Wolves host Enzo Maresca’s Chelsea on Sunday afternoon at Molineux as Gary O’Neil craves further success against the Blues.
Wolves did the double over Chelsea last season as they won 2-1 at home and then secured a 4-2 victory at Stamford Bridge, with Matheus Cunha scoring a hat-trick.
The Wanderers will want to use their previous success against the Blues as fuel to bounce back from their 2-0 loss to Arsenal while the visitors were beaten by the same scoreline against Manchester City.
Gary O’Neil did share an encouraging transfer update on Friday, confirming that the Old Gold don’t have a ‘financial limit’ in the market, despite previous reports of Wolves working with a limited budget.
Nonetheless, the sole focus for O’Neil will be on recording his first three points at the season and Joao Gomes can be key to exploiting one key weakness Chelsea have.
Wolves team news ahead of Chelsea clash
Following their defeat at the Emirates Stadium, O’Neil developed no further injury troubles, as his side went away from North London unscathed.
O’Neil then confirmed a positive injury update in his pre-match press conference as two of his key stars, Boubacar Traore and Cunha, will be available for selection.
While Traore missed most of Wolves’ preparations as he competed at the Paris Olympic Games with Mali, Cunha picked up a minor injury that kept him out of the Wanderers’ remaining friendlies.
The Brazilian forward has since returned to full match sharpness and will be hoping to start behind Jorgen Strand Larsen on Sunday, a position he flourished in pre-season.
Elsewhere, right-back Nelson Semedo is still serving the second of his three-match suspension, but he will return after the international break.
So, with all that said, here’s how Wolves could line up against Chelsea…
Wolves predicted XI vs Chelsea
Wolves have been linked with a new goalkeeper this summer, namely Arsenal’s Aaron Ramsdale, but Jose Sa remains the designated No.1.
O’Neil went with a flat-back four in last weekend’s defeat and he should field the same personnel that started that match, with Matt Doherty, Yerson Mosquera, Toti Gomes and Rayan Ait-Nouri making up the defence.
While Mosquera was praised for his aggressive debut performance at the Emirates, Toti was criticised for looking shaky in possession, something he’ll be keen to rectify against Chelsea.
Joao Gomes will continue in his double pivot role alongside captain Mario Lemina, a pairing that flourished last season.
Meanwhile, O’Neil should make one change to the attacking trio ahead of the midfield, with Jean-Ricner Bellegarde dropping out for the ‘phenomenal’ Cunha.
The Brazilian can develop some good patterns with right winger Hwang Hee-chan and left winger Rodrigo Gomes, who impressed against Arsenal.
That leaves the towering presence of Strand Larsen up top, who did have his moments against Arsenal and will now hope to score his first goal in front of the Molineux faithful.