Chelsea V Wolverhampton Wanderers Betting – Saturday 21st November

 

Chelsea V Wolverhampton Wanderers

 

Kick-off: Saturday 21st November – 15:00 GMT

Venue: Stamford Bridge

 

 

 

Chelsea

 

League Position: 1st

Recent Form: WLWWW

 

The Chelsea skipper, John Terry, is already dropping hints about the possibility of acquiring some new faces at the club in January but a bigger concern for the English centre-half should be his fitness. Terry should have captained England against Brazil last Saturday were it not for an Achilles injury. The injury is thought to be minor and he should be fit enough to face Wolves from the off, although, it’s hard to envisage the Chelsea back line coming under that much scrutiny during the course of the game against Wolves.

 

Chelsea went into the International break as the Premiership leaders and with a five point cushion over their London rivals, Arsenal. The Gunners have been in inspired form of late but Chelsea have shown no signs of crumbling under the pressure after three wins on the bounce, all without conceding a single goal. Blackburn (5-0), Bolton (0-4) & even Manchester United (1-0), all came up short against the Blues’ and anything but a win on Saturday would be a major shock and setback for Carlo Ancelotti’s team.

  

On the whole, Chelsea have been pretty sublime in the early part of the season, with the defeats away at Wigan & Villa now put down as a blip. Of the 12 fixtures this season, Chelsea have won 10, with six of those coming at Stamford Bridge. To make the task for Wolves sound even more daunting, Chelsea haven’t conceded a goal at home in over 450 minutes of football. Surprisingly, Hull City were the last and only team to score at The Bridge this season, with even the likes of Liverpool, Tottenham & Man Utd all failing to break through the strong Chelsea rearguard.

 

If Liverpool & Manchester United cannot score against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge then what chance do Wolves stand. 16-1 is Chelsea’s goalscoring record at home this season, with Chelsea averaging nearly 3 goals a game at The Bridge. A revitalised Didier Drogba is one of the reasons why Chelsea have been so prolific at home this season, with the Ivorian notching on 9 league goals for the season, four of which have come on home soil.

 

 

 

 

 

Wolverhampton Wanderers

 

League Position: 4th

Recent Form: LWDWL

  

A trip to Stamford Bridge to face one of Europe’s biggest sides is what you get excited about as a manager, that’s until the fixture actually comes about and then you start to understand the term ‘squeaky bum time’. With Chelsea dishing out a few thumpings at The Bridge already this season, some will feel that Mick McCarthy’s men will be lucky to escape with their pride still in tact, let alone actually take anything from the game. Nevertheless, there is a game to be won, in a matter of words.

  

The good news for Mick McCarthy, he doesn’t appear to have any fresh absentee’s after the international break, although that is mainly down to the fact that his squad isn’t wanted around the globe. The bad news is just that, McCarthy doesn’t have the required quality within the ranks to compete with the likes of Chelsea. However, McCarthy is a fighter, and he will do everything but throw in the towel as he aims to pull off a master-stroke by getting some form of a result out of this fixture.

  

What the newly promoted sides need heading into a game of this magnitude is good form, something for the opponent to think about, possibly even assert a bit of fear. Wolves, well, they would struggle to have my nephew’s Under 11′s team quaking in their boots. Since their victory over Fulham back in mid September, Wolves have picked up just three points from six games. That is fifteen dropped points, with three draws and three defeats. The positives are the 1-1 draws with Everton & Villa, while the negatives are the hammering’s they received by first Sunderland (5-2) and more recently, Arsenal (1-4).

 

We generally get punished whenever we completely write a team off but Wolves really shouldn’t get anywhere near the Chelski on Saturday. Their defence is woeful, shipping 22 goals in 12 outings, 12 of which have come on the road. While their lack of fire-power has shown in their goal tally of just 12, although 7 have come away from Molineux. Funnily enough, Wolves have managed to find the net in their previous four away outings but they won’t come up against a leaner defence than Chelsea’s all season. Expect their away goalscoring form to come to an abrupt end, as well as their goals against tally rising, perhaps considerably.

 

 

 

 

Head-to-Head:

 

Chelsea W: 2 Wolverhampton Wanderers W: 0 Draws: 0

 

With Wolves not a regular appearer in the English top flight, the pair have only had the pleasure of clashing on two occasions, back in the 2004/2004 season. However, unsurprisingly, Chelsea dominated both games, winning 5-2 at Stamford Bridge & 5-0 Molineux, scoring five goals in both meetings.

 

The pair haven’t met in a competitive fixture since that season so will Chelsea continue their dominance of Wolves or will the ‘Wolves’ have their day. The former looks the most likely, much to the displeasure of you loyal Wolves readers.

 

 

 

 

 

Match Verdict:- Chelsea to WIN – 1.17 Bet365

 

We won’t turn too many heads with this prediction and nor are we aiming to. Anything but a comfortable home win for the Blues’ would be a big shock as the gulf in class between then two is horrific. At Stamford Bridge, Chelsea have been unstoppable, maintaining a 100% record at home, while Wolves are fresh off a 4-1 hammering from Chelsea’s local rivals, Arsenal. A similar scoreline wouldn’t be at all surprising with the only factor possibly hindering Chelsea’s display is the mass returns of players from international duty.

 

 

 

 

Match Odds:

 

Chelsea – 1.17 Bet365

Draw – 8.00 SKyBet

Wolverhampton Wanderers – 21.00 PaddyPower

 

 

 

 

SoccerBetting Value Tip: Chelsea to WIN both Halves – 2.20 SkyBet

 

 

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Full-Time: Chelsea 4-0 Wolverhampton Wanderers

 

Goalscorer(s): Florent Malouda, Michael Essien X2, Joe Cole (Chelsea)