Wolves vs Chelsea - Match Preview

A disastrous home defeat to Aston Villa hasn't proved to be as fatal as it could have been for Chelsea with the equally surprising defeats for the two Manchester Clubs over the weekend and Spurs dropping two points at Swansea, although realistically they are now challenging for fourth place and with that in mind wins for Arsenal and Liverpool weren't advantages to the cause. Now Andre Villas-Boas's men travel to the Molineux to face Wolves having just picked up three points in their last four games. January will likely prove to be a large talent swapping month at Stamford Bridge (though no signing on the grand scale of £50 million for Fernando Torres is expected) with the old guard and the unproven talent's jobs on the line. Along with that of the manager. So a good performance and a great start to 2012 is desperately required today. Wolves's form is three points from three games and they are now proving to be a tough nut to crack. Mick McCarthy's men will be buoyed by the fact they over turned Chelsea on home soil last season and have the kind of tough as nails, never say die spirited players who won't lie down for anyone and will be up for this game more than most. Unbeaten rules always breads confidence and they will be the side in the better mood when the 3pm kick-off today comes around.

Team News

Steven Fletcher has been passed fit for Wolves after taking a knock in Saturday's draw at Bolton. Impressive midfielder Emmanuel Frimpong who has emerged through the ranks of Arsenal begins his spell on loan at Wolves and is likely to play today. Icelandic international Eggert Johnson could also make his first start for Wolves after signing from Hearts. Ronald Zubar is a doubt with a knee injury and Nenad Milijas is suspended. Andre Villas-Boas will play the rotation game having only just played on Saturday and Frank Lampard and Fernando Torres will be hoping for recalls. Branislav Ivanovic and John Obi Mikel won't play after being sidelined by injury.

Line-ups from;

Wolves (from): Hennessey, De Vries, Stearman, Zubar, Doherty, Craddock, Johnson, Berra, Ward, Elokobi, Hammill, Hunt, Henry, Edwards, Guedioura, Jarvis, Forde, Doyle, Ebanks-Blake, Fletcher, Foley, Frimpong, Jonsson. Chelsea (from): Cech, Bosingwa, Ferreira, Terry, Luiz, Cole, Romeu, Lampard, Ramires, McEachran, Mata, Malouda, Meireles, Torres, Drogba, Kalou, Sturridge, Lukaku, Turnbull, Hutchinson.