shirt numbers from some of the squad members that are surplus to requirements and it is a big week coming up for the likes of Ben Chilwell, Trevoh Chalobah, Raheem Sterling and Romelu Lukaku.

All are players that have been told they can leave and Enzo Maresca is trying to balance working with his players on the training ground, while keeping unhappy players focused. It is a hugely difficult task for an experienced manager and even more so for some without that history to fall back upon, which means pressure on the new manager already.

Chelsea were beaten by Manchester City last Sunday, but have did not play that badly in that match before a less than impressive 2-0 win over Servette in the Conference League Play Off Round First Leg this past Thursday. The Blues head out on the road for the first time this season, but Chelsea did finish the last campaign having been beaten in 1 of their last 8 away Premier League games.

Reece James is just returning from his latest injury setback, but is serving a domestic suspension anyway. A host of changes were made for the Conference League tie on Thursday, while there will be a touch of concern around Cole Palmer who was not looking in top condition at the end of the First Leg.

Head to Head

Wolves did the Premier League double over Chelsea last season which included a 2-1 victory over them at Molineux.

Wolves are not only unbeaten in 4 at home against The Blues, but have won 3 of those matches.

Prediction

No one can argue against the kind of job Gary O'Neil has done in the last two seasons with Bournemouth and Wolves, but another challenging campaign is coming up for the manager.

Wolves have been having financial issues and that has seen them forced into selling Max Kilman and Pedro Neto in this summer window. There is still some quality left in the squad, but O'Neil will want to see his club bring in some reinforcements over the last week of the summer transfer window.

A lot of people associated with Wolves will look at Chelsea and their financial investment with some envy, although Enzo Maresca may feel his squad is far too bloated and that is leading to problems that he could do without.

Each press conference is going to feature questions about players that have been sidelined by the manager and the club and that can be draining for all involved. Enzo Maresca has tried to shut those questions down, but some big names have been left out of his squad and asked to move on and that is hard to ignore.

At the same time Maresca is trying to instil his methods into the players he does believe can have an impact for him at Stamford Bridge. The 2-0 win over Servette in the Conference League will have given the squad a boost, although there were plenty of worrying moments that would have left the manager scratching his head.

He will certainly be hoping Cole Palmer has not picked up an injury that will rule him out for the next couple of weeks.

This has already been a tough venue for Chelsea with 3 defeats in 4 visits to Molineux, and Wolves will be expecting to be stronger back at home having been beaten 2-0 at Arsenal last weekend. Gary O'Neil will believe his players are comfortable in the system he has for them and that consistency could be key against a Chelsea team that have shown some encouraging signs, but also some vulnerabilities.

The away team certainly look a short price to win here and it would be a surprise if Chelsea were able to beat Wolves by a comfortable margin.

Wolves have played well here under Gary O'Neil, even if the end of the season was not ideal, and they can certainly give as good as they get against a Chelsea team still learning a new style of play.

The Pick :

Wolves 2-1 Chelsea

FIXED ODDS BETTING :

I'll back Wolves + 1 Asian Handicap at 1.62 with Bet365