Chelsea to take advantage of Wolves' absentees
Nuno Espirito Santo will welcome Chelsea to Molineux in what feels like a double-quick turnaround from the previous gameweek's fixtures, especially with the early evening kick-off of 18:00 local time. The very late defeat in the West Midlands derby at home to Aston Villa was one half of a severe hammer blow to the old gold outfit, the other coming in the form of João Moutinho's needless and costly dismissal in the fourth minute of injury time. The visitors sit five points above them in the Premier League standings despite their own loss away at Everton, and will fancy their chances of getting back to winning ways with three key figures missing for their opponents. Read our preview here:
Toothless pack?
One of the features that's marked out the hosts this season is the general lack of goals scored and conceded. Nuno's preferred 4-2-3-1 ensures that the backline stay pretty much in situ, instead hitting accurate long balls to the front four whilst the double pivot are flexible in the areas on the pitch they can support. However, the lone frontman role is very attuned to Raúl Jiménez' playstyle, and his enforced absence through injury could hand a first start to 18 year-old Fábio Silva. The £35m signing from Porto in the summer is very highly rated both within and without the club, and whilst his head coach wants to ease him into senior league action, he might not have a choice but to put him in from the start. The Portuguese striker has the frame and potential to impress, but will need plenty of support from the wider members of the attacking midfield trio to even have a chance to get the better of Chelsea's highly experienced centre-back duo. The side as a whole have been too reliant on Julien Neto on the left and the aforementioned Jiménez to come up with a moment of individual magic, and that will need to change quickly, preferably starting on Tuesday.
Release the Kai!
Frank Lampard will take the onus to the home side, and will hope this strategy is far more successful than his charges were able to achieve against the Toffees. One of the chief reasons for that relative failure was the need to deploy Kai Havertz out of position on the right of the front three, as neither Hakim Ziyech nor Callum Hudson-Odoi were fit enough. The truncated schedule makes that likely to continue in midweek, but all is not lost down that flank. Reece James continues to more than step up to the plate at full-back, and his crosses have become one of the London team's most potent outlets for creating chances. The excellently balanced midfield will try to play between the lines of their adversaries, and as a whole, the men can also be relied upon to be dangerous, especially in the guise of Kurt Zouma.
Triple Pensioners' lock
The array of attacking options at Lampard's disposal will test one of the least porous defences in the Premier League this season. Wolves possess a lot of quality, but perhaps not enough consistent end product in the final third, especially without their Mexican talisman up top. The visitors meanwhile average more than two goals per game, and 888sport are offering odds of 2.85 for the Pensioners to win from a handicap of -1 (i.e. they have to triumph by a two-goal margin or higher).
Bet Chelsea to win (3-Way Handicap - 1-0 Wolves) on 888sport
