

Venue: Stamford Bridge
Date: Saturday, 23 October
Kick-off: 1500 BST
Right, we sorted the Champions League midweek so now it’s back to the bread and butter of the Premier League.
You’d have to say irrespective of any previous, our last game against Villa was two points that went adrift given our blistering start to the season. We have the deadliest attack and the tightest defence, so whilst the draw might have done us a season or two back, we really needed to do better this time round given that we still have less points so far this season than in any of our previous title-winning campaigns. So, we’ll be looking to do better today against a struggling Wolves side.
MANAGERS’ VIEWS
Ahead of this game, Carlo Ancelotti says “Wolves will try to do their best to catch points in this game. They will use their abilities and skills to create problems but last week we lost two points in relation to Man City and now we hope to increase the gap at the top.”
Mick McCarthy meanwhile, suggests “We are not going to go down there and be the dominant force, although if you just boot the ball up the pitch it will come back with stars and stripes and spots and everything else on it. We will have to tackle and defend though, and that’s how it is playing for Wolves against Chelsea. I know everyone’s view (of the game). I see everyone talking about them but we will play as well as we can against the best team in the league and try and get a result. Going to Chelsea, if they play as well as they can there is nothing you can do about it. We will have to play as well as we can. I don’t have to get the players together (to analyse Chelsea on video), we all know what they can do and are aware of their abilities, it would probably be counter-productive anyway.”
SQUAD NEWS
For Chelsea, Frank Lampard (groin), Alex (thigh), Yossi Benayoun (Achilles) and Ramires (ankle) are all sidelined with striker Daniel Sturridge (ankle) also doubtful but we and Didier Drogba, who missed last week’s game and the Champions League win over Spartak Moscow because of a virus.
For Villa, Guedioura (broken leg), Zubar (ankle), Jody Craddock (hip) and Karl Hendry (suspended) all miss out. Stephen Hunt (foot) is also unlikely to be fit and Mancienne is ineligle to play against us.
TEAMS
CHELSEA (from): Cech, Turnbull, Ivanovic, Bosingwa, Ferreira, Cole, Terry, Zhirkov, Essien, Obi, McEachran, Kakuta, Malouda, Anelka, Drogba, Kalou, Bruma, Mellis, Borini, Van Aanholt, Sturridge.
WOLVES (from): Hahnemann, Foley, Berra, Ward, Jarvis, Jones, Van Damme, Fletcher, Doyle, Ebanks-Blake, Elokobi, Halford, Bent, Hennessey, Edwards, Milijas, Stearman, Mouyokolo, Mujangi Bia, Davis.
LAST SEASON
Chelsea 4-0 Wolves (November 21st 2009)
REFEREE
Lee Probert
PREDICTION
Well, I’m sure the eyebrows are up everywhere with us playing another club at the foot of the table and the expectation is a goal glut. To be fair, we’ve beaten Wolves in all four of our Premier League meetings, scoring 16 against them , so that’d be a fair assumption. Wolves are struggling for a win and have done since their first on the opening day of the season. Add to that the fact that Wolves haven’t had a win at Stamford Bridge since 1979 and we’ll want shooting if we don’t get 3 points today.